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Ibn Hajar said: ‘That (the pause of Allâh’s revelation for a few days) was to relieve the Messenger of
Allâh (Peace be upon him) of the fear he experienced and to make him long for the Revelation.
When the shades of puzzle receded, the flags of truth were raised, the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be
upon him) knew for sure that he had become the Messenger of the Great Lord. He was also certain
that what had come to him was no more than the ambassador of inspiration. His waiting and longing
for the coming of the revelation constituted a good reason for his steadfastness and self-possession
on the arrival of Allâh’s inspiration, Al-Bukhari reported on the authority of Jabir bin ‘Abdullah that
he had heard the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) speak about the period of pause as
follows:
“While I was walking, I heard a voice from the sky. I looked up, and surely enough, it was the same
angel who had visited me in the cave of Hira’. He was sitting on a chair between the earth and the
sky. I was very afraid of him and knelt on the ground. I went home saying: ‘Cover me …, Cover me
…’. Allâh revealed to me the verses:
·
‘O you [Muhammad (Peace be upon him)] enveloped (in garments)! Arise and warn! And
your Lord (Allâh) magnify! And your garments purify! And keep away from
Ar-Rujz
(the
idols)!’” [74:1-5]
After that the revelation started coming strongly, frequently and regularly.
SOME DETAILS PERTINENT TO THE SUCCESSIVE STAGES OF REVELATION:
Before we go into the details of the period of communicating the Message and Prophethood, we
would like to get acquainted with the stages of the Revelation which constituted the main source of
the Message and the subject -matter of the Call. Ibn Al-Qayyim, mentioning the stages of the
Revelation, said:
·
The First: The period of true vision. It was the starting point of the Revelation to the Men
of Allâh (Peace be upon him).
The Second: What the angel invisibly cast in the Prophet’s mind and heart. The Messenger
of Allâh (Peace be upon him) said: “The Noble Spirit revealed to me ‘No soul will perish until
it exhausts its due course, so fear Allâh and gently request Him. Never get so impatient to
the verge of disobedience of Allâh. What Allâh has can never be acquired but through
obedience to Him.’”
The Third: The angel used to visit the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) in the form of
a human being and would speak to him directly. This would enable him to fully understand
what the angel said. The angel was sometimes seen in this form by the Prophet’s
Companions.
The Fourth: The angel came to him like the toll of a bell and this was the most difficult form
because the angel used to seize him tightly and sweat would stream from his forehead even
on the coldest day. If the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was on his camel, the camel would
not withstand the weight, so it would immediately kneel down on the ground. Once the
Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) had such a revelation when he was sitting and his
thigh was on Zaid’s, Zaid felt the pressure had almost injured his thigh.
The Fifth: The Prophet (Peace be upon him) saw the angel in his actual form. The angel
would reveal to him what Allâh had ordered him to reveal. This, as mentioned in (Qur’ân), in
Sûrah An-Najm
(Chapter 53 - The Star), happened twice.
The Sixth: What Allâh Himself revealed to him in heaven i.e. when he ascended to heaven
and received Allâh’s behest of
Salât
(prayer).
The Seventh: Allâh’s Words to His Messenger (Peace be upon him) at first hand without the
mediation of an angel. It was a privilege granted to Moses (Peace be upon him) and clearly
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