It was Muhammad’s صلى الله عليه و سلم habit to spend ensuing nights in cave Hira contemplating in the creation and striving in the worship of One God, the God of Ibrahim. His heart had believed in just Him and denounced all the rest that was being worshipped around him in Makkah at the time.
On one particular night, Muhammad’s صلى الله عليه و سلم trip to the cave ended differently. As he sat there alone in the dark, isolated subterrane he saw the Angel Jibrìl.
‘Read!’, he instructed. ‘I can’t read’, the unlettered Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم said. Jibrìl embraced him very, very tightly. Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم was strained. Jibrìl released him and said again: ‘Read!’ ‘I can’t read’. He embraced him for the second. This happened thrice each time the Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم saying: ‘I cannot read’. Thereafter Jibrìl said:
Read in the Name of the Lord Who created,
Created man out of a clot,
Read, and your Lord is Most Generous,
Who taught by the pen,
Taught man what he knew not
There! The first verses of the Qur’an had been revealed. And now, Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم was a Prophet; who would teach the same message as the Prophets before him and guide people to all that is good. But, he didn’t realize. He didn’t understand what had happened. Tearing out of the cave, down the mountain in the pitch dark night, Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم was terrified.
Continued in part 2.
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