FIRST REVELATION
Some says“The Messenger of God commenced his mission when he was aged forty.”
“some others say that he became a prophet when he was aged fortythree”
First Revelation of the Qur'an
Abu Ja`far (al-Tabari): “There is no dispute among the scholars on the above (Monday) point. There is however a dispute as to which Monday
this was. Some say that the Qur'an was revealed to the Messenger God on the eighteenth of
Ramadan.”
“Others say that it was revealed on the twenty-fourth of Ramadan.”
“Others say that it was revealed on the seventeenth of Ramadan.”
The Messenger of God used to spend this month in every year in
religious retreat, feeding the poor who came to him. When he had
completed his month of retreat the first thing which he would do
on leaving, even before going home, was to circumambulate the
Ka`bah seven times, or however many times God willed; then he
would go home.
When the month came in which God willed to ennoble him, in
the year in which God made him his Messenger, this being the
month of Ramadan, the Messenger of God went out as usual to
Hira' accompanied by his family. When the night came on which God ennobled him by making him his Messenger and thereby showed mercy to his servants, Gabriel brought him the command
of God. The Messenger of God said,
Gabriel came to me as I was sleeping with a brocade cloth in which was writing. He said,
"Recite!“ and I said, "I cannot recite.‘’ He pressed me tight and almost
stifled me, until I thought that I should die.
Then he let me go, and said, "Recite!" I said,
"What shall I recite?'' only saying that in order to free myself from him, fearing that he might repeat
what he had done to me. He said:
Recite in the name of your Lord who creates! He creates man from a clot of blood. Recite: And your Lord is the Most Bountiful, He who teaches by the pen, teaches man what he
knew not.
I recited it, and then he desisted and departed. I woke up, and it
was as though these words had been written on my heart.
There
was no one of God's creation more hateful to me than a poet or
a madman; I could not bear to look at either of them. I said to
myself, "Your humble servant (meaning himself) is either a poet
or a madman, but Quraysh shall never say this of me. I shall
take myself to a mountain crag, hurl myself down from it, kill
myself, and find relief in that way."
I went out intending to do that, but when I
was halfway up the mountain I heard a voice from heaven saying, "O Muhammad, you are the Messenger of God, and I am Gabriel." I raised my head to heaven, and there was Gabriel in the form of a man with his
feet set on the horizon, saying, "O
Muhammad, you are the Messengerof God
and I am Gabriel."
When I came to Khadijah, I sat down with my thigh
next to hers, and she said to me, "Abu al-Qasim, where have you been? I sent messengers to look for you all the way to Mecca and back." I said to her, "I am either a poet or a madman," but she answered, "May God save you from that, Abu al- Qasim! God would not do that to you, considering what I know of your truthfulness, your great
trustworthiness, your good character, and your
good treatment of your kinsfolk.
Then she rose up, gathered her garments
around her, and went to Waraqah b. Nawfal b. Asad, who was her
paternal cousin. He had become a Christian, read the Scriptures,
and learned from the people of the Torah and the Gospel. She told
him what the Messenger of God had told her that he had seen
and heard. Waraqah said, "Holy, Holy! By Him in whose hand is
the soul of Waraqah, if what you say is true, Khadijah, there has
come to him the greatest Namusmeaning by Namus, Gabriel
he who came to Moses (That means that) Muhammad is the
prophet of this community. Tell him to stand firm."
610 first revelation
613 begining of public preaching
614 entry into the House of al-Arqam
615 emigration to Abyssinia
616 boycott of Hashim
619 end of the boycott; deaths of Khadijah and Abu Talib; journey to at-Ta’if
620 first Medinan converts
621 first convention of Aqabah
