The Revelation

The Night of Revelation

Muhammad (Peace be upon him, saaw) was asking himself many questions about the creation and all the creatures around him. For this reason he used to frequent the cave of ‘Hira’ in the Mount of ‘An-Nour’ to find some answers.

When the revelation descended, Muhammad (Peace be upon him, saaw) was forty years old and he was in the cave of ‘Hira’. ‘Gabriel’ (PBUH) came down to him from the heavens and hugged him once; twice, and thrice asking him (Peace be upon him, saaw): “Read”, which is “IQRAA اقرأ” in Arabic, and Muhammad (Peace be upon him, saaw) answered Him (PBUH): ‘‘I cannot recite". At last ‘Gabriel’ (PBUH) recited the verse of chapter Al- Alak (the clot):

“Read in the name of your Lord * Who has created (all that exists) * He has created man from a clot * Read and your Lord is the Generous, * Who has taught you by the pen. * He has taught man that which he did not know.” (96: 1-5)

Then, Muhammad (Peace be upon him, saaw) went back shivering to his wife ‘Khadija’, and related to her what had happened in the cave. She calmed him down and said to him her wise words:

“I swear by Allah, He will not disgrace you at all. Because you unite the uterine relations, you help the poor and the needy; you entertain the guests, and endure hardship in the path of truthfulness.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari)

Afterwards, she took him to her cousin ‘Waraqa Ibn Nawful’ who was a priest and had great knowledge of the Books. The prophet (Peace be upon him, saaw) related to him what he had seen, then ‘Waraqa’ replied him:

"That is the same angel whom Allah (swt) sent to the Prophet Moses. I wish I lived when your nation dismiss you (from Makkah). The prophet (Peace be upon him, saaw) asked him: Will my nation dismiss me?

‘Waraqa’ answered him: “Anyone came with what you come with today was taken as an enemy. And if I reach your day (when you will be taken as an enemy), I will support you strongly." (Reported by Muslim)

I.              The Pause in Revelation:

It is Narrated that ‘Jabir bin 'Abdullah Al-Ansari’ while he was talking of the period of pause in revelation, he reported the speech of the Prophet:

“While I was walking, 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), Wrap me (in blankets)…”, then Allah (swt) revealed the following holy verses (of the Quran):

‘’ O you covered in your cloak, arise and warn, and magnify your Lord… ". (74:1-5)

After this verse the revelation came strongly and regularly” (Reported by Al-Bukhari)

These verses prove along the time how the prophethood of Muhammad (Peace be upon him, saaw) is true. Because he was asked then to perform his message, that is The Call to the Oneness of Allah (swt) all.

II.             The stages of The Call:

The Call to Islam by Muhammad (Peace be upon him, saaw) has witnessed two stages in Makkah:

1.            The secret Call

This stage lasted for three years. During this period Muhammad (Peace be upon him , saaw) called only his relatives to Islam as his wife ‘Khadija’ and her slave ‘Zaid bin Harita’, his cousin ‘Ali bin-Abi Talib’, his intimate friend ‘Abu-Baker Assidek’ and some of his tribe as the family of ‘Ilyas’ (Somaya and his husband) who preferred to die in the cause of Allah (swt), without forgetting ‘Billal’ who borne hard punishment in the cause of Allah (swt). During this period ‘Assalat’ (the Prayer) was two ‘Raka’t’ in the morning and evening.

When the number of Muslims surrounded around Muhammad (Peace be upon him, saaw) increased and reached around thirty Muslims, the prophet (Peace be upon him, saaw) chose the house of ‘Al-Araquam bin Al-Arquam’ as their shelter to gather and organise their Call.

2.            The proclamation of the Call

This stage started when the prophet (Peace be upon him, saaw) received the revelation of Allah (swt) who said:

“And warn your tribe (O Muhammad) of near kindred” (26: 214)

Meanwhile, the prophet (Peace be upon him, saaw) went on ‘Mount As-Safa’ and shouted:

“O Bani Fahr! O Bani Adi, many people gathered, and those who could not, sent somebody to report to them? Abu-Lahab was also present. The Prophet (Peace be upon him, saaw) said: “You see if I were to tell you that there were some horsemen in the valley planning to raid you, will you believe me?” They said:” Yes, we have never experienced any lie from you;” He said: “I am a warner to you before a severe torment.” ‘Abu-Lahab’ promptly replied: “Perish you all the day! Have you summoned us for such a thing?” Then the verses of Chapter Al-Masad (The Palm Fiber) were immediately revealed on that occasion:

“Perish the two hands of Abu-Lahab, and perish he….” (111:1)”

(Reported by Al- Bukhari and Muslim)

Afterwards Allah (swt) asked Muhammad (Peace be upon him, saaw) to defend His religion and said: “Therefore proclaim openly (Allah’s Message- Islamic Monotheism); that which you are commanded, and you turn away from the associater” (15: 94)

At the meantime the prophet (Peace be upon him, saaw) started fighting the polytheists and their worship of idolatry. He and his followers strived to prove to them how they were wrong, and that there is no god save Allah (swt). As a result, the disbelievers of ‘Quraysh’ faced him and his followers by tormenting and killing them, spitting on their faces and laughing at them. They became outrage, so that they agreed to kill the prophet (Peace be upon him, saaw), who was fully protected by his uncle.

By Youssef KHANNOU

References:

‘’The sealed nectar‘’, Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, ‘Dar-us-Salam’, 1994.

“Sirat Ibn Hisham”, ‘Ibn- Hisham’, ‘Dar Ibn Al-Haytham’, 2006.