Taha · Makki · ayah 38 of 135

Taha 20:38

إِذْ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَىٰٓ أُمِّكَ مَا يُوحَىٰٓ

“When We inspired to your mother what We inspired,”

Saheeh International

Essence

The story of a prophet begins with a frightened mother receiving a word from Allah that no one else could hear.

A reflection

Revelation is not only for prophets

Awḥaynā: We revealed, We inspired. Most people hear the word waḥy and think of one thing only: the revelation that comes to prophets, carried by an angel, written into scripture. So this ayah can startle. Allah 'revealed' something to Musa's mother. Was she a prophet?

The commentators answer carefully. The majority held that she was not. The Quran itself, they point out, uses waḥy in other senses. Your Lord inspired the bee (16:68). I inspired the disciples (5:111). Then they list what it might have been here. A dream whose meaning was clear. An inspiration. Or, in one commentator's striking phrase, a decisive resolve that fell into her heart all at once. Anyone who thinks hard about their situation, he adds, may suddenly see the course nearest to safety. Such a thought, too, can be called waḥy.

The lexicons give the root's picture. Waḥy is putting knowledge into another, often in secret: a quick gesture, a nod, a word said so that others do not hear. It is swift, hidden and lasting.

That widens the first image a great deal. Allah's guidance is not confined to scripture and prophets. He can place a clear knowing in an ordinary heart at the moment it is needed.

Picture a father driving home on a rainy night. For no reason he can name, he takes the long road past the old bus stop. There, under the shelter, is his teenage son, phone dead, last bus gone. Later he cannot explain why he turned.

Caution is needed here. Not every hunch is from Allah, and the commentators never suggest that a private feeling can override what He has revealed. But the narrow image is also wrong. The One who spoke to Musa's mother has not stopped guiding hearts. Ask Him for that kind of guidance when the way ahead is dark.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.