Revelation : Sahih Bukhari

1
Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattab: I heard Allah's Apostle saying,
"The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every
person will get the reward according to what he has intended.
So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to
marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for."
2
Narrated 'Aisha: (the mother of the faithful believers) Al-Harith
bin Hisham asked Allah's Apostle "O Allah's Apostle! How is the
Divine Inspiration revealed to you?" Allah's Apostle replied,
"Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell, this form
of Inspiration is the hardest of all and then this state passes '
off after I have grasped what is inspired. Sometimes the Angel
comes in the form of a man and talks to me and I grasp
whatever he says." 'Aisha added: Verily I saw the Prophet being
inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the Sweat
dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over).
3
Narrated 'Aisha: (the mother of the faithful believers) The
commencement of the Divine Inspiration to Allah's Apostle was
in the form of good dreams which came true like bright day
light, and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him.
He used to go in seclusion in the cave of Hira where he used to
worship (Allah alone) continuously for many days before his
desire to see his family. He used to take with him the journey
food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadija to
take his food like-wise again till suddenly the Truth descended
upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to
him and asked him to read. The Prophet replied, "I do not
know how to read. The Prophet added, "The angel caught me
(forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any
more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I
replied, 'I do not know how to read.' Thereupon he caught me
again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any
more. He then released me and again asked me to read but
again I replied, 'I do not know how to read (or what shall I
read)?' Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed
me, and then released me and said, 'Read in the name of your
Lord, who has created (all that exists) has created man from a
clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous." (96.1, 96.2,
96.3) Then Allah's Apostle returned with the Inspiration and
with his heart beating severely. Then he went to Khadija bint
Khuwailid and said, "Cover me! Cover me!" They covered him
till his fear was over and after that he told her everything that
had happened and said, "I fear that something may happen to
me." Khadija replied, "Never! By Allah, Allah will never
disgrace you. You keep good relations with your Kith and kin,
help the poor and the destitute, serve your guests generously
and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones." Khadija then
accompanied him to her cousin Waraqa bin Naufal bin Asad
bin 'Abdul 'Uzza, who, during the PreIslamic Period became a
Christian and used to write the writing with Hebrew letters. He
would write from the Gospel in Hebrew as much as Allah
wished him to write. He was an old man and had lost his
eyesight. Khadija said to Waraqa, "Listen to the story of your
nephew, O my cousin!" Waraqa asked, "O my nephew! What
have you seen?" Allah's Apostle described whatever he had
seen. Waraqa said, "This is the same one who keeps the secrets
(angel Gabriel) whom Allah had sent to Moses. I wish I were
young and could live up to the time when your people would
turn you out." Allah's Apostle asked, "Will they drive me out?"
Waraqa replied in the affirmative and said, "Anyone (man)
who came with something similar to what you have brought
was treated with hostility; and if I should remain alive till the
day when you will be turned out then I would support you
strongly." But after a few days Waraqa died and the Divine
Inspiration was also paused for a while. Narrated Jabir bin
'Abdullah Al-Ansari while talking about the period of pause in
revelation reporting the speech of the Prophet "While I was
walking, all of a sudden I heard a voice from the sky. I looked
up and saw the same angel who had visited me at the cave of
Hira' sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I got
afraid of him and came back home and said, 'Wrap me (in
blankets).' And then Allah revealed the following Holy Verses
(of Quran): 'O you (i.e. Muhammad)! wrapped up in garments!'
Arise and warn (the people against Allah's Punishment),... up to
'and desert the idols.' (74.1-5) After this the revelation started
coming strongly, frequently and regularly."
4
Narrated Said bin Jubair: Ibn 'Abbas in the explanation of the
Statement of Allah. 'Move not your tongue concerning (the
Quran) to make haste therewith." (75.16) Said "Allah's Apostle
used to bear the revelation with great trouble and used to
move his lips (quickly) with the Inspiration." Ibn 'Abbas moved
his lips saying, "I am moving my lips in front of you as Allah's
Apostle used to move his." Said moved his lips saying: "I am
moving my lips, as I saw Ibn 'Abbas moving his." Ibn 'Abbas
added, "So Allah revealed 'Move not your tongue concerning
(the Qur'an) to make haste therewith. It is for us to collect it
and to give you (O Muhammad) the ability to recite it (the
Qur'an) (75.16-17) which means that Allah will make him (the
Prophet ) remember the portion of the Qur'an which was
revealed at that time by heart and recite it. The Statement of
Allah: And 'When we have recited it to you (O Muhammad
through Gabriel) then you follow its (Qur'an) recital' (75.18)
means 'listen to it and be silent.' Then it is for Us (Allah) to
make It clear to you' (75.19) means 'Then it is (for Allah) to
make you recite it (and its meaning will be clear by itself
through your tongue). Afterwards, Allah's Apostle used to
listen to Gabriel whenever he came and after his departure he
used to recite it as Gabriel had recited it."
