‘Aishah said that revelation first came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ through true dreams in sleep, which came true as clearly as daybreak.

They were a preparation from Allah before Jibril (peace be upon him) came to him with revelation while he was awake.

This agrees with the well-known principle that the dreams of the Prophets are revelation. We see this clearly in the story of Ibrahim ﷺ when he said to his son: “My son, I see in a dream that I am sacrificing you”. Ibrahim understood this dream as a command from Allah.

She continued: “Then he came to love being alone. He would stay in the Cave of Hira, worshipping for several nights before returning to his family. He took supplies with him, then returned to Khadijah to prepare for another stay. This continued until the truth came to him while he was in the cave”.

We can learn to set aside quiet time for worship, reflection, and examining our own actions. His return to his family and his taking supplies also show that this was not a permanent break from daily life.

Aishah’s report describes the angel coming with the command, “Read,” and the Prophet ﷺ replying that he could not read. The angel held him closely until he could bear no more, then released him and repeated the command. This happened three times. He then received the first five verses of al-‘Alaq. Al-Bukhari records the account both under the beginning of revelation and in his commentary on this surah. This paragraph retells the report rather than reproducing its full wording.

Meaning of al-‘Alaq96:1–5 (editorial translation): Read in the name of your Lord who created; created the human being from a clinging clot. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous, who taught by the pen; taught the human being what he did not know.

‘Aishah said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned with these words, his heart trembling. He went in to Khadijah and said: ‘Cover me, cover me.’ They covered him until his fear passed. He told Khadijah what had happened and said: ‘I feared for myself.’”

Khadijah said: “No, by Allah! Allah will never disgrace you. You keep family ties, support those who cannot support themselves, give to those in need, honour your guests, and help people facing hardship in a just cause”. Another report adds: “You speak the truth”.

Khadijah joined comforting words with action. She took him to someone who knew about earlier revelation.

Khadijah took him to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal. Waraqah had become a Christian before Islam and knew earlier scripture. He was an old man who had lost his sight. Khadijah said: “My cousin, listen to your nephew”. Waraqah asked: “My nephew, what have you seen?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ told him what he had seen.

Waraqah said: “This is the Namus whom Allah sent to Musa”. Here, Namus means Jibril, the angel entrusted with revelation.

Waraqah then said: “I wish I were young and strong then. I wish I would be alive when your people drive you out”.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked: “Will they drive me out?” Waraqah replied: “Yes. No man has ever brought what you have brought without facing hostility.

If I live to see your day, I will support you with all my strength”.

‘Aishah said: “Soon afterwards Waraqah died, and revelation paused for a time”.

We can now connect the beginning and end of the lesson. Some of the people who welcomed “the trustworthy one” at the Ka‘bah would later oppose his call when it challenged their familiar beliefs.