The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: The First Revelation in Cave Hira

When Muhammad ﷺ was about forty years old, he loved to be alone to think and worship. He often went to a small cave called Hira, high on a mountain near Makkah, taking food with him and staying for several nights.

One night, the angel Jibril came to him in the cave and said, "Iqra'!" which means "Read!" The Prophet ﷺ said, "I cannot read." The angel held him tightly and said again, "Read!" This happened three times. Then Jibril recited the very first verses of the Qur'an: "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 what he did not know."

The Prophet ﷺ hurried home, shaking, and said to his wife Khadijah, "Cover me! Cover me!" She wrapped him in a blanket until he felt calm. He told her what had happened and said he was afraid.

Khadijah said, "Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You are good to your relatives, you help the weak, you are generous to guests, and you help people in need." She took him to her cousin Waraqah, a wise old man who knew the earlier scriptures. Waraqah said, "This is the same angel Allah sent to Musa."

This was the beginning of the Qur'an, which came down over 23 years, and the Prophet ﷺ became the last messenger of Allah to all people.