5
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: Allah's Apostle was the most generous of
all the people, and he used to reach the peak in generosity in
the month of Ramadan when Gabriel met him. Gabriel used to
meet him every night of Ramadan to teach him the Qur'an.
Allah's Apostle was the most generous person, even more
generous than the strong uncontrollable wind (in readiness
and haste to do charitable deeds).
6
Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas: Abu Sufyan bin Harb informed
me that Heraclius had sent a messenger to him while he had
been accompanying a caravan from Quraish. They were
merchants doing business in Sham (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon
and Jordan), at the time when Allah's Apostle had truce with
Abu Sufyan and Quraish infidels. So Abu Sufyan and his
companions went to Heraclius at Ilya (Jerusalem). Heraclius
called them in the court and he had all the senior Roman
dignitaries around him. He called for his translator who,
translating Heraclius's question said to them, "Who amongst
you is closely related to that man who claims to be a Prophet?"
Abu Sufyan replied, "I am the nearest relative to him (amongst
the group)." Heraclius said, "Bring him (Abu Sufyan) close to
me and make his companions stand behind him." Abu Sufyan
added, Heraclius told his translator to tell my companions that
he wanted to put some questions to me regarding that man
(The Prophet) and that if I told a lie they (my companions)
should contradict me." Abu Sufyan added, "By Allah! Had I not
been afraid of my companions labeling me a liar, I would not
have spoken the truth about the Prophet. The first question he
asked me about him was: 'What is his family status amongst
you?' I replied, 'He belongs to a good (noble) family amongst
us.' Heraclius further asked, 'Has anybody amongst you ever
claimed the same (i.e. to be a Prophet) before him?' I replied,
'No.' He said, 'Was anybody amongst his ancestors a king?' I
replied, 'No.' Heraclius asked, 'Do the nobles or the poor
follow him?' I replied, 'It is the poor who follow him.' He said,
'Are his followers increasing decreasing (day by day)?' I
replied, 'They are increasing.' He then asked, 'Does anybody
amongst those who embrace his religion become displeased
and renounce the religion afterwards?' I replied, 'No.' Heraclius
said, 'Have you ever accused him of telling lies before his claim
(to be a Prophet)?' I replied, 'No. ' Heraclius said, 'Does he
break his promises?' I replied, 'No. We are at truce with him but
we do not know what he will do in it.' I could not find
opportunity to say anything against him except that. Heraclius
asked, 'Have you ever had a war with him?' I replied, 'Yes.'
Then he said, 'What was the outcome of the battles?' I replied,
'Sometimes he was victorious and sometimes we.' Heraclius
said, 'What does he order you to do?' I said, 'He tells us to
worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship anything
along with Him, and to renounce all that our ancestors had
said. He orders us to pray, to speak the truth, to be chaste and
to keep good relations with our Kith and kin.' Heraclius asked
the translator to convey to me the following, I asked you about
his family and your reply was that he belonged to a very
noble family. In fact all the Apostles come from noble families
amongst their respective peoples. I questioned you whether
anybody else amongst you claimed such a thing, your reply
was in the negative. If the answer had been in the affirmative, I
would have thought that this man was following the previous
man's statement. Then I asked you whether anyone of his
ancestors was a king. Your reply was in the negative, and if it
had been in the affirmative, I would have thought that this
man wanted to take back his ancestral kingdom. I further asked
whether he was ever accused of telling lies before he said
what he said, and your reply was in the negative. So I
wondered how a person who does not tell a lie about others
could ever tell a lie about Allah. I, then asked you whether the
rich people followed him or the poor. You replied that it was
the poor who followed him. And in fact all the Apostle have
been followed by this very class of people. Then I asked you
whether his followers were increasing or decreasing. You
replied that they were increasing, and in fact this is the way of
true faith, till it is complete in all respects. I further asked you
whether there was anybody, who, after embracing his religion,
became displeased and discarded his religion. Your reply was
in the negative, and in fact this is (the sign of) true faith, when
its delight enters the hearts and mixes with them completely. I
asked you whether he had ever betrayed. You replied in the
negative and likewise the Apostles never betray. Then I asked
you what he ordered you to do. You replied that he ordered
you to worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship any
thing along with Him and forbade you to worship idols and
ordered you to pray, to speak the truth and to be chaste. If
what you have said is true, he will very soon occupy this place
underneath my feet and I knew it (from the scriptures) that he
was going to appear but I did not know that he would be from
you, and if I could reach him definitely, I would go
immediately to meet him and if I were with him, I would
certainly wash his feet.' Heraclius then asked for the letter
addressed by Allah's Apostle which was delivered by Dihya to
the Governor of Busra, who forwarded it to Heraclius to read.
