When the Blessed Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, matured to the age of forty, Allah Almighty announced him as a bearer of glad-tidings and warner for the entire world. This was to guide it from the darkness of ignorance into the radiance of enlightenment. This was on the 1st of February 610CE as the late astronomer Mahmūd Bāshā concluded. After meticulous analysis he deduced that it was the 17th of Ramadan 13 years before the Migration – that corresponds to July 610CE.

The revelation began with true dreams. He, peace and blessings be upon him, would not see a single dream except it would come to be as clear as day. This is in accordance with Allah Almighty’s rule of gradual progression for all His creation, until perfection is attained. Receiving revelation from an angel for the very first time is a very cumbersome task for a human. So Allah Almighty chose solitude for him, peace and blessings be upon him. This was to distance him from the gloom of this world and to dissociate him from the creation, and draw him to the Creator; for in seclusion there is clarity of the conscience.

He, peace and blessings be upon him, would retreat to the cave of Hirā – in a mountain close to Makkah. There he, peace and blessings be upon him, would worship for many nights, sometimes ten and on occasion exceeding it up to a month. His worship was in line with the teaching of his forefather, Ibrahīm, Allah be pleased with him. For this purpose he would take provisions and when they would be consumed he would return to Lady Khadīja and prepare the same again. This continued until the Truth came to him whilst he was in the cave of Hirā.

One day when he was upon the mountain a man appeared before him saying: “Rejoice, O Muhammad! I am Jibrīl and you are the Messenger of Allah to this Nation”, he continued: “Recite!”
“I do not recite”, came the reply. The blessed Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was Ummī – he hadn’t been taught to recite. So the angel clutched him and squeezed in a manner that anaesthetised him, and then released him. He then repeated: “Recite!” And once again the reply came: “I do not recite.”
So he clutched him for a second time and then released him. He repeated: “Recite!”
“I do not recite”, came the reply, So he squeezed him a third time and said:

“Recite: In the Name of your Lord who created; created man from a clot of blood; Recite: And your Lord is the Most Generous; He who taught by the pen; taught man what he did not know.”
[Blessed Quran – al-‘Alaq – 96:1-5]

The Blessed Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, returned with his heart shaken from experiencing an awe that is inevitable upon confronting an angel for the very first time. He returned to Lady Khadīja, his wife, and said: “Cover me, cover me”, so that the trembling would cease. She covered him until he was at ease and then he spoke, divulging to her: “I feared for my life.” This is because the angel had squeezed him to the verge of death. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not know of Jibrīl before this nor of his appearance. She responded: “Never! By Allah, He will never forsake you, for you tie the bonds of kinship, support the weak, aid the downtrodden, honour guests and are always selected to represent the truth. So Allah will not allow evil or delusions to control you. No doubt Allah has chosen you to guide your people.”

To strengthen what Lady Khadīja already knew, she intended to confirm it with those who had knowledge of past scriptures and were experts on the affairs of the messengers. So she took him, peace and blessing be upon him, to Waraqa bin Nawfal, her paternal uncle’s son. He was a man who had accepted Christianity in the time of Jāhilīyya. He was literate in Hebrew and would inscribe what Allah willed him to from the Hebrew Injīl. He was an old man who had become blind. Lady Khadīja requested him: “Cousin! Listen to your nephew.”
“My nephew, what is it that you see?”, he replied. So he, peace and blessings be upon him, told him what he saw. Waraqa informed him: “This is the archangel that Allah Almighty sent to Mūsā”; as he knew that Allah’s message-bearer to the prophets was Jibrīl. He then added, “If only I could be a young man when your people will force you from your homeland in which you were raised, due to their enmity towards you and their hatred of you. This will be when you demand them to change their beliefs upon which they found their forefathers.” This accusation upon his people surprised him, peace be upon him, as he only knew of their affection for him. They had characterised him as having excellent manners and being honest, even naming him al-Amīn – The Trustworthy One. He, peace and blessings be upon him, questioned: “They will expel me?!”
“No man has brought the likes of what you bring expect that history repeats”, he replied. The blessed Quran says the same:

“The disbelievers said to their messengers, ‘We shall expel you from our land unless you return to our religion.’…” [Blessed Quran – Ibrahīm – 14:13]

To complete his testimony to the prophethood of the Most Honoured, peace and blessings be upon him, Waraqa added: “If I live to that day, I will strive to help you.” Then Waraqa did not remain alive much longer.