The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) kept frequenting Nur mountain, staying by himself, away from the people, and contemplating about the creation of the heavens and earth and lifting his sight to the skies. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had freed himself from being busy with worldly matters and had purified his soul after long periods of contemplation and supplication, hoping to find an answer to the questions that he had and which preoccupied him. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) hoped these answers would treat the discontentment he felt and calm his soul. This continued until his noble self was fully prepared to receive divine secrets (prophethood).
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) reached forty years of age, which is the age in which the mind becomes mature, such maturity helping the person understand matters properly. At that age, Allah (Glorified is He) honoured him with the light of prophethood, sending him to guide the people and be a light and a mercy to the world. Allah says, {O P eople of the Book! Our Messenger has come to you, making clear to you much of the Book that you have kept concealed, and passing over a lot. A Light has come to you from Allah and a Clear Book. By it, Allah guides those who follow what pleases Him to the ways of Peace. He will bring them from [all types of] darkness into light by His permission, and guide them to a straight path} [Surah Maidah: 15, 16] and {We have only sent you as a mercy to all the worlds} [Surah Al-Anbiya: 107].
The Messenger of Allah’s mission as different from the other prophet’s missions as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was sent to all mankind. Allah (Glorified is He) says, {We have sent you only as a bearer of good tidings and a warner for all mankind; yet most people do not understand} [Surah Saba: 28]. And how could this be otherwise as the Messenger of Allah’s Message was the seal of the divine Messages to the earth, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was the seal of the prophets after whom there will be no other prophet?!
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was first sent as a prophet on Monday, 11th Ramadan. Allah says, {The month of Ramadan is the one in which the Qur´an was sent down as guidance for mankind, with clear signs containing guidance and distinguishing between right and wrong} [Surah Al-Baqarah: 185]. This corresponded to August 610 C.E. At the time, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was 40 lunar years, 6 months and 12 days of age [Zaad Al-Maad (Provisions for the Hereafter), A Mercy to the Worlds and The Sealed Nectar].
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) has related for us this great news when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was first sent to guide the people: an amazing event and the most important day in the history of the world. It was the moment when revelation was sent to man, and the starting point of a prophethood that later changed the course of life.
Allah (Glorified is He) gave permission to the one in the sky, who was trustworthy when he previously brought revelation to mankind, for him to bring down this revelation to the trustworthy one on the earth, on the best place on the earth. A small number of ayahs (verses of Quran) of Allah’s Book were recited to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) at first, announcing with them the beginning of his prophethood and honouring him with the Message.
The story of when revelation was first brought down to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is reported in the books of Al-Bukhari and Muslim. «The angel came and said, ‘Read.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, ‘I cannot read.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) continued, ‘He took hold of me and pressed me so hard I could not bear it anymore, and then he released me.’ The angel said, ‘Read.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘I cannot read.’ The Messenger of Allah continued, ‘He took me again and pressed me a second time until I could not bear it anymore, and then he released me.’ The angel then said, ‘Read.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, ‘I cannot read.’ The Messenger of Allah continued, ‘Then he took me a third time and pressed me until I could not bear it anymore, and then he released me. Next he said, "{Read in the Name of your Lord and Cherisher Who has created–created man out of a leech-like clot. Read! And your Lord is Most Bountiful} [Surah Al-Alaq: 1-3].»’ So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) returned to his home with the inspiration and with his heart beating strongly until he reached Khadijah. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, «Cover me, cover me.» So Khadijah covered him and he stayed like that until his fear subsided. Then the Messenger of Allah said to Khadijah, «Khadijah, what has happened to me?» The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) then told her what had happened and said, «I fear that something may happen to me.»
The Messenger of Allah’s wife, Khadijah, who was very wise and sensible, just calmed and comforted him, saying, «Truly, by Allah, Allah (Glorified is He) will never humiliate you. You keep good relations with your relatives, assume others’ responsibilities by spending on the weak, orphans and the needy who cannot look after themselves, do more good than anyone else, are hospitable to your guests and help those afflicted by calamities’» [related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
The scholars said, "Khadijah’s words mean that bad will not happen to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) when Allah has given him good manners and noble qualities" [Nawawi’s Explanation of Muslim’s Collection of Authentic Hadiths].
Therefore, Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) brought the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Asad ibn Abdul-Uzza, who was Khadijah’s cousin, the son of her uncle on her father’s side. Waraqah had become a Christian and used to write books in Arabic as well as what Allah wanted him to write of the Bible in Arabic. He was an old man at that time who had gone blind. Khadijah said to him, "Oh uncle [Waraqah], Listen to your nephew [Muhammed]." So Waraqah said, "Oh nephew, what did you see." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) then told him what he had seen. Waraqah told him, "This is the same angel who came down to Moses. I wish I was young; I hope I will be alive when your people expel you from their city." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Will they expel me?" Waraqah said, "Yes. No man has come with what you have come with but he was treated with hostility. If I am alive that day, I will support you strongly." But Waraqah died soon afterwards. And then revelation stopped for a while, so the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) became upset.
The first revelation that came down to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and the revelation of the first few ayahs of Surah Iqra marked a change in the history of mankind, changing mankind from crooked ways and dark ages to the path of guidance and light: the straight path of Allah that leads to success in this world and the next. This is because the rules of this divine path became established on earth and its guidelines and specific features were now clearly explained so that whoever may be ruined would be ruined after knowing the truth, and whoever was guided would be guided after knowing the truth. Nothing was unclear or ambiguous. There is only misguidance after knowing the truth, and intentional deviation and deliberate betrayal. It was an unparalled event that happened at that unique moment in history, a universal event which marked a new age on this earth and signaled the end of an old one. It was a demarcation in the history of mankind, not just the history of a nation or the history of one particular generation. It was recorded by all existence, and all existence responded to it. Moreover, it was imprinted in the hearts of mankind. And such a heart is still attracted today towards this great event; it has not forgotten it. It always considers it a new birth of humanity that occurred only once in time [adapted from The Blessed Garden].
The interruption of...
The beginning of Pro...
