THE REVELATION OF THE
QUR'AN, HOW DID IT START?
It was this man Muhammad (pbuh) whom Allah chose to
be the His last Prophet and Messenger to all people. He was illiterate as such
was unable to read or write. His parents died when he was a child and passed
his childhood as a shepherd and when he grew up he would spend many hours in
seclusion in the cave of Hira on a mountain near Mecca.
It is reported in Sahih of al Bukhari (the
collection of the Traditions of the Prophet) that sometimes he would stay in
the cave for hours and sometimes for days contemplating about the creation
surrounding him. This was similar to what other prophets like Abraham, Moses
and Jesus did. He continued this practice, until one night Allah sent His Angel
Gabriel to him and asked him to read. Muhammad (pbuh) replied "I do not
know how to read". The Angel forced him to read again, and Muhammad (pbuh)
replied "I do not know how to read". The Angel forced and insisted
him to read the third time and Muhammad replied "I do not know how to
read' (or what shall I read?). The Angel replied:
"Read in the name of your Lord who created
...". This is referred to (Surah 96 Verses 1-3) which was the first
revelation, it reads:
"Proclaim! (or Read!) In the name of thy
Lord and Cherisher Who created. Created man out of a (mere) Leech-Like clot;
Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful." (96:1-3)
The first revelation was received after he completed
40 years of his life. This formed the basis of his Prophet hood. After the
first revelation, there was a couple of days before the second revelation when
the Angel Gabriel descended again and revealed to Muhammad (PBUH) the following
verse:
"O thou wrapped up (in a mantle)!"
(74:1)
From here on the revelation of Allah came regularly,
until the whole Qur'anic revelation was completed, which took almost 23 years.
Every word revealed to Muhammad (pbuh) through Angel Gabriel were Verbatim
Words of Allah.
The revelation to Muhammad (pbuh) is not unique -
Allah had revealed his message to humankind through his chosen prophets and
messengers since the beginning of Man (Adam). Whenever He willed to guide a
group of people He choose His messengers and revealed His message through them,
as testified in the Qur'an:
"We have sent thee inspiration as We
sent it to Noah and the Messengers after him; We sent inspiration to Abraham,
Ishmail, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron and Solomon
and to David We gave the Psalms." (4:163)
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