ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ismāʿīl al-Madanī narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-Rahmān ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, from his father, from ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“When Adam committed the sin, he raised his head and said, ‘O my Lord, by the right of Muhammad, forgive me!’ Allah revealed to him, ‘What is Muhammad, and who is Muhammad?’ He replied, ‘O my Lord, when You completed my creation, I raised my head towards Your Throne and saw written upon it: There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. I therefore knew that he was the most honoured of Your creatures in Your sight, since You joined his name with Yours.’ He said, ‘Yes, I have forgiven you. He is the last of the prophets among your descendants, and were it not for him, I would not have created you.’”

This hadith supports the preceding one, and the two serve as an explanation of the authentic hadiths.

In the two Sahīh collections, ʿĀ’isha said:

“The revelation first came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, through true dreams. Every dream he saw came true as clearly as the break of dawn. Then solitude was made dear to him. He would go to the cave of Hirā’ and devote himself to worship there for several nights before turning back to his family, taking provisions for those stays. He would then return to Khadīja and replenish his provisions for another such stay, until the truth came upon him suddenly while he was in Hirā’. The angel came to him and said, ‘Read.’ He replied, ‘I cannot read.’

“He said, ‘He took hold of me and squeezed me until I could bear no more, then released me and said, “Read.” I replied, “I cannot read.” He took hold of me and squeezed me until I could bear no more, then released me and said, “Read.” I replied, “I cannot read.” Then he took hold of me and squeezed me until I could bear no more, then released me and said, “Read in the name of your Lord who created; created man from a clinging clot.”’

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, returned with these words, the flesh between his neck and shoulders trembling.” The hadith continues at length.

In this authentic hadith, he thus stated that he could not read. This surah was the first revelation Allah sent down to him, and through it he became a prophet. Then He revealed to him Sūrat al-Muddaththir (The Cloaked One), and through it he became