610 CE / The First Revelations.
1st Year of Prophethood
EVENTS
Important events and incidences that took place
The Prophet would, on many occasions, retreat to a state of seclusion in the mountains around the Ka’bah which would often serve as a source of comfort from the disturbing things he would witness living amongst his pagan neighbours. Here he would contemplate on the metaphysical and worship God in imitation of his forefather Abraham, hoping that the Makkans would see the faults of their ways.
The commencement of Divine inspiration began six months before his fortieth birthday. It began in the form of dreams and visions which would come true the following day, and this lasted a total of six months. It was even before this that the Prophet began to long for seclusion. He would retreat to a nearby cave named Hira for periods of time taking with him light provisions.
Then one day whilst in a state of meditation, he realised that he wasn’t alone. Looking up, he saw a bright light; an angel had come to him ordering him to read. The Prophet replied alarmed, “I do not know how to read.”
Already startled by the presence of the angel, he attempted to make sense of the situation but before his thoughts could gather, the angel took hold of him powerfully, gripping him tightly, with unbearable force. The Prophet, reaching the point where he felt his body could endure no more, was released and ordered to read again, but replied, “I do not know how to read.”
Thereupon the angel clutched at his warping body and then released him and again asked him to read. But the Prophet had nothing to say except the truth, “I do not know how to read.”
On the third and final ordeal the angel released the Prophet saying,
“Recite in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a blood clot. Recite; and your Lord is the Most Generous. He who taught by the pen, taught man what he did not know”
This new Messenger of God, being startled by the incident, stumbled out of the cave with his heart thumping causing his chest to shake and his eyes unable to focus. Fear had gripped him and he began to wonder whether this had been some sort of hallucination but everywhere he looked on the horizon, the angel would appear before him.
Feeling as though he was one smitten with madness, he returned home stumbling down the mountain with sweat pouring down his head. His legs shook uncontrollably and his body quivered out of fright. Upon reaching his house, his wife Khadijah received him as he staggered into his abode saying, “Cover me! Cover me!”
She wrapped him up until the state of terror had left him and then he described to Khadijah everything that had happened saying, “I fear for myself.”
Khadijah replied words undeniably comforting to his heart, ‘No, by God, God would never bring disgrace upon you. You maintain ties of kinship, bear people’s burdens, help the destitute, give hospitality to your guests and help those who have been afflicted by calamities.’
Seeing the despair of her husband, Khadijah was quite understandably taken aback. So in seeking counsel, she went with Muhammad to Waraqah ibn Nawfal, her blind and old cousin who was a devout Christian. Khadijah said to Waraqah, “Cousin! Listen to your nephew” at which point he said, “Nephew, what have you seen?” The Prophet described to him everything he had seen. Waraqah then said to him, “This is the Namus [Gabriel] which God sent to Moses. I wish that I were still young. I wish I might still be alive when your people drive you out!”
The Messenger of God asked, “Will they drive me out?” He said, “Yes, no man has brought anything similar to what you have brought without being treated with hostility. If I am still alive on that day, I will give you my strong support.”
However, shortly thereafter Waraqah passed away. The reassurances from Khadijah and Waraqah were followed by a reassurance from Heaven in the form of a second revelation after which there was a period of silence. During that period, the Prophet began to fear that he had incurred the displeasure of God because the revelation had stopped. Then at last the silence was broken, and there came further reassurance.
LESSONS & WISDOMS
610 CE / The First Revelations
A closer look at the events; in search of deeper meanings and drawing lessons
Ramadan was the traditional month of retreat, and it was one night towards the end of Ramadan, in his fortieth year, when he was alone in the cave, that there came to him an Angel in the form of a man.This momentous incident was the first meeting between the archangel Gabriel and Muhummed. We can scarcely perceive just how important it was, the following lessons and wisdoms can be deduced:
1) This meeting was a great honoring of mankind by God, the all Mighty. He, from the seven heavens, chose the best of His servants on earth to receive divine inspiration in the holiest of months and in the most sacred of all lands. The mere fact that a human being was chosen over all other creatures, including the Jinn and Angels, is a true sign of honor and blessing given exclusively to them. Such blessings indicate the great responsibility on part of the believers to call humanity to guidance.
2) The significance of the pen, the importance of knowledge in nurturing humanity, man’s quest for knowledge; are all present in this first revelation which began with the word ‘read’. The encouragement of seeking knowledge is a reoccurring theme in the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet, may peace and blessings be upon him. Islam makes a clear differentiation between useful and unproductive knowledge. The former is believed to be true knowledge as it brings about a wholesome change in ones actions and deeds.
3) The intense and overwhelming process through which the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, received revelation from God illustrates the weightiness of the message he would later be asked to call mankind to. It also probes the Muslim community to reflect on the tremendous sacrifice made by the early believers, through which the religion of Islam reached them.
4) The manner in which Muhammad would seclude himself to the cave of Hira and spend time alone was not something he continued to do after prophethood. However, the notion of portioning some of ones times for seclusion carried through into the Islamic tradition with the prescription of tahajjud salah, the supererogatory nightly prayers. In the depths of the night the prophet would regularly stand for prayer to find solace with his Lord.
