In another hadith in Bukhari the Holy Prophet clearly mentioned that there were in the past “persons who were spoken to (by God) though they were not prophets” and that among Muslims one such is Umar. The word used for “spoken to” here is derived from kalam.

There is the famous incident of Hazrat Umar, that delivering a khutba as khalifa, he saw right there in a vision the Muslim army fighting a battle hundreds of miles away, and he shouted to the commander “Take to the hills!” The hearers said, We thought Umar has gone mad. When the messenger from the battle-field arrived in Madina with news, he related that the commander heard that voice and took the army to the hills and they were saved. This was obviously not in a dream that Hazrat Umar saw the scene.

The Quran says that angels descend upon true believers in this world with good news (bushra, same as mubashshirat) and speak to them (41:30-32).