Christian friend believes God speaks directly to him
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Question
While discussing Islam with a Christian colleague, he informed me that he believes that God speaks to him often and asked me whether God speaks to me. I said that Allah (Subhana Wa Ta'ala) does not speak to me directly, but that I do have something that guides me. I have read that every person has an angel to guide them and a shaytan that tries to misguide them. I have also read that the heart guides to truth. Is this correct? I explained that when we want to know what Allah says about an issue, we turn to the Qur'an and Sunnah. He asked whether in Islam we believe that Allah (Subhana Wa Ta'ala) can speak to us directly, e.g. during prayer. I said I did not know and that I would get back to him with an answer. This was not an important part of the discussion, but I would be grateful if you could clarify this for me.Answer
Wa `alaykum as-Salam wa rahmatullah:
As the Qur'an teaches us, Allah Most does not literally speak directly to human beings except through an angel or from behind a veil or when He makes certain specific exceptions such as for "the Interlocutor of Allah" (kalimullah) our liege-lord the Prophet Musa, upon him peace, and the Prophet Muhammad, upon him blessings and peace; otherwise, Allah Most High speaks to the angels in charge of receiving His commands or transmitting them.
However, Allah Most High does address us directly with the Qur'an itself, saying: O Believers! O people of sound hearts! in the Book which the pious predecessors liked to call the letter of our Lord to us.
Furthermore, Allah Most High addresses us indirectly through right inspiration (ilham), true insight and premonition (firasa), and truthful dream-visions (ru'ya) which the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, called "one-fortysixth part of Prophethood." When Imam Malik was asked: "Can anyone interprete dreams?" he became angry and said, "Are they toying with Prophethood?"
As for a non-Muslim claiming that Allah is addressing him directly, then if that person is sincere we should be happy for him or her because they will eventually become Muslim even if he uses words inappropriately and does not really understand the Attributes of Allah nor His transcendence. (Similarly do most non-Muslims routinely give inappropriate attributes to the angels, which are in fact glorified servants made of light and busy with the splendor of their Lord, not anthropomorphic entities sexually attracted to human beings or involved in mundane concerns as in certain Hollywood movies or writings on angels.)
Otherwise, countless are the droves of the misguided that claimed Allah was addressing them when it was in fact only a vulgar devil or the discourse of their own deluded ego. The 19th century French writer Gustave Flaubert in his fascinating short story "The temptation of Saint Anthony" made an endless catalogue of the early (pre-Islamic) Christian sects that were rife with illumined heretics that made exactly such claims. Guidance is from Allah Most High!
Hajj Gibril
This answer was published by SunniPath and is preserved as written. Rulings can depend on circumstances; for your own situation, consult a qualified scholar.
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