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The Holy Prophet (ﷺ), as he approached the age of forty, began to have certain spiritual experiences and would visit frequently a cave in the mount of Hira (near Makkah) to spend hours in meditation and worship. He would think about his Lord and the corrupt Makkan society. One night, popularly believed to be the 27th of Ramadan, 610 AD, as he was meditating in the cave of Hira, the Archangel Jibril came to him in the form of a man.
Then the following dialogue took place between them. Jibril said, "Read". Muhammad replied, "I cannot read." He then squeezed the Holy Prophet's chest hard, and said again, "Read." The reply was the same. Again Jibril squeezed his chest and asked him to read, and the Holy Prophet's reply was the same. The Holy Prophet (ﷺ) later said that Jibril squeezed him so hard that he felt as if his ribcage would collapse.
When asked to "read" for the third time, the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) asked him, "What shall I read?” Now Jibril recited the first five verses of Surah al-Alaq, which the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) repeated after him: "Read in the name of your Lord Who, created. Created man out of a clot of congealed blood: Read and your Lord is most Bountiful He Who taught (the use of) the Pen, Taught man that which he knew not." (96:1-5) The Holy Prophet (ﷺ) was shocked. Such was the spiritual weight (pressure) of this revelation that he felt his very soul burdened by these words. Now he left the cave and proceeded to his house. On the way down from the mountain, he heard Jibril call out to him,
"I am Jibril, the angel of Allah, and you are Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah."
This time Jibril was in his true form, with his feet on the earth, head in the sky, and wingtips touching the east and the west. This added to the Holy Prophet's state of shock and he rushed home to his wife, saying, "Cover me! Cover me!”
It is said that contact with the supernatural, is like
receiving a bolt of electrical energy. When he felt better, he related this
account to Khadija. She had always known that the man she had married was no
ordinary mortal. Not only was his character and personality extraordinary, but
also there was a spiritual presence about him that was noticed by all those
around.
She consoled him with the historic words: “be of good cheer, dear cousin, for by Him Who has dominion over Khadija's soul, I do hope that you are the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) of this nation. Allah would never humiliate you. You are good to your relatives, true to your word, you aid the needy, you support the weak, and you respond to the call of the distressed". The Holy Prophet (ﷺ) was reassured by these words and fell asleep.
