Surah Ash-Shu'araa (26) — Ayah 194

(Ayah 194) ➊ { عَلٰى قَلْبِكَ:} In another place it is said: «{ قُلْ مَنْ كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّجِبْرِيْلَ فَاِنَّهٗ نَزَّلَهٗ عَلٰى قَلْبِكَ بِاِذْنِ اللّٰهِ }» [ البقرۃ : ۹۷ ] "Say, whoever is an enemy to Gabriel, then indeed he has brought this Book down upon himr heart by Allah’s command." That is, this Noble Qur’an was revealed by Gabriel (peace be upon him) upon himr heart, not by making you hear it through your ears. Although the ears also convey the message to the heart, the purpose of revealing it directly upon the heart is so that there remains no deficiency in understanding or remembering it, as He said: «{ سَنُقْرِئُكَ فَلَا تَنْسٰۤى (6) اِلَّا مَا شَآءَ اللّٰهُ }» [ الأعلٰی : ۶، ۷ ] "We will surely make you recite, so you will not forget, except what Allah wills." And see Surah Al-Qiyamah (16 to 19).

➋ { لِتَكُوْنَ مِنَ الْمُنْذِرِيْنَ :} Instead of saying "so that you may become a warner," it is said "so that you may be included among the magnificent assembly of prophets and messengers," because in this there is a greater expression of your greatness. Although a messenger is both a "warner" and a "bearer of glad tidings," here the mention of being a "warner" is made because the entire discourse of this Surah consists of the prophets warning their nations, and as mentioned earlier, until a person or nation is made aware of the dreadful consequences of following the wrong path, it is difficult for them to come to the right path. That is why every prophet began his message with {’’ اَلَا تَتَّقُوْنَ ‘‘}.

194-1. The heart is mentioned specifically because among the senses, the heart possesses the greatest power of perception and retention.

194-2. That is, it is the reason for the revelation of the Qur'an.

So that you may be among the warners [113].

[113] Then these very fact-based verses are brought down by Jibreel, the Trustworthy, who directly reveals this Word upon himr heart so that you may narrate such events to all people and timely warn the disobedient about their evil end.

The State of the Prophet ﷺ at the Time of Revelation:

It should be noted that three forms of divine revelation are mentioned in the Quran. The most well-known form is that Jibreel descends upon the heart of the Prophet and places the words of revelation within the Prophet. In this state, the Prophet is cut off from the worldly realm and connected to the higher realm. During revelation, the Prophet’s external senses cease to function, and the inner senses begin to operate. The Prophet sees the angel with the eye of the heart and hears the revelation with the ears of the heart. In other words, during revelation, the Prophet is cut off from humanity and drawn towards angelic nature. Therefore, this form of revelation was extremely burdensome for him physically. A severe kind of weight would descend upon him, and your state would change, and even those living beings whose bodies were touching his would feel this burden. Thus, Hazrat Aisha ؓ says that I asked the Prophet ﷺ: O Messenger of Allah! How does revelation come to you? The Prophet ﷺ replied: Sometimes it comes to me like the ringing of a bell, and this form of revelation is very hard upon me. Then, when I remember what the angel has said, it ceases. And sometimes the angel comes to me in the form of a man, talks to me, and I remember what he says. Hazrat Aisha ؓ says: I saw the Prophet ﷺ in such a state that on a very cold day, revelation would descend upon him, then it would cease, and sweat would be dripping from his forehead. [بخاری۔ کتاب الوحی۔ باب کیف کان بدء الوحی الیٰ رسول اللہﷺ]

Also, Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ told me to write this verse: ﴿لَا يَسْتَوِي الْقٰعِدُوْنَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ غَيْرُ اُولِي الضَّرَرِ وَالْمُجٰهِدُوْنَ فِيْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ﴾ At that time, Abdullah bin Umm Maktum (who was blind) came to the Prophet and said: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! If I had the strength for jihad, I would surely participate in jihad. At that very moment, Allah revealed revelation to the Prophet ﷺ. At that time, the Prophet’s thigh was upon my thigh, and his thigh became so heavy that I feared my own thigh would break beneath it. Then, when the state of revelation ceased, Allah also revealed ﴿غَيْرُ أُولِي الضَّرَرِ﴾. [بخاری۔ کتاب التفسیر۔ سورۃ نساء]

(For the other forms of revelation, see the footnote of verse 51 of Surah Ash-Shura.) This type of revelation is called Wahy Jali (clear revelation). The entire Noble Quran was revealed in the form of Wahy Jali. However, this does not mean that all of Wahy Jali is confined to the Quran. A small portion of such revelation is also mentioned in the hadiths. For example, regarding the punishment for adultery, the marfu’ narration of Ubadah bin Samit ؓ: (Khudhu ‘anni khudhu ‘anni qad ja‘ala lahunna sabeelan) — Ubadah bin Samit ؓ says: “At the time of the descent of this revelation, the same state would come over the Prophet ﷺ as would occur during the descent of Quranic revelation.” [مسلم۔ کتاب الحدود۔ باب حد الزنا]