Allah Almighty informed us in His Noble Book about the methods of revelation to His noble messengers, peace be upon them, including: speaking from behind a veil.

“It is not for a human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil or by sending a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wills. Indeed, He is Exalted and Wise.”

Allah Almighty stated that speaking from behind a veil is a high status for the prophet who is spoken to.

“These are the messengers; We have favored some of them over others. Among them are those to whom Allah spoke, and He raised some of them in degrees.”

Among those whom Allah spoke to were Adam, Moses, and Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon them.

“O Messenger of Allah, was Adam a prophet?”

He said:

“Yes, he was spoken to.”

He said:

“How long was there between him and Noah?”

He said:

“Ten centuries.”

Narrated by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (14/69), and authenticated by Shu’ayb Al-Arna’ut, the book’s researcher.

This narration establishes that Adam, peace be upon him, was a prophet and that he was spoken to.

“And Allah spoke to Moses with speech.”

“And when Moses came to Our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him.”

“O Moses, indeed I have chosen you over mankind with My messages and with My speech.”

Moses, peace be upon him, is explicitly described in the Qur’an as one whom Allah spoke to directly.

It is proven in the journey of the Ascension to heaven that Allah spoke to our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

“So I returned and passed by Moses, and he said: What have you been commanded with?

He said: I have been commanded with fifty prayers every day.

He said: Your nation cannot do fifty prayers every day, and by Allah, I have tested the people before you and treated the Children of Israel with the most severe treatment, so return to your Lord and ask Him to lighten it for your nation.

So I returned, and He lowered it.

He said: Ten times have passed since I was afflicted with a calamity.

So I went back to Moses and he said the same thing…

Then go back to your Lord and ask Him to lighten the burden for your nation.

He said: I asked my Lord until I felt shy, but I am content and submit.”

Narrated by Al-Bukhari (3674) and Muslim (162).

“This is one of the strongest pieces of evidence that Allah, the Most High, spoke to His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ on the Night of the Isra’ without an intermediary.”

Fath Al-Bari (7/216).

Ibn Hajar clearly uses the hadith of the Night Journey and Ascension as evidence that Allah spoke to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ without an intermediary.

“Among them are those to whom Allah spoke” means: Moses and Muhammad, may God bless them and grant them peace, and so did Adam, as mentioned in the hadith narrated in Sahih Ibn Hibban on the authority of Abu Dharr, may God be pleased with him.

“And He raised some of them in degrees” as was confirmed in the hadith of the Night Journey when the Prophet ﷺ saw the prophets in the heavens according to the differences in their status with God Almighty.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (1/670).

Ibn Kathir includes Moses, Muhammad ﷺ, and Adam among those whom Allah spoke to.

If Allah spoke to Adam and Muhammad ﷺ as well, then why is Moses, peace be upon him, specifically known asKalimullah, the one who spoke to Allah?

Perhaps the reason — and God Almighty knows best — for Moses being called “the one who spoke to God,” even though God spoke to Muhammad and Adam, is that God spoke to him on earth while he was in his human nature.

This is unlike God speaking to Adam, for He spoke to him while he was in heaven, and unlike God speaking to Muhammad ﷺ, for He spoke to him after he had ascended with his soul and body to heaven.

As for God speaking to Moses, it was on earth, and this is a special feature of Moses, upon him and our Prophet be the best blessings and peace.

Taysir Lam’at Al-I’tiqad (p. 152), Al-Shamilah numbering.

Adam was spoken to while he was in heaven, and Muhammad ﷺ was spoken to during the Ascension after being raised with his soul and body.

The Qur’an confirms that Allah spoke to some messengers directly. The Sunnah confirms that Adam was spoken to, that Moses was spoken to, and that Muhammad ﷺ was spoken to during the Night Journey and Ascension.

Therefore, Moses being called Kalimullah does not mean Allah never spoke to anyone else. It means Moses had a specific distinction: Allah spoke to him on earth while he was in his human state.