There are two terms used to express different degrees of inspiration, Wahi and Ilham. Wahi is the term applied to the inspiration of the Quran, and implies that the very words are the words of God. It is divided into Wahi Zahir (external inspiration), and Wahi Batin (internal inspiration). The whole book was prepared in heaven. Muhammad, instructed by Gabriel, is simply the medium through which the revelation of Wahi Zahir reaches man. The Wahi Quran, _i.e._, the highest form of inspiration, always came to the ear of the Prophet through the instrumentality of Gabriel. In Muhammadan theology, this is the special work of Gabriel. Thus in the Traditions it is related that he appeared to Adam twelve times, to Enoch four, to Noah fifty, to Abraham forty-two, to Moses four hundred, to Jesus ten times, to Muhammad twenty-four thousand times. Ilham means the inspiration given to a saint or to a prophet when he, though rightly guided, delivers the subject matter out of his own mind, and is not a mere machine to reproduce the messages of Gabriel. There is a lower form of Wahi Zahir, which is called Isharat-ul-Malak (literally, "sign of the Angel.") This expresses what Muhammad meant when he said: "The Holy Ghost has entered into my heart." In other words, he received the inspiration through {38} Gabriel, but not by word of mouth. This form of inspiration is higher than that possessed by saints, and is usually applied to the inspiration of the Traditions. This is denied by some, who say that except when delivering the Quran Muhammad spoke by Ilham and not by Wahi. The practical belief is, however, that the Traditions were Wahi inspiration, and thus they come to be as authoritative as the Quran. Sharastani speaks of "the signs (sayings) of the Prophet which have the marks of Wahi."[41] This opinion is said by some Muslim theologians to be supported by the first verse of the fifty-third Sura, entitled the Star. "By the Star when it setteth; your companion Muhammad _erreth not_, nor is he _led astray_, neither doth he _speak of his own will_. It is none other than a revelation which hath been revealed to him." In any case the inspiration of Muhammad is something quite different from the Christian idea of inspiration, which is to Musalmans a very imperfect mode of transmitting a revelation of God's will.