Before the cave
Aisha described how it began: first with true dreams that came out clear like the light of day. Then he came to love being alone, and he would go to the Cave of Hira and worship there for many nights, taking provisions with him, then returning to Khadijah for more.
“Read!”
The truth came to him suddenly while he was in the cave. The angel said: read. He answered: I am not a reader. The angel held him tightly until he could bear no more, released him, and said again: read. Three times. Then the angel recited: “Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clinging clot. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous” (Quran 96:1–3).
“Cover me”
He returned with his heart pounding and said to Khadijah: cover me, cover me. When the fear left him, he told her everything and said he feared for himself. Khadijah said: never, by Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep family ties, you carry the burdens of the weak, you help the poor, you honour your guests, and you stand by people in hardship (Bukhari 3).
Waraqah
She took him to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal, an old, blind man who had become a Christian and wrote from the Gospel. When he heard what happened, he said this was the same one who came to Musa, and wished he would be alive when his people drove him out. “Will they drive me out?” the Prophet ﷺ asked. Waraqah said that everyone who brought what he brought was treated with hostility. Waraqah died soon after, and the revelation paused for a while.
What we can take from it
- The first word of the Quran was “Read.” Knowledge was where it began.
- Good character is a protection. Khadijah’s comfort was a list of his kindness to people.
- Behind him was a wife who believed in him before anyone else did.