Allah Almighty in sending revelations to the prophet and His apostles basically consists of two ways.
First, namely through the mediation of Gabriel as his duty as an angel of revelation. Second, that is not through mediation.
#. The way of Revelation through the Intercession of the Archangel Gabriel also consists of several types,:
The first way, comes to him sounds like ringing bells and very strong sounds that influence the factors of consciousness, so that he with all his strength is ready to accept that influence. This method is the most difficult for the Apostle. If the revelation that came down to the Messenger of Allah (saw) in this way, then he gathered all the power of his consciousness to receive, memorize and understand it, and the sound was most likely the sound of "flapping" angel wings, as implied in the hadith: Ali bin 'Abdullah, preaching to us, from Sufyan, from Umar, from Ikrimah, from Abu Hurairah, he was conveyed by the Prophet in his saying: When Allah wills an affair in heaven, then the angels beat their wings because they are subject to His word, like the jingling of the eyes chains on slippery stones (HR. al-Bukhari)
The second way, angels incarnate to the Apostle as a man in human form. This method is lighter than the first method in revelation. In this case, the Apostle confronts the angel directly.
#. Ways of Revelation without the Intercession of the Angel Gabriel Regarding the way of revelation of the Koran without the intercession of the angel Gabriel, is;
The true dream in Sleep, as in the hadith, that is; Yahya bin Bukair reported to us, he said from al-Laiś, from Uqail, from Ibn Syihab, from Urwah bin al-Zubayr, from Asiyah Umm al-Mu'minīn, he said: His back what first happened to the Prophet is a true dream at bedtime. He does not see dreams unless mimi comes like the light of the morning. According to information from various references (literature), it was found that the Messenger of Allah received the revelation by dream, as a preparation for him to receive the revelation in a conscious state. In the Koran the revelation revealed when he was conscious, except for many people who claim that the letter al-Kauśar was revealed through dreams.
Revelations were received from behind the veil without going through intermediaries, as was the case with the Prophet Mūsa as.
The method of revelation of the Qur'an mentioned above is generally accepted for all the prophets and messengers of Allah. While the way of revelation of the Koran specifically for the Prophet Muhammad according to the expert (mufassir) is composed of seven ways, namely;
With dreams.
Thrown into the soul of the Holy Prophet (exhaled into his soul) the intended words, as explained in the QS. al-Shura (42) verse 52.
Revelation came to the Holy Prophet like bells, ie the Prophet heard a very loud sound resembling loud bells. It is this dignity that is most heavily accepted by the Prophet.
Gabriel showed himself to the Prophet in the form of a very beautiful man.
Gabriel showed himself to the Prophet in the original appearance, which had six hundred wings.
Allah spoke about the Holy Prophet from behind the hijab, both in the state of the Holy Prophet conscious (guard), as happened on the night of isrā ', or in a state of sleep.
Israfil came down with a few sentences of revelation, before Gabriel came to bring the revelations of the Koran.
With regard to the revelation of the Qur'an mentioned above, a group of mufassirs added that there is also another method of revelation that is not mentioned yet, namely that God directly talks with the Holy Prophet face-to-face without a hijab. This opinion is based on the understanding that the Prophet was able to see God with the eyes