came true as clearly as the break of dawn, solitude was made beloved to him. That is, he would withdraw by himself and distance himself from that society steeped in pre-Islamic ignorance. He—may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace—considered this cave on Mount Hirā to be the best place for seclusion. It is a cave at the summit of the mountain, which even a strong person can scarcely climb to without hardship. He—may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace—would climb to it and devote himself to worship, worshipping Allah—Glorious is His Majesty—in whatever manner Allah enabled him, remaining in the cave for a number of nights. He would take provisions of food and drink to sustain himself, then descend and obtain from his family enough provisions for a similar number of nights before returning to devote himself to the worship of Allah—Glorious is His Majesty.
This continued until revelation came to him while he was in the cave. Gabriel came to him and commanded him to read, whereupon he said, “I am not a reader.” The meaning of “I am not a reader” is that he was not one of those who could read. He did not intend to disobey Gabriel’s command; rather, he was unable to read. He—may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace—was unlettered, as Allah Most High says: “So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered Prophet” [al-A‘rāf: 58]. Allah Most High also says: “It is He who sent among the unlettered a Messenger from among themselves” [al-Jumu‘a: 2].
Thus, he could neither read nor write. It was part of Allah’s wisdom that he could neither read nor write, so that his need and utter dependence upon this message would be manifest and no doubter would have any grounds to question his truthfulness. Allah alluded to this in His words: “You did not recite any Scripture before it, nor did you write one with your right hand; otherwise, the falsifiers would have had cause to doubt” [al-‘Ankabūt: 48].
He said to him, “I am not a reader,” so Gabriel seized and pressed him two or three times. He then said to him: “Read in the name of your Lord who created—created man from a clinging substance. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous—Who taught by the pen—taught man what he did not know.” These five verses were revealed, and the Prophet—may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace—returned with them, his heart trembling with fear and alarm, until he came to Khadīja. The account of revelation and how it began is found at the opening of Sahīh al-Bukhārī (1). Whoever wishes