It is related—on the authority of certain scholars—that when God willed to honor His Messenger and inaugurate him with prophethood, the Messenger of God ﷺ, whenever he went out to relieve himself, would walk far enough for the houses to disappear from view (1). He would make his way into the ravines of Mecca and the beds of its valleys, and no stone or tree would he pass without saying, “Peace be upon you, O Messenger of God.” He would look to his right, to his left, and behind him, yet see nothing but the stones and the trees. He remained in that state, seeing and hearing, for as long as God willed—until Gabriel ﻋ came to him with the grace God had prepared for him while he was in Ḥirāʾ, during the month of Ramadan (2).

Ibn Isḥāq said (3): Wahb ibn Kaysān, the client of the family of al-Zubayr, told me: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr say to ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr ibn Qatādah al-Laythī, “Tell us, O ʿUbayd, about the very first beginnings of what the Messenger of God ﷺ experienced of prophethood when Gabriel came to him.”

ʿUbayd replied—while I was present, and he was addressing ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr and those with him—: “The Messenger of God ﷺ used to withdraw to Ḥirāʾ for one month every year. This was part of the taḥannuth (4) that Quraysh practiced in the pre-Islamic period; taḥannuth means acts of piety and devotion (5).

“During that month each year, the Messenger of God ﷺ would remain in seclusion, feeding any poor person who came to him. When he completed his retreat, the first thing he would do on returning was to go to the Kaʿbah—before entering his house—and circumambulate it seven times, or as many times as God willed, and then he would go home.

“When the month arrived in which God intended to grant him the honor decreed for him—the month in which He sent him as a Messenger, namely Ramadan—he went out to Ḥirāʾ as usual for his retreat, taking his family with him. When the night came in which God honored him with the Message and showed mercy to His servants through him (6), Gabriel came to him by God’s command.

“The Messenger of God ﷺ said:

‘He came to me while I was asleep, carrying a piece of brocade (7) on which was a book, and said, “Read!” I replied, “What shall I read?” He seized me and pressed me so hard that I thought it was death, then released me and said, “Read!” I said, “What shall I read?” He seized me again and pressed me until I thought it was death, then released me and said, “Read.” I said, “What shall I read?” He seized me yet again and pressed me until I thought it was death, then released me and said, “Read.” I said, “What shall I read?”—saying this only because I expected him to repeat with me what he had just done.

‘He then recited:
“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.” (Q 96:1-5).

He said…’