EDICTS & RULINGS
610 CE / The First Revelations
Revelation and rulings particular to this year
The first five verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet and can be found in the 96th chapter:
Recite: In the Name of your Lord who created
created man from clots of blood.
Recite: And your Lord is the Most Generous,
He who taught by the pen,
taught man what he did not know.
After the first messages had come there was a period of silence, until the Prophet began to fear that he had incurred in some way the displeasure of God; then at last the silence was broken with the Quranic chapter ad-Duha:
By the morning brightness
and the night when it is still,
your Lord has not abandoned you nor does He hate you.
The Last will be better for you than the First.
Your Lord will soon give to you and you will be satisfied.
***
The Quranic chapter al-Qalam is undoubtedly one of the oldest parts of the Quran. It begins with the words “Consider the pen, and all that they write”, where the ‘pen’ is meant to refer to the first revelation, namely the first five verses of al-Alaq, and thus to stress the Prophethood of Muhammad.
CONTENTIOUS NARRATIVES
610 CE / The First Revelations
Was Muhammad Really Divinely Inspired?
“He frowned and turned away,
Because there came to him the blind man,
And how can you know that he might become pure (from sins)?
Or he might receive admonition, and the admonition might profit him,
As for him who thinks himself self-sufficient,
To him you attend;
What does it matter to you if he will not become pure (from disbelief)?
But as to him who came to you running,
And is afraid (of God and His wrath),
Of him you are neglectful and divert your attention to another”
It may be somewhat surprising to someone who isn’t very familiar with Islam to find that these lines from the Quran are correcting none other than the prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam). The Quran is a communication from the Creator, God Almighty, to Muhammad and this shows the complete integrity that the Great Prophet had in transmitting the message from God to mankind even if it contained his own criticism. This criticism is even more astounding given the details of the incident.
The Prophet was in the midst of a meeting with one of the leaders of his tribe trying to convince him to leave polytheism and to come to the worship of God, the creator and originator of the universe. While he was speaking in direct conversation with him, Ibn Umm Maktum came to the Prophet, and then began asking the Prophet about a matter, urgently beseeching him. In a tribal society, if the chieftains and nobles accept a matter then the rest of the clan follow suit, hence the Prophet’s zeal in wanting to finish off his conversation. Ibn Umm Maktum had already embraced Islam so the Prophet asked him to wait for a moment so he could complete his conversation. He frowned in the face of Ibn Umm Maktum and turned away from him in order to face the other man.
Being blind, Ibn Umm Maktum didn’t even notice what had happened yet the Quran reprimanded him for something that no-one would have blamed the Prophet for doing. This is not the only incident that the Prophet’s actions were questioned. If the Quran was written by Muhammad, then why would he criticise his own actions?
It is a universally accepted fact that the Prophet was considered totally and utterly trustworthy by his friends and foes alike. Before he received revelation, he was known as Al-Sadiq (The Truthful One) and Al-Amin (The Trustworthy One). People used to leave their belongings and valuables with him and he was known never to have told a lie.
Yet when Muhammad was called by God to take the mantle of prophethood and call the pagan Arabs to the worship of Himself alone, superstitious and distorted tradition as well as the intoxication of power was too much for the Quraysh tribe to give up for a more just and sensible religion. A propaganda campaign then ensued where Muhammad was accused of being mad, bewitched or seeking power and authority by his fellow tribesmen. As for the first two accusations, Muhammad showed no symptoms of such conditions even according to modern medicine. As for seeking any leadership or any other worldly benefit, in a desperate attempt to preserve their religion, the leaders of Quraysh offered him women, leadership and medicine yet the Noble Prophet declined all of this staying true to his divinely inspired mission.
It may be postulated that perhaps Muhammad was sincere but perhaps deluded. However, he remained devoutly focus on his Call for pure monotheism even at times of personal tribulation. For instance, the death of the Prophet’s son coincided with an eclipse which led his followers to think this was a sign from God. Upon hearing this Muhammad is reported as saying “The sun and the moon are signs of God. They are eclipsed neither for the death nor birth of any man. On beholding an eclipse, therefore, remember God and turn to Him in prayer.”
The Quran also has discussed matters that no human being could have known at the time Muhammad lived such as embryonic development to microscopic detail and also geological phenomena such as mountains being built on stake-like structures. Muhammad also taught and implemented a holistic and comprehensive way of life for mankind thereby showing the miraculous nature of the Quran with its practical application in all times and places.
However, the greatest miracle of the Quran is the fact that despite Muhammad being illiterate the style, accuracy and eloquence of its language could not be bettered by any of the Arabs who were known for their extreme love and obsession with Arabic poetry. The Quran challenged them to bring one chapter like it but the pagans did not even attempt to do this. A number of reports show that key people of Quraysh would try and listen to the recitation of the Quran secretly out of intrigue and fascination.
Even after Muhammad and his followers ruled over a number of territories, he still insisted on a simple and meagre lifestyle re-iterating and enforcing the only possible conclusion, that he was a divinely-inspired messenger from God.
To quote W. Montgomery Watt: “His readiness to undergo persecutions for his beliefs, the high moral character of the men who believed in him and looked up to him as leader, and the greatness of his ultimate achievement – all argue his fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems than it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad.”