Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated: The first revelation
1 that came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was a true dream in sleep. He never saw a dream but that it came
2 like the break of dawn. Then, solitude
3 was made dear to him, and he would seclude himself in the cave of Hira, engaging in worship
4 for several nights
5 before returning
6 to his family and taking provisions for that. Then he would return to Khadija and take provisions for the same until the truth came to him while he was in the cave of Hira. An angel came to him and said: “Read.” He said: “I am not a reader
7.” He said: “He took me and pressed me
8 until I was exhausted, then released me and said: ‘Read.’ I said: ‘I am not a reader.’ He took me and pressed me a second time until I was exhausted, then released me and said: ‘Read.’ I said: ‘I am not a reader.’ He took me and pressed me a third time until I was exhausted, then released me and said: ‘Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clot. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous, who taught by the pen, taught man what he knew not’ [Al-Alaq: 1-5].” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) returned
9 with it, his heart trembling, and went to Khadija, saying: “Cover me, cover me.” They covered him until his fear subsided. He said to Khadija, informing her of the event: “I feared for myself.” Khadija said: “Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You maintain family ties, speak truthfully, bear the burdens
10 of others, earn for the destitute
11, host guests, and assist in calamities of truth
12.” Then Khadija took him to Waraqa ibn Nawfal, her cousin, and said to him: “O cousin, listen
13 to your nephew.” Waraqa said to him: “O nephew, what do you see?” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) informed him of what he saw. Waraqa said: “This is the Namus that Allah sent to Moses. Would that I were young in this time, would that I were alive when your people expel you!” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Will they expel me?” He said: “Yes, no man has ever brought what you bring without being opposed. If I live to see your day, I will support you strongly.” Soon after, Waraqa passed away, and the revelation paused. [Agreed Upon]
Bukhari added: Until the Prophet (ﷺ) was saddened, as we were told
14, with such grief that he went several times to throw himself from the peaks of high mountains. Each time he reached the summit to cast himself down, Jibril appeared to him and said: “O Muhammad! You are truly the Messenger of Allah.” His heart would calm, and his soul would settle. The author of Ad-Durr Al-Mukhtar said: Was the Prophet (ﷺ) before his mission worshiping according to any Sharia? The chosen opinion
15 among us is no; rather, he acted upon what was revealed to him through true unveiling from the Sharia of Ibrahim and others. His worship in Hira was valid. (As stated in Bahr) In Al-Mirqat: The Hanafis used this Hadith to argue that Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim is not part of the Qur’an at the start of chapters, as it was not mentioned here.
Commentary and footnotes (5)
Chapter-heading commentary
(1) His statement: “the Prophetic Mission”: a verbal noun meaning sending, as mentioned by Ibn Al-Malik. The term “mission” is likely chosen, like others, as it encompasses time, place, and the nature of the original act. Allah knows best. His statement: “the Beginning”: Al-Asqalani said in Fath Al-Bari: Qadi Iyad said: “Beginning” is narrated with a hamza and sukun on the dal, meaning commencement, or without a hamza, with a damma on the dal and stressed waw, meaning appearance. I say: I have not seen it specified in any narrations that reached us, except that some include “how the revelation began,” favoring the first. This is what we heard from the scholars. His statement: “Revelation”: linguistically means subtle communication. It is said: Its root is understanding, as in Allah’s statement: “And your Lord inspired the bee” [An-Nahl: 68]. In Islamic law, it is the communication of the Sharia, sometimes referring to the revealed words, i.e., Allah’s speech sent to one of His prophets. (As stated in Al-Mirqat)
Note 1
(1) His statement: “was sent”: in the passive, meaning he was made a messenger to creation. His statement: “at the age of forty”: meaning upon completing this period. At-Tibi said: The lam denotes time. His statement: “passed away at the age of sixty-three”: this is the correct view. It is also said sixty-five, as will come from Ibn Abbas, including the years of birth and death. It is also said sixty, as will come from Anas, excluding fractions. (As stated in Al-Mirqat)
Chapter-heading commentary
(۱) قوله: المبعث هو مصدر ميمي بمعنى البعث من بَعَثَ إذا أرسل ، ذكره ابن الملك. ولعل اختياره كغيره معنى المصدر في المبعث لاشتماله على الزمان والمكان أيضًا مع الدلالة على كيفية أصل الفعل، والله أعلم. وقوله: «البدء» قال العسقلاني في فتح الباري : قال عياض: روي البدء بالهمزة وسكون الدال من الابتداء وبغير همز مع ضم الدال و تشديد الواو من الظهور. قلت: ولم أره مضبوطا في شيء من الروايات التي اتصلت بنا، إلا أنه وقع في بعضها كيف كان ابتداء الوحي، فهذا يرجح الأول، وهو الذي سمعناه من أفواه المشايخ. وقوله: «الوحي» لغة الإعلام في خفاء. وقيل : أصله التفهم، ومنه، وقوله تعالى: ﴿وَأَوْحَى رَبُّكَ إِلَى النَّحْلِ ﴾ (النحل : ٦٨) . وشرعا هو الإعلام بالشرع، وقد يطلق ویراد به اسم المفعول، أي الموحى، وهو كلام الله المنزل على نبي من أنبيائه. كذا في «المرقاة».
Note 1
(۱) قوله : بعث بصيغة المجهول، أي جعل مبعوثا إلى الخلق بالرسالة. وقوله: الأربعين سنة» أي وقت إتمام هذه المدة. قال الطيبي : اللام فيه بمعنى الوقت. وقوله: مات وهو ابن ثلاث وستين سنة وهذا هو الصحيح وقيل: ابن خمس وستين، كما سيأتي عن ابن عباس أيضًا بإدخال سنتي الولادة والوفاة. وقيل: ابن ستين، كما سيأتي عن أنس بإلغاء الكسر. كذا في «المرقاة».
Note 1
(2) قولہ: بُعِثَ۔ صیغہ ماضی مجہول ہے یعنی آپ شان رسالت کے ساتھ خلوق کی طرف بھیجے گئے۔ ”وقولہ: لاربعين سنة“ (چالیس سال کی عمر میں) علامہ طیبی نے فرمایا: اس میں ”لام“ وقت کے معنی میں ہے یعنی چالیس سال کی مدت مکمل ہونے کے وقت۔ وقولہ مات وهو ابن ثلاث وستين سنة (63) سال کی عمر میں آپ کا وصال ہوا) یہی بات صحیح ہے، اور ایک قول پینسٹھ(65) سال کا ہے جیسا کہ آگے آنے والی حضرت ابن عباس رضی (حاشیہ پچھلے صفحہ سے) اللہ تعالیٰ عنہما کی روایت میں مذکور ہے اس میں ولادت مبارکہ اور وصال مبارک کے دونوں سالوں کو شمار کیا گیا ہے۔ اور ایک قول میں (60) ساٹھ سال ہے جیسا کہ حضرت انس رضی اللہ عنہ کی روایت میں ہے اس میں کسر کو حذف کر دیا گیا ہے۔(مرقات)۔