51 Preface ۞ وَما كانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَن يُكَلِّمَهُ اللَّهُ إِلّا وَحيًا أَو مِن وَراءِ حِجابٍ أَو يُرسِلَ رَسولًا فَيوحِيَ بِإِذنِهِ ما يَشاءُ ۚ إِنَّهُ عَلِيٌّ حَكيمٌYusuf AliIt is not fitting1 for a man that God should speak to him except by inspiration,2 or from behind a veil,3 or by the sending of a Messenger4 to reveal, with God’s permission, what God wills: for He is Most High, Most Wise.This leads us on to the higher spiritual meaning of verses 49-50, as leading up to verses 51-53. Man is but a speck in God’s creation. His growth and family relationships are not by any means comparable to God’s creative acts, whose various stages are referred to in n. 120 to 2:117, n. 916 to 6:94, and n. 923 to 6:98. That being so in the mysteries of man’s daily life, how much more profound is the contrast between man and God in the apprehension of the higher spiritual problems concerned with Revelation? How can man be fit to speak to God? He is not fit. But there are three ways in which God, in His infinite Mercy, communicates with man, as described in verses 51-53.God is Most High, Most Wise: man is, in spite of his high destiny, often the lowest of the low (95:5). Yet God, out of His infinite Mercy and Grace, has bestowed His Revelation on man. How does it come about? Three ways are mentioned: (1) Wahy, Inspiration: (2) from behind a veil; and (3) by the sending of a Messenger: see the notes following. Wahy, Inspiration, is interpreted to be of two kinds: (1) a suggestion thrown by God into the heart or mind of man, by which man understands the substance of the Message, whether it is a command or prohibition, or an explanation of a great truth; and (2) verbal or literal inspiration, by which the actual words of God are conveyed in human language. (R).Behind a veil: not of course a material veil, but the mystic veil of Light. (R). Sahih Muslim relates a tradition that the Prophet said: “His veil is Light: were He to withdraw it, then would the august splendors of His countenance surely consume everything that comes within His Sight.” (R).Messenger: Rasul the angel Gabriel, through whom the revelations were given to the Prophet. These spiritual visions, conveying the message of Revelation, are the basis of the Qur-ān.