Guided
The first thing by which revelation began for the Messenger of Allāh (may the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) was clear dreams during sleep, such that he would not see a dream except that it would appear like the break of dawn. Then, he was made to love seclusion, and he would seclude himself in the cave of Hirā', where he would perform worship for many nights before he would long for his family, and he would take [enough provisions for this. Then, he would return to Khadeejah and he would take provisions for the same [length of time, [continuing like this until the truth came to him while he was in the cave of Hirā'. And so, the angel came to him, and said, "Read!" He replied, "I am not one who can read." The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said, "He took hold of me and squeezed me, until it reached the limit of what I could bear, then he let me go and said, 'Read!' I replied, 'I am not one who can read.' Then, he took hold of me and squeezed me for the second time, until it reached the limit of what I could bear, then he let me go and said, 'Read!' I replied, 'I am not one who can read.' Then, he took hold of me and squeezed me for the third time, then he let me go and said, 'Read in the name of your Lord who created - created man from a clinging substance; Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous [al-'Alaq 96:1-3." Then, the Messenger of Allāh returned with these [verses, his heart racing. He entered [where Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid [was and said, "Cover me! Cover me!" So, they(*) covered him until the fear left him. He said to Khadeejah - after telling her what happened - "I feared for myself." Khadeejah replied to him, "Never! By Allāh, Allāh will never grieve you! You maintain the ties of kinship, support the needy, provide for the destitute, are hospitable to your guests, and you help [others in times of need." Then she accompanied him until she came to Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Asad ibn 'Abdul-'Uzzā - Khadeejah's cousin - who was a man that had become Christian during the [pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance, and used to write the Hebrew scripture, such that he would write from the Hebrew Gospel whatever Allāh willed that he write. He was an old man who had gone blind. Khadeejah said to him, "O my cousin, listen to your nephew!" Waraqah said to him, "O my nephew, what have you seen?" So, the Messenger of Allāh (may the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) told him the news of what he had seen. Waraqah said to him, "This is the keeper of revelation that descended to Moses. How I wish that I were young! How I wish that I am alive when your people drive you out!" The Messenger of Allāh (may the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said, "Will they drive me out?" [Waraqah replied, "Yes. No man has ever come with that which you have brought except that he was treat with hostility. If I live to reach [this day, I will support you vigorously." But Waraqah died without delay, and the revelation subsided.
(*) In this narration, the wording is plural, 'they' as opposed to 'she'.
[See also: 3392, 4953, 4955, 4956, 4957, 6982
The first thing by which revelation began for the Messenger of Allāh (may the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) was clear dreams during sleep, such that he would not see a dream except that it would appear like the break of dawn. Then, he was made to love seclusion, and he would seclude himself in the cave of Hirā', where he would perform worship for many nights before he would long for his family, and he would take [enough provisions for this. Then, he would return to Khadeejah and he would take provisions for the same [length of time, [continuing like this until the truth came to him while he was in the cave of Hirā'. And so, the angel came to him, and said, "Read!" He replied, "I am not one who can read." The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said, "He took hold of me and squeezed me, until it reached the limit of what I could bear, then he let me go and said, 'Read!' I replied, 'I am not one who can read.' Then, he took hold of me and squeezed me for the second time, until it reached the limit of what I could bear, then he let me go and said, 'Read!' I replied, 'I am not one who can read.' Then, he took hold of me and squeezed me for the third time, then he let me go and said, 'Read in the name of your Lord who created - created man from a clinging substance; Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous [al-'Alaq 96:1-3." Then, the Messenger of Allāh returned with these [verses, his heart racing. He entered [where Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid [was and said, "Cover me! Cover me!" So, they(*) covered him until the fear left him. He said to Khadeejah - after telling her what happened - "I feared for myself." Khadeejah replied to him, "Never! By Allāh, Allāh will never grieve you! You maintain the ties of kinship, support the needy, provide for the destitute, are hospitable to your guests, and you help [others in times of need." Then she accompanied him until she came to Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Asad ibn 'Abdul-'Uzzā - Khadeejah's cousin - who was a man that had become Christian during the [pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance, and used to write the Hebrew scripture, such that he would write from the Hebrew Gospel whatever Allāh willed that he write. He was an old man who had gone blind. Khadeejah said to him, "O my cousin, listen to your nephew!" Waraqah said to him, "O my nephew, what have you seen?" So, the Messenger of Allāh (may the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) told him the news of what he had seen. Waraqah said to him, "This is the keeper of revelation that descended to Moses. How I wish that I were young! How I wish that I am alive when your people drive you out!" The Messenger of Allāh (may the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said, "Will they drive me out?" [Waraqah replied, "Yes. No man has ever come with that which you have brought except that he was treat with hostility. If I live to reach [this day, I will support you vigorously." But Waraqah died without delay, and the revelation subsided.
(*) In this narration, the wording is plural, 'they' as opposed to 'she'.
[See also: 3392, 4953, 4955, 4956, 4957, 6982