Hazrat Muhammad (S. A. W.) grew up under the care of his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, who was in charge of the temple Ka’ba. Throughout his day Abdul Muttalib would be in front of the Ka’ba with his favored grandson Muhammad (S. A. W.). In this way Hazrat Muhammad (S. A. W.) picked up different religious traditions off the Meccans. He grew up to be a devotee of goddess Al-Uzza. The Apostle of God once mentioned Al-Uzza, saying: “I have offered a white sheep to Al-Uzza, while I was a follower of the religion of my people.” (71, p. 17) But gradually Hazrat Muhammad (S. A. W.) began to realize the distortions in the religious practices of his countrymen. He was attracted to the religious activities of the Hunafas and after some years of cultivation he also came to be known as a Hanif. It was his practice to retire from his family to a cave in the desert for meditation for a period of one month every year. (168, p. 3) His place of retreat was Hira, a desert hill not far from Mecca, and his chosen month was Ramazan (December), the month of heat. It was there, one night towards the end of his stay, that the first revelation came to him when he was forty years old. (95, p. 4) This happened on the seventeenth day of Ramazan month (22nd of December, 610), that date is since named Al-Gadir, “Night of Power”.
Hazrat Muhammad was asleep when he heard a voice calling him. When he opened his eyes he saw a bright dazzling light and fell unconscious. (74, p. 38) When he regained consciousness he saw an angel in the likeness of a man, carrying a written document enveloped in precious silk. The angel said, “Read!” He replied, “I cannot read”. Indeed he was illiterate. The angel placed the document on his chest. Hazrat Muhammad felt as if a mountain had fallen upon him and thought that he would die of suffocation. Then, the angel lifted the document and repeated, “Read!” He replied, “I cannot read” and again the angel pressed him even stronger than before. A third time the angel commanded in a more terrible voice, “Read!”
“What have I to read?”
The angel said:
“Read: In the name of your Lord Who created,
Created man from a clot.
Read: Your Lord is Most Bountiful,
Who taught by the pen,
Taught man that which he knew not.”
(Qur’an 96.1-5)
Hazrat Muhammad submissively repeated the words and they remained “as if inscribed in his heart”. He went out of the cave, onto the hillside and heard the same awe-inspiring voice say, “O Muhammad! You are Allah’s messenger and I am Gabriel.” Then he raised his eyes and saw the angel standing in the sky above the horizon and again the dreadful voice said, “O Muhammad! You are Allah’s messenger and I am Gabriel.” Hazrat Muhammad stood still. Due to the brightness of the light he turned his face away, but whichever direction he would turn his face, the angel always stood there confronting him. He remained standing there for a long time until the angel vanished. (95, p. 5)
Thus the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) received the first revelation of the Holy Qur’an and was appointed as a messenger of God. Later on he received more and more revelations and finally Al-Qur’an was compiled in the shape of this sacred book. There are a number of scholars who doubt the authenticity of the Holy Qur’an and the way in which the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) received the Qur’anic revelations. They deny that Al-Qur’an is a revealed scripture; however, a closer look at the historic record of Qur’anic revelations and compilation of the Holy Qur’an affords one a clear view of the authentic nature of the Holy Qur’an. Now, how has the Holy Qur’an come to be in our midst? Let us explore.
Hazrat Muhammad was asleep when he heard a voice calling him. When he opened his eyes he saw a bright dazzling light and fell unconscious. (74, p. 38) When he regained consciousness he saw an angel in the likeness of a man, carrying a written document enveloped in precious silk. The angel said, “Read!” He replied, “I cannot read”. Indeed he was illiterate. The angel placed the document on his chest. Hazrat Muhammad felt as if a mountain had fallen upon him and thought that he would die of suffocation. Then, the angel lifted the document and repeated, “Read!” He replied, “I cannot read” and again the angel pressed him even stronger than before. A third time the angel commanded in a more terrible voice, “Read!”
“What have I to read?”
The angel said:
“Read: In the name of your Lord Who created,
Created man from a clot.
Read: Your Lord is Most Bountiful,
Who taught by the pen,
Taught man that which he knew not.”
(Qur’an 96.1-5)
Hazrat Muhammad submissively repeated the words and they remained “as if inscribed in his heart”. He went out of the cave, onto the hillside and heard the same awe-inspiring voice say, “O Muhammad! You are Allah’s messenger and I am Gabriel.” Then he raised his eyes and saw the angel standing in the sky above the horizon and again the dreadful voice said, “O Muhammad! You are Allah’s messenger and I am Gabriel.” Hazrat Muhammad stood still. Due to the brightness of the light he turned his face away, but whichever direction he would turn his face, the angel always stood there confronting him. He remained standing there for a long time until the angel vanished. (95, p. 5)
Thus the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) received the first revelation of the Holy Qur’an and was appointed as a messenger of God. Later on he received more and more revelations and finally Al-Qur’an was compiled in the shape of this sacred book. There are a number of scholars who doubt the authenticity of the Holy Qur’an and the way in which the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) received the Qur’anic revelations. They deny that Al-Qur’an is a revealed scripture; however, a closer look at the historic record of Qur’anic revelations and compilation of the Holy Qur’an affords one a clear view of the authentic nature of the Holy Qur’an. Now, how has the Holy Qur’an come to be in our midst? Let us explore.
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