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Chapter
01:
How Divine Revelation came to the Holy Prophet (Hadith --
The Traditions):
(Note:
The superscript-numbers [e.g., intention2]
that
appear in the text [in
pink]
refer to the numbers of the explanatory footnotes that
appear at the end of each Hadith
[Tradition].)
11
`Umar ibn al-Khattab said,
I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah
be on him, say:
"Actions shall be judged only
by intention2,
and a man shall have what he intends; so whoever flies
from his home3
for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, his flight shall
be accounted for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, and
whoever flies from his home for the sake of worldly gain
which he aims to attain or a woman whom he wants to
marry, his flight shall be accounted for that for which
he flies." (B. 83 : 23; 1 : 1)
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1
Bukhari opens his Jami' with the hadith that
follows here, and it is the first hadith of the
chapter entitled The Beginning of
Revelation. But, as the subject matter of the
hadith shows, it does not really relate to this
chapter; it is in fact a sort of introduction to
the Collection itself. It is a very appropriate
introduction indeed, for it shows not only the
sincerity of purpose of the author but also warns
the reader that the good and noble deeds to which
he is guided by the sayings and deeds of the
Prophet, will prosper only if there is sincerity of
purpose beneath them.
2
By a`mal (pl. of `amal) are meant the
good and noble deeds to which the Holy Prophet
invited. The best of deeds would be worthless if
the motives were not sincere. Sincerity thus
occupies the first place in the moral development
of a Muslim.
3
The original word is hijrah which literally
means forsaking someone or flying
from a place or giving up low desires, evil
tendencies or bad morals, and is specially used of
the historic flight of the Holy Prophet from Makkah
to Madinah, which has become the starting-point of
the Muslim era. The Muslim had to fly from Makkah
because they did not enjoy freedom of conscience
there and were persecuted on account of their
religious convictions. Hijrah has thus
become synonymous with the forsaking of worldly
relations, comforts and possessions and undergoing
the severest hardships for the sake of one's
convictions.
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2
`A'ishah said:
The first revelation that was granted to the Messenger of
Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, was the true
dream in a state of sleep,4
so that he never dreamed a dream but the truth of it shone
forth like the dawn of the morning. Then solitude became
dear to him and he used to seclude himself in the cave of
Hira',5
and therein he devoted himself to Divine worship for several
nights before he came back to his family and took provisions
for this (retirement); then he would return to
Khadijah6
and take (more) provisions for a similar (period), until the
Truth7
came to him while he was in the cave of Hira'; so the angel
(Gabriel) came to him and said, Read. He (the Prophet) said,
"I said I am not one who can read." And he continued : "Then
he (the angel) took hold of me and he pressed me so hard
that I could not bear it any more, and then he let me go and
said, Read. I said, I am not one who can read. Then he took
hold me and pressed me a second time so hard that I could
not bear it any more, then he let me go again and said,
Read. I said, "I am mot one who can read." (The Prophet)
continued : "Then he took hole of me and pressed me hard for
a third time, then he let me go and said, `Read in the name
of thy Lord Who created--He created man from a clot--Read
and thy Lord is most Honourable.'"8
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, returned with this (message) while his heart trembled
and he came to Khadijah, daughter of Khuwailid, and said,
"Wrap me up, wrap me up," and she wrapped him up until the
awe left him.9
Then he said to Khadijah' while he related to her what had
happened : "I fear for myself."10
Khadijah said, Nay, By Allah, Allah will never bring thee to
disgrace, for thou unitest the ties of relationship and
bearest the burden of the weak and earnest for the destitute
and honourest the guest and helpest in real
distress.
Then Khadijah went with him until she
brought him to Waraqah ibn Naufal ibn Asad ibn `Abd
al-`Uzza, Khadijah's uncle's son, and he was a man who had
become a Christian in the time of
Ignorance,11
and he used to write the Hebrew script, and he wrote from
the Gospel in Hebrew what it pleased Allah that he should
write, and he was a very old man who had turned blind.
Khadijah said to him, O uncle's son! Listen to thy brother's
son. Waraqah said to him, My brother's son! What hast thou
seen? So the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of
Allah be on him, related to him what he had seen. Waraqah
said to him, This is the angel Gabriel whom Allah sent to
Moses;12
would that I were a young man at this time--would that I
were alive when thy people would expel thee! The Messenger
of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, said,
"Would they expel me?" He said, Yes; never has a man
appeared with the like of that which thou hast brought but
he has been held in enmity; and if thy time finds me (alive)
I shall help thee with the fullest help. After that not much
time had passed that Waraqah died, and the revelation broke
off temporarily.13
(B. 1 : 1.)
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4
A true dream is thus a kind of Divine revelation
(wahy). According to another hadith
al-ru'ya al-salihah (the true vision) is a
part of prophethood : "The Messenger of Allah said,
`nothing has remained of prophethood except
mubashshirat' (lit. good news). (The
companions) asked, 'And what is meant by
mubashshirat?' He said, 'The true dream'"
(B. 92 : 5). The dream of the believer is expressly
called a part of prophethood in B. 92 : 26. In the
Holy Qur'an also al-bushra or true visions
are promised to believers (10 : 64). Prophethood
and revelation are not therefore synonymous terms,
and while prophethood has terminated, revelation of
the first two kinds (42 : 51) will continue for
ever.
5
This cave (6 ft. by 2 ft.) lies to the north-east
of Makkah at a distance of about three miles from
the city.
6
Khadijah was the Holy Prophet's wife whom he
married when he was twenty-five years old while she
was forty, and who remained his only wife till her
death when he was fifty years of age.
7
By the Truth is meant the Spirit of Truth or the
Holy Spirit, i.e., Gabriel. He is called "the
Angel" in the words that follow. This first
appearance of Gabriel which was the beginning of
the highest form of revelation took place according
to one report on the 25th of the month of Ramadzan.
Others say it was the 17th of Ramadzan which seems
to be a mistake for the 27th, for according to the
Holy Qur'an, the first revelation came on the
lailat al-qadr which occurs on one of the
three nights of Ramadzan, 25th, 27th and 29th.
According to a report of Ibn `Abbas, the Holy
Prophet had then attained the age of forty (B. 63 :
28).
8
These are the first three verses of the 96th
chapter of the Holy Qur'an, and the first five
verses of this chapter are by consensus of opinion
the first Quranic revelation that came to the Holy
Prophet. It was after this, as appears from the
hadith that follows, that the first verses of ch.
74 were revealed.
9
The awe was due to his first experience of Divine
revelation.
10
The fear to which the Prophet gave expression was
lest he should be unable to achieve the great task
or the reformation of humanity which was imposed
upon him. Khadijah's reply clearly shows this to be
the import. If any one was equal to that great
task, Khadijah comforted him, it was he who had
already laid down his life for the service of
humanity. This also shows how well the Prophet's
life was spent even before prophethood. Neither in
this hadith nor in any other is there anything to
show that the Prophet feared that he would be
killed by the jinn or that he had become insane.
The Prophet knew for sure at the first experience
that he had been raised to the dignity of
prophethood and entrusted with the great task of
reforming humanity.
11
Pre-Islam days are called al-Jahiliyyah
(Ignorance) or ayyam al Jahiliyyah (Time of
Ignorance), as compared with the learning and light
which followed in the wake of Islam.
12
Namus means the angel Gabriel (Fr).
Namus is the person to whom the king
entrusts his secrets and by it is meant (in
hadith) the angel Gabriel whom Allah has chosen
to communicate His revelations (N). This
meaning has also been given by Bukhari himself when
repeating this hadith in B. 60 : 22. Waraqah in
fact only bore testimony to the truth of what the
Holy Prophet had stated; viz., that the Holy
Spirit (Gabriel) had come to him with a revelation
from on high. He, however, added that it was the
very angel that had come to Moses, and this was
probably a reference to the Bible prophecy that a
prophet "like unto" Moses would be raised among the
Ishmaelites (Arabs).
13
The temporary break of revelation was not very
long; certainly not longer than six months. Ibn
Ishaq's report that it lasted for three years is
belied by historical facts. Persecution had begun
and a large part of the Holy Qur'an had been
revealed, long before the expiry of three years. It
is also an established historical fact that on
account of persecution which had grown very severe
the Holy Prophet was compelled, in the fourth year
of the Call, to take shelter in the house of Arqam
and there prayers were said in congregation, and it
is a fact that the Holy Qur'an was recited in
prayers from the first.
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3
Jabir said, speaking of the temporary break in the
revelation, (The Holy Prophet) said in his
narrative:
"Whilst I was walking along,
I heard a voice from heaven and I raised up my eyes, and
lo! the Angel that had appeared to me in Hira' was
sitting on a throne between heaven and earth and I was
struck with awe on account of him and returned (home) and
said, Wrap me up, wrap me up. Then Allah revealed : `O
thou who art clothed! Arise and warn, And thy Lord do
magnify, And thy garments do purify, And uncleanness do
shun'."14
Then revelation became brisk and came
in succession.15
(B. 1 : 1.)
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14
While the previous hadith relates the Holy
Prophet's first experience of revelation, this one
speaks of his second experience. On this occasion
the first five verses of ch. 74 were revealed to
him. This portion is from the Holy Prophet's own
mouth, and therefore not the least doubt can be
entertained as to the fact that Gabriel's second
visit to him was the occasion mentioned in this
hadith. What is, therefore, added by Zuhri in B. 92
: 1 (where h. 2 is repeated) that during the break
in revelation the Holy Prophet used to go to the
tops of the mountains to throw himself down and
Gabriel appeared to him on such occasions and
comforted him that he was the true Messenger of
Allah cannot be accepted as true. This hadith makes
it clear that Gabriel was never seen by the Holy
Prophet during the break, and that when he saw him
on the second occasion, he was struck with awe as
on the first occasion. Zuhri, moreover, gives no
authority for his addition in B. 92 : 1.
15
Five short verses of ch. 96 were revealed on the
first occasion and five short verses of ch. 74 on
the second. After that, it is stated, revelation
became plentiful--the Arabic word is hamiya
which literally means became hot--and
continuous, there being no break like the break
between the first two revelations.
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4
Ibn `Abbas . . . said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, used to exert himself hard in receiving Divine
revelation and would on this account move his lips . . . so
Allah revealed:
"Move not thy tongue with it
to make haste with it. Surely on Us devolves the
collecting of it and the reciting of it." (75 : 16, 17.)
. . . . So after this when Gabriel came to him the
Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, would listen attentively, and when Gabriel departed,
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him,
recited as he (Gabriel) recited it.16
(B. 1 : 1.)
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16
This hadith shows that all revelations without any
exception were delivered to the Holy Prophet by the
angel Gabriel and that the method of their delivery
was always the same, viz., that Gabriel
first recited the revelation and the Holy Prophet
listened to it and then when Gabriel departed the
Holy Prophet recited the same words. On the first
two occasions, only five short verses were revealed
and it was not difficult for the Prophet to repeat
them; but after that, as shown in the last hadith,
revelation became plentiful, i.e., large portions
were revealed at one time, and as Gabriel began to
recite, the Holy Prophet made haste to repeat lest
any word or sentence might be lost. He was,
therefore, told not to make haste with it and to
wait until Gabriel had delivered the whole message
and then to repeat the same, being assured that it
was a Divine arrangement and that nothing would be
lost (75 : 16, 17). In another very early chapter
he was still more plainly told : "We will make thee
recite so thou shalt not forget" (87 : 6). There
are chapters--one of these containing over a
thirtieth of the Holy Qur'an--that were revealed to
him their entirety at one time, yet Gabriel recited
them once only and then the Holy Prophet repeated
them without omission of a word and ordered them to
be written down at once.
