—and he gripped me once more exactly as he had before and said, “Recite in the name of your Lord who created… taught man what he did not know.” (Al-‘Alaq 1–5) I recited those verses, whereupon he left me. I awoke from my sleep, and it was as though a book had been engraved upon my heart.

At this point Ibn Ishaq, through the additional narration supplied by Yunus ibn Bukayr, adds the following:

“There was no one in all creation I loathed more than a poet or a madman; I could not bear even to look at them. So I said, ‘The far-off one’—meaning myself—‘is surely a poet or a madman.’ Then I added, ‘Quraysh must never be given a tale like this about me. I will climb to the crest of the mountain and throw myself from it, bringing this to an end.’ I set out, and when I was halfway up the mountain I heard a voice from the sky saying, ‘O Muhammad, you are the Messenger of Allah, and I am Gabriel.’ I raised my head toward the sky, and there was Gabriel in the form of a man, his feet level with the horizon. He said again, ‘O Muhammad, you are the Messenger of Allah, and I am Gabriel.’ I stood staring at him, unable to move forward or back. I began turning my gaze to all points of the sky, yet whichever direction I looked I saw him exactly the same. I remained standing there until Khadija sent messengers in search of me; they reached the heights of Mecca and then returned to her while I was still rooted to my spot. At last he departed, and I made my way home until I reached Khadija. I leaned against her thigh for support, and she said, ‘O Abu al-Qasim, where have you been? By Allah, I sent messengers after you who went as far as the heights of Mecca and then came back.’ I told her what I had seen, and she said, ‘Rejoice, cousin, and stand firm. By Him in whose hand Khadija’s soul rests, I hope that you are the prophet of this nation.’

She then rose, wrapped her garments tightly around her, and went to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal, who had embraced Christianity and studied the previous scriptures. She related to him what the Prophet had seen and heard. Waraqah exclaimed, ‘Holy! By Him in whose hand is my soul, if you have spoken the truth, O—’