When the Prophet(sa) was over thirty years of age, love of God and love of His worship began to possess him more and more. Revolting against the mischiefs, misdeeds and the many vices of the people of Mecca, he chose a spot two or three miles away for his meditations. This was on top of a hill, a sort of cave shaped out of stone. His wife Khadija(ra) would prepare food enough for several days, and with this he would repair to the cave Hira. In the cave he would worship God day and night. When he was forty years of age, he saw a vision. It was in this very cave. He saw some one commanding him to recite.
The Prophet(sa) said in reply he did not know what or how to recite. The figure insisted and at last made the Prophet(sa) recite the following verses:
Recite thou in the name of thy Lord Who created, created man from a clot of blood. Recite! And thy Lord is the Most Beneficent, Who taught man by the pen, taught man what he knew not (96:2-6).
These verses, the first ever revealed to the Prophet(sa), became part of the Qur’an as did other verses which were revealed later. They have tremendous meaning. They command the Prophet(sa) to stand up and be ready to proclaim the name of the One God, the One Creator—of the Prophet(sa) and of all others—Who has made man and sowed the seed of His own love and that of fellow-men in his nature. The Prophet(sa) was commanded to proclaim the Message of this God, and was promised help, and protection by Him in the proclamation of this Message. The verses foretold a time when the world would be taught all manner of knowledge through the instrumentality of the pen, and would be taught things never heard of before. The verses constitute an epitome of the Qur’an. Whatever the Prophet(sa) was to be taught in later revelations is contained in embryo in these verses. The foundation was laid in them of a great and heretofore unknown advance in the spiritual progress of man. The meaning and explanation of these verses will be found in their place in this Commentary. We refer to them here because their revelation constitutes a great occasion in the life of the Prophet(sa). When the Prophet(sa) received this revelation, he was full of fear of the responsibility which God had decided to place on his shoulders. Any other person in his place would have been filled with pride—he would have felt that he had become great. The Prophet(sa) was different. He could achieve great things but could take no pride in his achievement. After this great experience he reached home greatly agitated, his face drawn. On Khadija's(ra) enquiry, he narrated the whole experience to her and summed up his fears, saying, "Weak man that I am, how can I carry the responsibility which God proposes to put on my shoulders." Khadija(ra) replied at once:
God is witness, He has not sent you this Word that you should fail and prove unworthy, that He should then give you up. How can God do such a thing, while you are kind and considerate to your relations, help the poor and the forlorn and bear their burdens? You are restoring the virtues which had disappeared from our country. You treat guests with honour and help those who are in distress. Can you be subjected by God to any trial? (Bukhari).
Having said this, Khadija(ra) took the Prophet(sa) to her cousin, Waraqa bin Naufal, a Christian. When he heard the account Waraqa said:
"The angel who descended on Moses(as), I am sure, has descended on you" (Bukhari).