\nNarrated `Aisha:\n\n
The commencement of the Divine Inspiration to Allah's Apostle was in the form of good righteous \n(true) dreams in his sleep. He never had a dream but that it came true like bright day light. He used to \ngo in seclusion (the cave of) Hira where he used to worship(Allah Alone) continuously for many \n(days) nights. He used to take with him the journey food for that (stay) and then come back to (his \nwife) Khadija to take his food like-wise again for another period to stay, till suddenly the Truth \ndescended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to him in it and asked him to \nread. The Prophet replied, \"I do not know how to read.\" (The Prophet added), \"The angel caught me \n(forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it anymore. He then released me and again \nasked me to read, and I replied, \"I do not know how to read,\" whereupon he caught me again and \npressed me a second time till I could not bear it anymore. He then released me and asked me again to \nread, but again I replied, \"I do not know how to read (or, what shall I read?).\" Thereupon he caught \nme for the third time and pressed me and then released me and said, \"Read: In the Name of your Lord, \nWho has created (all that exists). Has created man from a clot. Read and Your Lord is Most \nGenerous...up to..... ..that which he knew not.\" (96.15) \nThen Allah's Apostle returned with the Inspiration, his neck muscles twitching with terror till he \nentered upon Khadija and said, \"Cover me! Cover me!\" They covered him till his fear was over and \nthen he said, \"O Khadija, what is wrong with me?\" Then he told her everything that had happened and \nsaid, 'I fear that something may happen to me.\" Khadija said, 'Never! But have the glad tidings, for by \nAllah, Allah will never disgrace you as you keep good reactions with your Kith and kin, speak the \ntruth, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guest generously and assist the deserving, calamityafflicted \nones.\" Khadija then accompanied him to (her cousin) Waraqa bin Naufal bin Asad bin \n`Abdul `Uzza bin Qusai. Waraqa was the son of her paternal uncle, i.e., her father's brother, who \nduring the Pre-Islamic Period became a Christian and used to write the Arabic writing and used to \nwrite of the Gospels in Arabic as much as Allah wished him to write. He was an old man and had lost \nhis eyesight. Khadija said to him, \"O my cousin! Listen to the story of your nephew.\" Waraqa asked, \n\"O my nephew! What have you seen?\" The Prophet described whatever he had seen. \nWaraqa said, \"This is the same Namus (i.e., Gabriel, the Angel who keeps the secrets) whom Allah \nhad sent to Moses. I wish I were young and could live up to the time when your people would turn \nyou out.\" Allah's Apostle asked, \"Will they turn me out?\" Waraqa replied in the affirmative and said: \n\"Never did a man come with something similar to what you have brought but was treated with \nhostility. If I should remain alive till the day when you will be turned out then I would support you \nstrongly.\" But after a few days Waraqa died and the Divine Inspiration was also paused for a while \nand the Prophet became so sad as we have heard that he intended several times to throw himself from \nthe tops of high mountains and every time he went up the top of a mountain in order to throw himself \ndown, Gabriel would appear before him and say, \"O Muhammad! You are indeed Allah's Apostle in \ntruth\" whereupon his heart would become quiet and he would calm down and would return home. And \nwhenever the period of the coming of the inspiration used to become long, he would do as before, but \nwhen he used to reach the top of a mountain, Gabriel would appear before him and say to him what he \nhad said before. (Ibn `Abbas said regarding the meaning of: 'He it is that Cleaves the daybreak (from \nthe darkness)' (6.96) that Al-Asbah. means the light of the sun during the day and the light of the \nmoon at night).","english_grade":"Sahih","last_updated":null,"xrefs":""}