85 Preface وَيَسأَلونَكَ عَنِ الرّوحِ ۖ قُلِ الرّوحُ مِن أَمرِ رَبّي وَما أوتيتُم مِنَ العِلمِ إِلّا قَليلًاYusuf AliThey ask thee concerning the Spirit (of inspiration).1 Say: “The Spirit (cometh) by command of my Lord: of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you, (O men!)"What is the nature of inspiration? Who brings it? Can it ask its Bringer questions? Can we ask anything which we wish? These are the sort of questions always asked when inspiration is called in question. The answer is given here. Inspiration is one of those high spiritual mysteries which cannot be explained in the terms of everyday human experience. It is spiritual. The Spirit (Gabriel) does not come of his own will. He conies by the command of God, and reveals what God commands him to reveal. Of the sum total of true spiritual knowledge what a small part it is that ordinary mortals can understand! They can be only given that which they can understand, however dimly. We are not in a position to ask anything that we wish. If we did so, it would only make us look foolish, for the guidance comes from God’s Wisdom, not from our worldly knowledge.