| Answer: The word Wahī has a literal
meaning and is also used as a term. It is used in the literal meaning (to put
something in the mind) in the verse you have referred to. As a term, it is used
in the Qur’ān at many instances as you very well know. When used as a term, it
means religious guidance provided by the Almighty to His messengers.
So one must try to determine when a word
is used literally and when it is used as a term. Such variation in usage is very
customary for many other Arabic words as well. Take the case of the word Zakāh
for example. As a term, it means a prescribed amount given in the way of Allah
to obtain purity of heart and to obtain the blessings of Allah. Literally
speaking, however, the word Zakāh, in Arabic, has two meanings: ‘purity’ and
‘growth’. The words ‘purify them’ in the first and ‘people who will increase
their wealth’ in the second verse of the Qur’ān quoted below indicate these two
meanings of the word:
Take alms from their wealth [O
Prophet!] in order to cleanse them and purify them with it. (9:103)
And that which you give as loan on
interest in order that it may increase on other people’s wealth has no increase
with Allah; but that which you give as Zakāh, seeking Allah’s countenance, it is
these people who will increase their wealth [in the Hereafter]. (30:39)
In other words, in these two verses, the
word Zakāh is used in its two literal meanings and not used as a term.
So one must appreciate that all words
that become terms are never stripped of their original literal meaning. The real
thing is that one must be able to distinguish the difference in such usage.
Consulting a good commentary or some scholar could always be of help on such
occasions.
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