Narrated 'Aisha:
(the mother of the faithful believers) The
commencement of the Divine Inspiration to Allah's Apostle was in the
form of good dreams which came true like bright day light, and then
the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him. He used to go in
seclusion in the cave of Hira where he used to worship (Allah alone)
continuously for many days before his desire to see his family. He
used to take with him the journey food for the stay and then come
back to (his wife) Khadija to take his food like-wise again till
suddenly the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of
Hira. The angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet
replied, "I do not know how to read.
The Prophet added, "The angel caught me
(forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any
more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied,
'I do not know how to read.' Thereupon he caught me again and
pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any more. He then
released me and again asked me to read but again I replied, 'I do
not know how to read (or what shall I read)?' Thereupon he caught me
for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said,
'Read in the name of your Lord, who has created (all that exists)
has created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most
Generous." (96.1, 96.2, 96.3) Then Allah's Apostle returned with the
Inspiration and with his heart beating severely. Then he went to
Khadija bint Khuwailid and said, "Cover me! Cover me!" They covered
him till his fear was over and after that he told her everything
that had happened and said, "I fear that something may happen to
me." Khadija replied, "Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace
you. You keep good relations with your Kith and kin, help the poor
and the destitute, serve your guests generously and assist the
deserving calamity-afflicted ones."
Khadija then accompanied him to her cousin
Waraqa bin Naufal bin Asad bin 'Abdul 'Uzza, who, during the
PreIslamic Period became a Christian and used to write the writing
with Hebrew letters. He would write from the Gospel in Hebrew as
much as Allah wished him to write. He was an old man and had lost
his eyesight. Khadija said to Waraqa, "Listen to the story of your
nephew, O my cousin!" Waraqa asked, "O my nephew! What have you
seen?" Allah's Apostle described whatever he had seen. Waraqa said,
"This is the same one who keeps the secrets (angel Gabriel)
whom Allah had sent to Moses. I wish I were young and could live up
to the time when your people would turn you out." Allah's Apostle
asked, "Will they drive me out?" Waraqa replied in the affirmative
and said, "Anyone (man) who came with something similar to what you
have brought was treated with hostility; and if I should remain
alive till the day when you will be turned out then I would support
you strongly." But after a few days Waraqa died and the
Divine Inspiration was also paused for a while.
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah Al-Ansari
while talking about the period of pause in revelation reporting the
speech of the Prophet "While I was walking, all of a sudden I heard
a voice from the sky. I looked up and saw the same angel who had
visited me at the cave of Hira' sitting on a chair between the sky
and the earth. I got afraid of him and came back home and said,
'Wrap me (in blankets).' And then Allah revealed the following Holy
Verses (of Quran):
'O you (i.e. Muhammad)! wrapped up in
garments!' Arise and warn (the people against Allah's
Punishment),... up to 'and desert the idols.' (74.1-5) After this
the revelation started coming strongly, frequently and regularly."
Narrated 'Aisha:
The Prophet returned to Khadija while his
heart was beating rapidly. She took him to Waraqa bin Naufal who was
a Christian convert and used to read the Gospels in Arabic Waraqa
asked (the Prophet), "What do you see?" When he told him, Waraqa
said, "That is the same angel whom Allah sent to the
Prophet) Moses. Should I live till you receive the Divine Message, I
will support you strongly."
See also Volume 6,
Book 60, Number 478, Volume 9, Book 87,
Number 111 and in Sahih Muslim, Book 001,
Number 0301: