I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The reward of deeds
depends upon the intentions and every person will get the
reward according to what he has intended. So whoever
emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry,
his emigration was for what he emigrated for."
(the mother of the faithful believers) Al-Harith bin
Hisham asked Allah's Apostle "O Allah's Apostle! How is
the Divine Inspiration revealed to you?" Allah's Apostle
replied, "Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a
bell, this form of Inspiration is the hardest of all and
then this state passes ' off after I have grasped what is
inspired. Sometimes the Angel comes in the form of a man
and talks to me and I grasp whatever he says." 'Aisha
added: Verily I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on
a very cold day and noticed the Sweat dropping from his
forehead (as the Inspiration was over).
(the mother of the faithful believers) The commencement
of the Divine Inspiration to Allah's Apostle was in the
form of good dreams which came true like bright day light,
and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him. He
used to go in seclusion in the cave of Hira where he used
to worship (Allah alone) continuously for many days before
his desire to see his family. He used to take with him the
journey food for the stay and then come back to (his wife)
Khadija to take his food like-wise again till suddenly the
Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira.
The angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet
replied, "I do not know how to read.
The Prophet added, "The angel caught me (forcefully)
and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any more.
He then released me and again asked me to read and I
replied, 'I do not know how to read.' Thereupon he caught
me again and pressed me a second time till I could not
bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me
to read but again I replied, 'I do not know how to read
(or what shall I read)?' Thereupon he caught me for the
third time and pressed me, and then released me and said,
'Read in the name of your Lord, who has created (all that
exists) has created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord
is the Most Generous." (96.1, 96.2, 96.3) Then Allah's
Apostle returned with the Inspiration and with his heart
beating severely. Then he went to Khadija bint Khuwailid
and said, "Cover me! Cover me!" They covered him till his
fear was over and after that he told her everything that
had happened and said, "I fear that something may happen
to me." Khadija replied, "Never! By Allah, Allah will
never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your Kith
and kin, help the poor and the destitute, serve your
guests generously and assist the deserving
calamity-afflicted ones."
Khadija then accompanied him to her cousin Waraqa bin
Naufal bin Asad bin 'Abdul 'Uzza, who, during the
PreIslamic Period became a Christian and used to write the
writing with Hebrew letters. He would write from the
Gospel in Hebrew as much as Allah wished him to write. He
was an old man and had lost his eyesight. Khadija said to
Waraqa, "Listen to the story of your nephew, O my cousin!"
Waraqa asked, "O my nephew! What have you seen?" Allah's
Apostle described whatever he had seen. Waraqa said, "This
is the same one who keeps the secrets (angel Gabriel) whom
Allah had sent to Moses. I wish I were young and could
live up to the time when your people would turn you out."
Allah's Apostle asked, "Will they drive me out?" Waraqa
replied in the affirmative and said, "Anyone (man) who
came with something similar to what you have brought was
treated with hostility; and if I should remain alive till
the day when you will be turned out then I would support
you strongly." But after a few days Waraqa died and the
Divine Inspiration was also paused for a while.
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah Al-Ansari while talking
about the period of pause in revelation reporting the
speech of the Prophet "While I was walking, all of a
sudden I heard a voice from the sky. I looked up and saw
the same angel who had visited me at the cave of Hira'
sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I got
afraid of him and came back home and said, 'Wrap me (in
blankets).' And then Allah revealed the following Holy
Verses (of Quran):
'O you (i.e. Muhammad)! wrapped up in garments!' Arise
and warn (the people against Allah's Punishment),... up to
'and desert the idols.' (74.1-5) After this the revelation
started coming strongly, frequently and regularly."
Ibn 'Abbas in the explanation of the Statement of
Allah. 'Move not your tongue concerning (the Quran) to
make haste therewith." (75.16) Said "Allah's Apostle used
to bear the revelation with great trouble and used to move
his lips (quickly) with the Inspiration." Ibn 'Abbas moved
his lips saying, "I am moving my lips in front of you as
Allah's Apostle used to move his." Said moved his lips
saying: "I am moving my lips, as I saw Ibn 'Abbas moving
his." Ibn 'Abbas added, "So Allah revealed 'Move not your
tongue concerning (the Qur'an) to make haste therewith. It
is for us to collect it and to give you (O Muhammad) the
ability to recite it (the Qur'an) (75.16-17) which means
that Allah will make him (the Prophet ) remember the
portion of the Qur'an which was revealed at that time by
heart and recite it. The Statement of Allah: And 'When we
have recited it to you (O Muhammad through Gabriel) then
you follow its (Qur'an) recital' (75.18) means 'listen to
it and be silent.' Then it is for Us (Allah) to make It
clear to you' (75.19) means 'Then it is (for Allah) to
make you recite it (and its meaning will be clear by
itself through your tongue). Afterwards, Allah's Apostle
used to listen to Gabriel whenever he came and after his
departure he used to recite it as Gabriel had recited it."
Allah's Apostle was the most generous of all the
people, and he used to reach the peak in generosity in the
month of Ramadan when Gabriel met him. Gabriel used to
meet him every night of Ramadan to teach him the Qur'an.
Allah's Apostle was the most generous person, even more
generous than the strong uncontrollable wind (in readiness
and haste to do charitable deeds).
Abu Sufyan bin Harb informed me that Heraclius had sent
a messenger to him while he had been accompanying a
caravan from Quraish. They were merchants doing business
in Sham (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan), at the
time when Allah's Apostle had truce with Abu Sufyan and
Quraish infidels. So Abu Sufyan and his companions went to
Heraclius at Ilya (Jerusalem). Heraclius called them in
the court and he had all the senior Roman dignitaries
around him. He called for his translator who, translating
Heraclius's question said to them, "Who amongst you is
closely related to that man who claims to be a Prophet?"
Abu Sufyan replied, "I am the nearest relative to him
(amongst the group)."
Heraclius said, "Bring him (Abu Sufyan) close to me and
make his companions stand behind him." Abu Sufyan added,
Heraclius told his translator to tell my companions that
he wanted to put some questions to me regarding that man
(The Prophet) and that if I told a lie they (my
companions) should contradict me." Abu Sufyan added, "By
Allah! Had I not been afraid of my companions labeling me
a liar, I would not have spoken the truth about the
Prophet. The first question he asked me about him was:
'What is his family status amongst you?'
I replied, 'He belongs to a good (noble) family amongst
us.'
Heraclius further asked, 'Has anybody amongst you ever
claimed the same (i.e. to be a Prophet) before him?'
I replied, 'No.'
He said, 'Was anybody amongst his ancestors a king?'
I replied, 'No.'
Heraclius asked, 'Do the nobles or the poor follow
him?'
I replied, 'It is the poor who follow him.'
He said, 'Are his followers increasing decreasing (day
by day)?'
I replied, 'They are increasing.'
He then asked, 'Does anybody amongst those who embrace
his religion become displeased and renounce the religion
afterwards?'
I replied, 'No.'
Heraclius said, 'Have you ever accused him of telling
lies before his claim (to be a Prophet)?'
I replied, 'No. '
Heraclius said, 'Does he break his promises?'
I replied, 'No. We are at truce with him but we do not
know what he will do in it.' I could not find opportunity
to say anything against him except that.
Heraclius asked, 'Have you ever had a war with him?'
I replied, 'Yes.'
Then he said, 'What was the outcome of the battles?'
I replied, 'Sometimes he was victorious and sometimes
we.'
Heraclius said, 'What does he order you to do?'
I said, 'He tells us to worship Allah and Allah alone
and not to worship anything along with Him, and to
renounce all that our ancestors had said. He orders us to
pray, to speak the truth, to be chaste and to keep good
relations with our Kith and kin.'
Heraclius asked the translator to convey to me the
following, I asked you about his family and your reply was
that he belonged to a very noble family. In fact all the
Apostles come from noble families amongst their respective
peoples. I questioned you whether anybody else amongst you
claimed such a thing, your reply was in the negative. If
the answer had been in the affirmative, I would have
thought that this man was following the previous man's
statement. Then I asked you whether anyone of his
ancestors was a king. Your reply was in the negative, and
if it had been in the affirmative, I would have thought
that this man wanted to take back his ancestral kingdom.
I further asked whether he was ever accused of telling
lies before he said what he said, and your reply was in
the negative. So I wondered how a person who does not tell
a lie about others could ever tell a lie about Allah. I,
then asked you whether the rich people followed him or the
poor. You replied that it was the poor who followed him.
And in fact all the Apostle have been followed by this
very class of people. Then I asked you whether his
followers were increasing or decreasing. You replied that
they were increasing, and in fact this is the way of true
faith, till it is complete in all respects. I further
asked you whether there was anybody, who, after embracing
his religion, became displeased and discarded his
religion. Your reply was in the negative, and in fact this
is (the sign of) true faith, when its delight enters the
hearts and mixes with them completely. I asked you whether
he had ever betrayed. You replied in the negative and
likewise the Apostles never betray. Then I asked you what
he ordered you to do. You replied that he ordered you to
worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship any thing
along with Him and forbade you to worship idols and
ordered you to pray, to speak the truth and to be chaste.
If what you have said is true, he will very soon occupy
this place underneath my feet and I knew it (from the
scriptures) that he was going to appear but I did not know
that he would be from you, and if I could reach him
definitely, I would go immediately to meet him and if I
were with him, I would certainly wash his feet.' Heraclius
then asked for the letter addressed by Allah's Apostle
which was delivered by Dihya to the Governor of Busra,
who forwarded it to Heraclius to read. The contents of the
letter were as follows: "In the name of Allah the
Beneficent, the Merciful (This letter is) from Muhammad
the slave of Allah and His Apostle to Heraclius the ruler
of Byzantine. Peace be upon him, who follows the right
path. Furthermore I invite you to Islam, and if you become
a Muslim you will be safe, and Allah will double your
reward, and if you reject this invitation of Islam you
will be committing a sin by misguiding your Arisiyin
(peasants). (And I recite to you Allah's Statement:)
'O people of the scripture! Come to a word common to
you and us that we worship none but Allah and that we
associate nothing in worship with Him, and that none of us
shall take others as Lords beside Allah. Then, if they
turn away, say: Bear witness that we are Muslims (those
who have surrendered to Allah).' (3:64).
Abu Sufyan then added, "When Heraclius had finished his
speech and had read the letter, there was a great hue and
cry in the Royal Court. So we were turned out of the
court. I told my companions that the question of
Ibn-Abi-Kabsha) (the Prophet Muhammad) has become so
prominent that even the King of Bani Al-Asfar (Byzantine)
is afraid of him. Then I started to become sure that he
(the Prophet) would be the conqueror in the near future
till I embraced Islam (i.e. Allah guided me to it)."
The sub narrator adds, "Ibn An-Natur was the Governor
of llya' (Jerusalem) and Heraclius was the head of the
Christians of Sham. Ibn An-Natur narrates that once while
Heraclius was visiting ilya' (Jerusalem), he got up in the
morning with a sad mood. Some of his priests asked him why
he was in that mood? Heraclius was a foreteller and an
astrologer. He replied, 'At night when I looked at the
stars, I saw that the leader of those who practice
circumcision had appeared (become the conqueror). Who are
they who practice circumcision?' The people replied,
'Except the Jews nobody practices circumcision, so you
should not be afraid of them (Jews).
'Just Issue orders to kill every Jew present in the
country.'
While they were discussing it, a messenger sent by the
king of Ghassan to convey the news of Allah's Apostle to
Heraclius was brought in. Having heard the news, he (Heraclius)
ordered the people to go and see whether the messenger of
Ghassan was circumcised. The people, after seeing him,
told Heraclius that he was circumcised. Heraclius then
asked him about the Arabs. The messenger replied, 'Arabs
also practice circumcision.'
(After hearing that) Heraclius remarked that
sovereignty of the 'Arabs had appeared. Heraclius then
wrote a letter to his friend in Rome who was as good as
Heraclius in knowledge. Heraclius then left for Homs. (a
town in Syrian and stayed there till he received the reply
of his letter from his friend who agreed with him in his
opinion about the emergence of the Prophet and the fact
that he was a Prophet. On that Heraclius invited all the
heads of the Byzantines to assemble in his palace at Homs.
When they assembled, he ordered that all the doors of his
palace be closed. Then he came out and said, 'O
Byzantines! If success is your desire and if you seek
right guidance and want your empire to remain then give a
pledge of allegiance to this Prophet (i.e. embrace
Islam).'
(On hearing the views of Heraclius) the people ran
towards the gates of the palace like onagers but found the
doors closed. Heraclius realized their hatred towards
Islam and when he lost the hope of their embracing Islam,
he ordered that they should be brought back in audience.
(When they returned) he said, 'What already said was
just to test the strength of your conviction and I have
seen it.' The people prostrated before him and became
pleased with him, and this was the end of Heraclius's
story (in connection with his faith).