The contents of the letter were as follows: "In the name of
Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful (This letter is) from
Muhammad the slave of Allah and His Apostle to Heraclius the
ruler of Byzantine. Peace be upon him, who follows the right
path. Furthermore I invite you to Islam, and if you become a
Muslim you will be safe, and Allah will double your reward,
and if you reject this invitation of Islam you will be committing
a sin by misguiding your Arisiyin (peasants). (And I recite to you
Allah's Statement:) 'O people of the scripture! Come to a word
common to you and us that we worship none but Allah and
that we associate nothing in worship with Him, and that none
of us shall take others as Lords beside Allah. Then, if they turn
away, say: Bear witness that we are Muslims (those who have
surrendered to Allah).' (3:64). Abu Sufyan then added, "When
Heraclius had finished his speech and had read the letter, there
was a great hue and cry in the Royal Court. So we were turned
out of the court. I told my companions that the question of
Ibn-Abi-Kabsha) (the Prophet Muhammad) has become so
prominent that even the King of Bani Al-Asfar (Byzantine) is
afraid of him. Then I started to become sure that he (the
Prophet) would be the conqueror in the near future till I
embraced Islam (i.e. Allah guided me to it)." The sub narrator
adds, "Ibn An-Natur was the Governor of llya' (Jerusalem) and
Heraclius was the head of the Christians of Sham. Ibn An-Natur
narrates that once while Heraclius was visiting ilya' (Jerusalem),
he got up in the morning with a sad mood. Some of his priests
asked him why he was in that mood? Heraclius was a foreteller
and an astrologer. He replied, 'At night when I looked at the
stars, I saw that the leader of those who practice circumcision
had appeared (become the conqueror). Who are they who
practice circumcision?' The people replied, 'Except the Jews
nobody practices circumcision, so you should not be afraid of
them (Jews). 'Just Issue orders to kill every Jew present in the
country.' While they were discussing it, a messenger sent by the
king of Ghassan to convey the news of Allah's Apostle to
Heraclius was brought in. Having heard the news, he
(Heraclius) ordered the people to go and see whether the
messenger of Ghassan was circumcised. The people, after
seeing him, told Heraclius that he was circumcised. Heraclius
then asked him about the Arabs. The messenger replied, 'Arabs
also practice circumcision.' (After hearing that) Heraclius
remarked that sovereignty of the 'Arabs had appeared.
Heraclius then wrote a letter to his friend in Rome who was as
good as Heraclius in knowledge. Heraclius then left for Homs.
(a town in Syrian and stayed there till he received the reply of
his letter from his friend who agreed with him in his opinion
about the emergence of the Prophet and the fact that he was a
Prophet. On that Heraclius invited all the heads of the
Byzantines to assemble in his palace at Homs. When they
assembled, he ordered that all the doors of his palace be
closed. Then he came out and said, 'O Byzantines! If success is
your desire and if you seek right guidance and want your
empire to remain then give a pledge of allegiance to this
Prophet (i.e. embrace Islam).' (On hearing the views of
Heraclius) the people ran towards the gates of the palace like
onagers but found the doors closed. Heraclius realized their
hatred towards Islam and when he lost the hope of their
embracing Islam, he ordered that they should be brought back
in audience. (When they returned) he said, 'What already said
was just to test the strength of your conviction and I have seen
it.' The people prostrated before him and became pleased with
him, and this was the end of Heraclius's story (in connection
with his faith).