Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm - Ibn Taimiya - (2/333)

Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-MustaqīmIbn Taimiya

It is affirmed in the Ṣaḥīḥ that ʿĀ’ishah—may Allah be pleased with her—said: “The first form of revelation with which the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was initiated was the truthful dream. (1) Whenever he saw a dream it would come to pass as clearly as the break of dawn. (2) Then solitude was made dear to him, so he used to go to the cave of Ḥirā’ where he would devote himself to worship—this devotion (ta-taḥannuth) being a form of secluded servitude—for a number of consecutive nights. He would then return to his family to replenish his provisions, only to set out again, until the revelation suddenly descended upon him while he was in the cave. The angel came to him and said, ‘Recite.’ He replied, ‘I am not a reciter.’ The angel seized me,” he said, “and pressed me so hard that I was exhausted, then released me and said, ‘Recite.’ I replied, ‘I am not a reciter.’ This happened two or three times, after which the angel said:

‘Recite in the name of your Lord who created—created man from a clinging clot. Recite, for your Lord is the Most Generous, who taught by the pen, taught man what he did not know’ (al-ʿAlaq 96:1–5).

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, returned with these verses while his limbs trembled.” (3) The ḥadīth continues at length.

Thus his retreat and worship in the cave of Ḥirā’ took place before his commissioning. Once Allah honored him with Prophethood and Messengerhood, making belief in him, obedience to him, and following him obligatory upon all people, he remained in Mecca for some thirteen years along with those early Emigrants who are the best of creation, and neither he nor any of his Companions (4) ever went back to Ḥirā’.

He then migrated to Madinah and performed four ʿUmrahs: the ʿUmrah of al-Ḥudaybiyah, during which the idolaters barred him from the House. Al-Ḥudaybiyah lies on your right as you head toward Mecca after passing al-Tanʿīm, near the group of mosques popularly called “ʿĀ’ishah’s Mosques.” The mountain to your right (5) is called Jabal (6) al-Tanʿīm.

(1) MSS B and D read: al-salihah. (2) MS T reads: wa-kan. (3) Sahih al-Bukhari, “The Beginning of Revelation,” chap. 3, hadith 3 (Fath al-Bari, 1:22); see also hadiths 3392, 4953, 4955, 4956, 4957, and 4982 in Fath al-Bari. (4) MS B adds: min al-sahabah. (5) MSS B, D, and T read: ‘ala. (6) The word jabal (mountain) is missing in MSS B, J, and D.

وقد ثبت في الصحيح عن عائشة رضي الله عنها أنها قالت: «كان أول ما بدئ به رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من الوحي: الرؤيا الصادقة (١) فكان (٢) لا يرى رؤيا إلا جاءت مثل فلق الصبح، ثم حبب إليه الخلاء، فكان يأتي غار حراء، فيتحنث فيه - وهو التعبد - الليالي ذوات العدد، ثم يرجع فيتزود لذلك، حتى فجأه الوحي، وهو بغار حراء، فأتاه الملك، فقال له: اقرأ، فقال: لست بقارئ، قال: فأخذني فغطني حتى بلغ مني الجهد، ثم أرسلني، ثم قال: اقرأ، فقال: لست بقارئ، قال: مرتين أو ثلاثا، ثم قال: {اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ - خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ - اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ - الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ - عَلَّمَ الْإِنْسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ} [العلق: ١ - ٥] فرجع بها رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ترجف بوادره» (٣) الحديث بطوله. فتحنثه وتعبده بغار حراء كان قبل المبعث، ثم إنه لما أكرمه الله بنبوته ورسالته، وفرض على الخلق الإيمان به وطاعته واتباعه، وأقام بمكة بضع عشرة سنة هو ومن آمن به من المهاجرين الأولين الذين هم أفضل الخلق، ولم يذهب هو ولا أحد من أصحابه (٤) إلى حراء. ثم هاجر إلى المدينة واعتمر أربع عمر: عمرة الحديبية التي صده فيها المشركون عن البيت - والحديبية عن يمينك وأنت قاصد مكة إذا مررت بالتنعيم، عند المساجد التي يقال: إنها مساجد عائشة، والجبل الذي عن (٥) يمينك يقال له: جبل (٦) التنعيم،

(١) في (ب د) : الصالحة. (٢) في (ط) : وكان. (٣) صحيح البخاري، كتاب بدء الوحي، باب (٣) ، الحديث رقم (٣) ، (١ / ٢٢) فتح الباري. وانظر الأحاديث رقم (٣٣٩٢، ٤٩٥٣) ، ٤٩٥٥، ٤٩٥٦، ٤٩٥٧، ٤٩٨٢) من فتح الباري. (٤) في (ب) : من الصحابة. (٥) في (ب د ط) : على. (٦) جبل: سقطت من (ب ج د) .