that is obvious, for Bilāl may not even have been born at that time; and if he had, he was neither with his uncle nor with Abū Bakr. Al-Bazzār included this hadith in his Musnad (1), but did not say, “And Abū Bakr (2) sent Bilāl with him”; rather, he said, “a man.”

When he reached twenty-five years of age, he travelled to Syria on business, reaching Busrā before returning. Shortly after his return, he married Khadījah bint Khuwaylid. According to another account, he married her at thirty; another gives his age as twenty-one. She was forty (3). She was the first woman he married and the first of his wives to die. He married no other woman during her lifetime, and Gabriel instructed him to convey to her greetings of peace from her Lord (4).

Allah then made solitude and worship of his Lord beloved to him. He would withdraw to the cave of Hirā’ and spend several nights there in worship. Idols and the religion of his people were made hateful to him; nothing was more hateful to him than these.

When he reached forty, the light of prophethood shone (5) upon him. Allah honoured him with His message, sent him to His creation, singled him out for His favour, and appointed him His trusted intermediary between Himself and His servants.

There is no disagreement that his prophetic mission began on a Monday (6). Opinions differ, however, concerning the month in which it began,