 Underlying the double truth doctrine is a unique theory of prophecy that credits Albalag with novelty. Deviating from the widely accepted conception of prophecy in medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophy, which views prophets as accomplished philosophers and qualitatively equates prophetic knowledge with philosophy, this theory links prophets and prophetic knowledge to the divine realm (i.e., the realm of separate intellects) while at the same time stressing the absolute transcendence and unknowability of that realm. It correspondingly stresses essential distinctions between philosophical reasoning and knowledge, on the one hand, and prophecy and prophetic knowledge, on the other. Prophets, according to Albalag, are extraordinary human beings endowed with a special mode of apprehension. Thanks to this mode of apprehension prophets have access to knowledge that differs from philosophical knowledge in both content and type. Not only do prophets arrive at answers to questions that lie beyond the capacity of human reason, but they also grasp the truth in a transcendent manner, independently of physical tools and the cognitive processes necessary for rational knowledge (Guttmann 1945: 86).