It would further appear from
this hadith that other people saw the Holy
Prophet's lips move when he received the revelation
which shows that his reception of the revelation
was not subjective but a real and external
experience.
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5
`A'ishah reported that,
Harith ibn Hisham asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, O Messenger of Allah! How does
revelation come to thee? The Messenger of Allah, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, said:
"Sometimes it comes to me
like the ringing of a bell and that is the hardest on me,
then he departs from me and I retain in memory from him
what he says; and sometimes the Angel comes to me in the
likeness of a man and speaks to me and I retain in memory
what he says."17
`A'ishah said, And I saw him when
revelation came down upon him on a severely cold day, then
it departed from him and his forehead dripped with
sweat.18
(B. 1 : 1.)
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17
The difference in the two states is one of the form
the Angel assumed. In the first case it is not
stated what likeness the Angel assumed--it was an
angelic form beyond description--and the words came
forth with the clear resonant sound of vibrating
metal; in the second case the Angel assumed the
likeness of a man and the words were uttered as one
man talks to another. That words were spoken in
both cases is clear enough from the words of the
hadith; in both cases we are told : "I retain in
memory what he says." In the first case, however,
the words `an-hu (i.e., from him)
have been added to show that it was the Angel who
spoke the words. In both cases the Holy Prophet saw
the Angel and heard the words from the Angel and
then retained them in memory; the difference was
only one of the likeness of the Angel, and
consequently, of the tone in which the words were
uttered.
18
There are many hadith showing that a real change
came over the Holy Prophet when revelation came
down upon him. Here it is stated that perspiration
ran down his brow on a severely cold day; according
to h.6, Zaid felt his thigh being crushed under the
Holy Prophet's thigh when revelation came on; h. 7
says that Ya`la saw the Holy Prophet when
revelation descended on him and "his face was red";
according to h. 8, when revelation descended on the
Holy Prophet, "he appeared distressed and a change
came over his face." All these hadith show that
whenever revelation came down upon the Holy
Prophet, whether he was in public or in private,
there was a real change which could not be assumed.
It is clear from this that though revelation came
to the Holy Prophet in a state of wakefulness, yet
there was a transition from the physical
environment to the spiritual sphere, the effect of
which was witnessed on the body. The new senses
which were required to receive the revelation
necessitated the coming of a kind of death over the
body. The story that "froth appeared before his
mouth" is a pure invention and no trace of it is to
be met with in any hadith.
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6
Zaid ibn Thabit said,
Allah sent down revelation on His Messenger, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, and his thigh was upon my
thigh and it began to make its weight felt to me so much so
that I feared that my thigh might be crushed.
(B. 8 : 12.)
7
Safwan ibn Ya`la reported that,
Ya`la said to `Umar, Show me the Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, when revelation is sent down
to him. So when the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be
on him, was in Ji`ranah19
and with him a number of his companions. . . . revelation
came to him. Thereupon `Umar made a sign to Ya`la; so Ya`la
came and over the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of
Allah be on him, was a garment with which he was covered and
he entered his head under the garment), when (he saw that)
the face of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of
Allah be on him, was red and he was
snoring;20
then that condition departed from him. (B.
25 : 17.)
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19
A place between Makkah and Ta'if.
20
The change was so
perfect that it resembled a state of sleep, though
as the hadith makes it clear, he was not asleep and
was just at that moment talking to his
companions.
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8
`Ubadah ibn al-Samit said, The Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, felt, when the revelation was
sent down upon him, like one in grief and a change came over
his face.
And according to one
report:
He hung down his head, and his
companions also hung down their heads,21
and when that state was over, he raised his head.
(M-Msh. 27 : 5.)
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21
The companions hung down their heads out of
respect.
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Top
Hadith
Section
> A
Manual of Hadith
> Chapter 01: How Divine Revelation came to the Holy
Prophet (Hadith -- The Traditions)
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