Muslim Views . November 201824

SALIM PARKERTHE Cave of Hira, situatedabout 1 200 climbing steps upthe isolated Jabal Noor, was bothwithout water and vegetation –other than a few thorns – duringthe time of Nabi Muhammad(SAW).

The top of this mountain in themountainous desert used to be oneof the loneliest places back then,and the cave, which is about fourmetres long and 1, 6 metres wide,was even more isolated. It was inthis cave that our Prophet (SAW)used to seek solace. It was in thiscave where the first direct messagefrom Allah to Muhammad (SAW)was delivered.

The Prophet (SAW) first beganto have revelations in the form ofgood dreams, which later materi-alised. He appreciated the solitudeof the mountain and would go tothe Cave of Hira and meditatethere several days and nights.After his seclusion, he would re-turn to Makkah and circumambu-late the Kaabah seven times beforeheading home.

Some years, he would stay forextended periods (some say up toa month) and would take ade-quate provisions with him. Hewould, on occasion, return to hishome and his wife, Khadija (RA),would ensure that he was wellstocked before he returned to thecave.

This was his practice untilTruth was revealed to him by anangel while he was in this very

cave. The Quran tells us that thefirst revelation descended in Ra-madaan, on the ‘Night of Power’(Lailatul Qadr).

The Quran states: ‘Ramadaanis the month in which the Quranwas revealed.’ (2:185) and ‘Wehave indeed revealed this messageduring the Night of Power.’ (97:1)

On that night, according toBukhari, the angel Jibreel came toNabi Muhammad (SAW) andasked him to read. The Prophet(SAW) replied: ‘I do not knowhow to read.’

Nabi Muhammad (SAW) thenrelated: ‘The angel caught me[forcefully] and pressed me sohard that I could not bear it anymore. He then released me andagain asked me to read and Ireplied: “I do not know how toread.”

‘So he caught me again andpressed me a second time till Icould not bear it any more. Hethen released me and again askedme to read but again I replied: “Ido not know how to read.” So hecaught me for the third time andpressed me, and then released me.’

Jibreel then said: ‘Read in thename of your Lord, the Creator.He who created man from a clot.Read! And your Lord is the MostBounteous. Who taught by thepen, taught man what he knewnot.’ (96:1-5)

This day heralded the first dayof his prophethood and these werethe first verses of the Quran re-vealed to him, though there aresome scholars who disagree. He

recited these words after Jibreel,who then departed. Nabi Muham-mad (SAW) said: ‘It was as thoughthe words were written on myheart.’

He was extremely shaken bythe experience and feared that hehad become possessed. TheProphet (SAW) fled from the cave.When He was about halfwaydown the slope of Jabal Noor, heheard a voice saying: ‘O Muham-mad, you are the Messenger ofAllah, and I am Jibreel (Gabriel).’

The Prophet (SAW) stood gaz-ing at Jibreel and tried to turnaway from him. However,whichever way he looked, Jibreelwas always there on the horizon.It did not matter which way hefaced, Jibreel was there until, fi-nally, he left.

The Prophet (SAW) was terri-fied and his heart was pounding

hard. He returned home toKhadija (RA) and said: ‘Cover meand pour cold water over me!’Khadija covered him and helpedhim calm down.

He then told her everythingthat had happened. ‘I fear thatsomething may happen to me,’ Hesaid, fearing that he might be pos-sessed.

Khadija replied: ‘Never! ByAllah, Allah will never disgraceyou. You keep good relations withyour kith and kin, carry the weak,help the poor, serve your guestsgenerously and assist the calamity-afflicted ones.’

The following verses were thenrevealed: ‘O you who are wrappedup! Arise and warn! And yourLord do magnify.’ (74:1-3)

Khadija knew that Allah wouldnot humiliate Muhammad (SAW)because of his virtues of honesty,

justice and helping the poor. Shewas the first person to believe him.She immediately went to see heruncle, Waraqa, who was a biblicalscholar.

After listening to the account ofher husband’s experience, Waraqarecognised him from the prophe-cies of the Bible to be the awaitedprophet. According to Bukhari, heconfirmed that what had appearedto him in the cave was indeed theangel Jibreel, the Angel of Revela-tion: ‘This is the Keeper of Secrets(Jibreel) who came to Moses.’

The Cave of Hira was whereNabi Muhammad (SAW) was re-vealed to be the future prophet. Itis reported that there was one oc-casion when he and the Compan-ions were in the cave and JabalNoor shook. On another occasionthe Prophet (SAW) was in contactwith jinn on the mountain.

The Cave of Hira: the site of first revelation

The Cave of Hira with Makkah in the background. Here we get some idea of howfar Nabi Muhammad (SAW) went to spend time in seclusion in the Cave of Hira,on Jabal Noor, about three kilometres from Makkah. Nabi Muhammad (SAW)spent many days in the cave before he received the first revelation.

Photo SALIM PARKER

A close-up of pilgrims queuing to get into the narrow Cave of Hira, on Jabal Noor, where Nabi Muhammad (SAW) receivedthe first revelations of the Quran. Photo SALIM PARKER