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Ilham (inspiration)

الإلهام

Ilham is, in the lexical sense, God putting into the soul a matter that moves to act or to refrain; for the usulis it is a thing cast on the heart that quiets the breast, reserved by God for some of His chosen servants. 1 The ilham of the prophets is true and binding on them and on their community; the ilham of others is not binding for most scholars, and it differs from whispering and from careful search. 12

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

Spirituality and Sufism

Definition

Ilham in the lexical sense is the verb "to inspire": God inspired him with good, meaning He caused it to occur to him. It is God putting into the soul a matter that moves to act or to refrain, a kind of revelation He grants to whom He wills. 1 For the usulis it is a thing cast on the heart that quiets the breast, reserved by God for some of His chosen servants. 1

Related terms

  • Whispering (waswasa): a thought put into the soul through a cause that the devil started. 1
  • Careful search (tahari): effort and thought; ilham comes without effort. 1

Ruling

The usulis agree that the ilham of the prophets is true; it is binding on them and on their community. One who denies its reality is an unbeliever, and one who leaves it unpractised is a sinner. 12 For most scholars the ilham of others is not binding, since one who is not protected from error cannot be trusted in his impulses. Some hold it binding on the one inspired alone, if no text or reasoning contradicts it. 2

People and things also explored

Prophetic adab (proper conduct)· Akhi Baba (title of the guild shaykh and tanners' head)· The angelic and the satanic inspiration (lamma)· Asking people for help (al-masala)· The soul (nafs) and the spirit (ruh)· Tabattul (withdrawal from the world)· Intimacy with God (uns billah)· Certainty and its degrees (yaqin)

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3327
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3328
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Ilham (inspiration)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/ilham/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Wing

Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Prophetic adab (proper conduct)

The body of proper conduct the believer is commanded in his words, deeds and relations with God and His servants; from the formula 'whoever believes in God and the Last Day' in Abu Hurayra's hadith Ibn Rajab derives that these traits are of the traits of iman and that deeds enter into iman, dividing the hadith's three commands into what belongs to God's rights — speaking good or keeping silent — and what belongs to His servants' rights — honouring the neighbour, withholding harm from him and honouring the guest; he transmits Aswad ibn Asram's report of the Prophet's counsel 'do not say with your tongue except what is good and do not extend your hand except to good', and that the tongue's uprightness is of the traits of iman; Abu Amr ibn al-Salah reports from Abu Muhammad ibn Abi Zayd, the Maliki imam of his time, that the conduct of goodness and all its reins branch from four hadiths: speaking good or keeping silent, leaving what does not concern one, 'do not become angry', and loving for one's brother what one loves for oneself.