“From among the excellences that are conferred upon those who receive the bounty of God, foremost is the excellence of prophethood, which sits at the loftiest of ranks. I regret that I am unable to find the words with which to expound the deeper reality of this excellence. It is a matter of principle that when something grows in rank, words become all the more insufficient to describe it. And then, prophethood is a station that is the most supreme rank or level that any person can attain. How then can it be described? I can say, only briefly and inadequately, that when a human being abandons their base life, and separates themselves from this world just as a snake sloughs off its skin, the state of such a person becomes transformed. Such a one apparently walks about on the same earth, eats and drinks, and is subject to the law of nature, as are others, but despite all this, he is detached from this world; he continues to advance and progress until he finally reaches the point known as prophethood, where he converses with God Almighty. This converse begins when the person in question separates themselves from their own inner self and its relations, until ultimately forging a relationship with Allah the Exalted alone, after which it is with Him alone that the individual converses.”
(Malfuzat [English], Vol. 2, pp. 72-73)