(16:68) And behold ! .

Your Lord has inspired the bee *56 with this "Build thy hive in the
mountains, trees and in the creepers over trellises:
*56) The lexical meaning of the Arabic word ('wahi ) is secret inspiration which is felt only
by the one who inspires and the other who is inspired with. The Qur'an has used this word
both for the instinctive inspiration by Allah to His creation in general and for the Revelation
towards His Prophets in particular. Allah sends His "wahi " to the heavens with His Command
and they begin functioning in accordance with it (XL: 12). He will send this to the Earth with
His Command and it will relate the story of aII that had happened on and in it. (XCIX: 4-S).
He sends wahi to the bee and inspires it with faculties to perform the whole of its wonderful
work instinctively (v. 68). The same is true of the bird that learns to fly, the fish that learns to
swim, the newly born child that learns to suck milk, etc., etc. Then, it is also wahi with which
Allah inspires a human being with a spontaneous idea (XXVIII: 7). The same is the case with
all the great discoveries, inventions, works of literature and art, etc. , which would not have
been possible without the benefit of wahi. As a matter of fact, every human being at one time
or the other feels its mental or spiritual influence in the form of an idea or thought or plan or
dream, which is confirmed by a subsequent experience to be the right guidance from the
unseen

wahi.

Then there is the wahi (Revelation) which is the privilege of the Prophets. This form of wahi
has its own special features and is quite distinct from all' its other forms. The Prophet, who is
inspired with it, is fully conscious and has his firm conviction that it is being sent down from
Allah. Such a Revelation contains doctrines of creed, commandments, laws, regulations and
instructions for the guidance of mankind.