The AMI Podcast Models of Revelation in the Islamic Tradition by Prof. Mahmoud Morvarid | Research Seminar
Sep 24, 2025
Prof. Mahmoud Morvarid, a researcher and specialist in Islamic intellectual history, explores the intriguing models of revelation within the Islamic tradition. He discusses how the Qur'an may have been revealed, comparing the Mutakallimūn model's literal divine speech with philosophical interpretations by Farabi and Ibn Sīnā. Morvarid also delves into al-Ghazālī’s innovative perspective on prophetic knowledge and Suhrawardī’s mystical imagery. Throughout, he highlights the enduring relevance of these debates for contemporary understanding of the Qur'an.
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Four Features Framework For Revelation
- Revelation in Islam is analyzed via four features: divine speech, prophetic perception, acquired knowledge, and textual form.
- Comparing models through these features clarifies divergent theological and philosophical commitments.
Literal Divine Speech Raises Problems
- The Mutakallimun treated divine speech literally and often held God creates physical sounds heard by prophets.
- This view raises epistemic problems like testimonial fallibility and why companions didn't hear the sounds.
Active Intellect And Symbolic Imagination
- Farabi and Ibn Sina locate revelation in intellectual transmission from an active intellect mediated by a perfected imagination.
- The imagination turns intelligible forms into perceptual-like experiences that symbolically represent truths.