Chapter 5 of 22 · Mecca, age 40 (610 CE)
The Cave of Hira and the First Revelation
غار حراء وبدء الوحي
In the solitude of a mountain cave, a voice commanded a man who could not read to 'Read' — and the words that followed would echo through all of human history.
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اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ عَلَّمَ الْإِنسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ
Read in the name of your Lord who created — created man from a clinging clot. Read, and your Lord is the most Generous — who taught by the pen — taught man that which he knew not.
— Quran 96:1-5
Retreats to the Cave
As Muhammad entered his forties, he began spending increasing amounts of time away from the bustle of Mecca, retreating alone to a small cave on Jabal al-Nur, the Mountain of Light, just outside the city. There, in the cave known as Hira, he would spend nights and sometimes many days in quiet contemplation, taking provisions from home and returning to Khadijah when they ran out before setting off again. This practice of solitary reflection, called tahannuth by the Arabs, was not unheard of among a small number of Meccans who felt unease with the idol worship around them, though none could have known what these particular retreats were quietly preparing him for.
The Command to Read
In the month of Ramadan, in the year 610 CE, when Muhammad was about forty years old, his solitude in the cave was broken by the sudden appearance of the Angel Jibril, who commanded him, 'Iqra',' meaning 'Read' or 'Recite.' Muhammad, who had never been taught to read, replied that he could not. The angel embraced him tightly, released him, and repeated the command two more times, each met with the same reply, until finally Jibril recited the opening verses of what would become Surah al-Alaq: words declaring that God created man, and taught him by the pen that which he did not know. These were the first verses of the Quran ever to be revealed.
Trembling and Fear
Overwhelmed by the encounter, Muhammad hurried down the mountain, his heart pounding, and rushed home to Khadijah, saying 'Cover me, cover me,' as he trembled beneath a blanket. He feared for his own sanity and safety, uncertain what had just happened to him or what it might mean. This raw human fear, recorded honestly within the Islamic tradition rather than smoothed over, reflects the enormity of what he had just experienced: an ordinary man from Mecca had just become the bearer of a message that would be recited by hundreds of millions of people across every century that followed.
Khadijah's Reassurance
When Muhammad had calmed enough to tell her what had occurred, Khadijah responded not with fear but with immediate, steady comfort. She told him that God would never disgrace him, reminding him of the good he had always embodied: he maintained ties of kinship, bore the burdens of the weak, gave generously to the poor, honored guests, and helped others face the hardships of life with dignity. Her words, among the most quoted in the entire Sira, reveal a woman who knew her husband's character so completely that she could reassure him of his own worth before either of them fully understood what God intended for him.
Waraqah's Confirmation
Seeking further understanding, Khadijah took Muhammad to her elderly cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal, a Christian who had studied the earlier scriptures and possessed deep knowledge of the Torah and Gospel in their original languages. Upon hearing the account of what happened in the cave, Waraqah declared that this was the same angel, the Namus, who had come to Musa (Moses), and that Muhammad was being made a prophet to his people. Waraqah warned, with sorrowful foresight, that Muhammad's own people would drive him out and oppose him, as had happened to prophets before him, but affirmed that he wished he could live to witness and support that struggle.
In a single night in a cave outside Mecca, revelation had begun, and though its bearer trembled with uncertainty, the words themselves would never be silenced.
Sira reports can differ in chronology and detail. Read narrative claims with the cited Quranic passage and the site's editorial methodology in view.