On the Threshold of Prophethood

The Holy Prophet’s ancestors were all monotheists and his household was pure. Beside the sincerity and purity of his ancestors and household, he enjoyed pure and high education and always stayed away from the unseemliness and abomination of idolatry practiced by the Meccan people. [1] Referring to the period of the Holy Prophet’s training and education, Imam `Ali (a.s) states:

From the time of Muhammad's nursing days, God provided him with His most elegant angels to guide him towards the most appropriate virtues. [2]

Imam al-Baqir (s) has said,

From the time the Holy Prophet stopped suckling, God appointed him an elegant angel to teach and train him good manners and appropriate behavior. It was the same angel who, prior to his prophethood, called him saying “Blessings be to you, Prophet Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah.” However, the Holy Prophet thought that the voice was coming from the stones and the ground; and the more he paid attention the less he could observe anything. [3]

Approaching his prophethood, Muhammad (s) had reached the highest point in rational thinking; he could not tolerate corrupted surroundings anymore and preferred seclusion. [4]

From the time he was thirty-seven years old, he was dominated by some specific spiritual conditions. He felt there was a window open to him from the unknown world. Whatever he had heard from Bahira, Nustur and others was taking place, because he was observing a new light and exposed to some secrets: he repeatedly received some messages from Gabriel, but he could not identify the sender. [5] For a time during his sleep, he was addressed as the Prophet. Once, in the desert surrounding Mecca, he heard someone calling him Messenger of Allah. He asked, “Who are you?” The answer was, “I am Gabriel; God has sent me to tell you that you are His Messenger.” When he told his wife of the content of the message, she became delighted, saying, “I hope it is true.”[6]

During this time, Muhammad (s) used to resort to Hara’ Mount to pray God[7] in seclusion. [8] It was a common practice among the Qurayshi monotheists to stay at Hara’ and worship God. [9] The first person to carry out such a practice was `Abd al-Muttalib, the Holy Prophet's grandfather, who used to go to Hara’ during the months of Ramazan. He used to feed the needy in this month. [10]

The Start of Prophethood

When Muhammad (s) was at the age of forty, he still attended the Hara’ Mount to pray to God where he received the first verses of the Holy Qur’an as the first revelations:[11]

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Read in name of your Lord who created. He created man from a clot. Read and your Lord is most honorable, who taught to write with the pen, taught man what he knew not. (96:1-5)[12]

In two places of the Holy Qur’an, God has referred to the meeting of Muhammad (s) with Gabriel.

I swear by the star when it goes down; Your companion (i.e. Muhammad) does not err, nor does he go astray; nor does he speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed; the Lord of Mighty Powers has taught him, the Lord of strength; so he attained completion, and he (i.e. the angel) is in the highest part of the horizon. Then he drew near (to Muhammad) then he bowed so he was the measure of two bows or closer still. And He revealed to His servant what he revealed. The heart (of Muhammad) was not untrue, making him see what he saw. (53:1-12)[13]

I swear by the stars, that run their course and hide themselves, and the night when it departs, And the morning when it brightens, Most surely it is the Word of an honored messenger, The possessor of strength, having an honorable place with the Lord of the Dominion, One to abide, and faithful in trust. And Your companion (Muhammad) has not gone mad. And of a truth, he saw himself on the clear horizon. Nor of the unseen has he tenacious concealed. Nor is it the word of the cursed Shaitan, Wither then will you go? (81:15-25)

An Untrue Account of the Start of the Revelation

In some historical books, there is an erroneous and mystical account of the prophethood of Muhammad (s). This account is widespread; it has found its way into some Persian books as well; therefore, it is better for us to evaluate it critically.

`a’ishah reports: When revelation occurred to Muhammad (s), its content was right. Any dream that he had previously had come true. Then, he became fond of seclusion; he took refuge in Hara’ cave. He used to stay there praying God, then he would return to his family and receive some food from Khadijah to return to the cave. When the angel came to him, he was staying at the cave. The angel said, “Read.” The Prophet answered, “I do not know how to read.” The angel took and squeezed him so much that he lost his temper! Then, the angel let go of him, saying, “Read.” The Prophet, once more, answered, “I do not know how to read.” The angel again squeezed and ordered him to read. Once again, the Prophet replied that he could not read. On the third time, the pressure was so great on the Prophet’s body that he could tolerate no more. Then, the angel said, “Read in the name of your Lord Who created.” The Prophet returned home trembling all over. Going directly to Khadijah, he asked her to cover him. As she did, his fear and anxiety went away. The Prophet then told Khadijah about what had happened and about his anxiety. At that time, she tried to ease him, saying, “I swear to God that He would never humiliate you since you have been kind to everybody; you have been helping the needy and hosting the guests.” Then, Khadijah accompanied him to her cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal. He was a blind elderly man who had converted to Christianity and translated the Gospel into Hebrew. Khadijah said, “It is prophethood, cousin! Listen to what he will tell you.” Waraqah asked Muhammad (s), “What do you see, my nephew?” The Prophet told him what had happened. Waraqah then said, “This is the same angel who had revealed to Moses. I wish I were young now. I wish I would be alive when your people would expel you.”^[14]

Criticism

As we have already said, this narration in this form is not acceptable. The following reasons show that it lacks the required authenticity:

(1) The narrator is `a’ishah who was born in the fourth (or fifth) year after prophethood. [15] Therefore, she was not mature enough at that time to have reported this account and since she does not mention the name of the original narrator, her reporting lacks the required authenticity.

(2) According to this narration, the angel of revelation forced Muhammad (s) to read while he was illiterate! If we assume that Muhammad (s) had to read God's verses, a written plate, it is neither natural nor logical, since God and the angel knew that he was illiterate and he did not have the skill of reading. If it is meant that the Prophet had to repeat the verses after the angel, this should not have been very difficult for Muhammad (s) who was mentally mature and advanced at that age.

(3) What is meant by the angel's persistence in putting pressure on the Prophet? This is absurd when we realize that learning is a mental act; therefore, bodily pressure would not have any effect on it. If we assume that the Prophet could have suddenly become capable of reading through God's Power, God's determination would have sufficed and these arrangements would have looked absurd. Even if we assumed that the source of this bodily pressure had been due to Muhammad's relationship to the unknown world and the source of creation (This is because he, with all his grandeur, was earthly and had an earthly and mundane origin), this assumption would be hard to justify. This is because, according to the Holy Qur’an, the revelation of God’s word to the Prophets happens in the following ways:

pa) Direct connection and the receipt of the Divine Revelation without any intermediary,

b) Through hearing the voice without observing the owner of the voice, and

c) Through Gabriel or the Angel of Revelation. [16]

The Holy Prophet suffered a lot of pressures only when he was receiving the revelations; in accordance with some narrations, he suffered such tremendous amount of pressures that he would lose the color of his face and perspire a great deal so much so that the drops of sweat would fall from his complexion. [17] However, if he received the revelations indirectly through the angel, he would not undergo any drastic bodily changes. This state is reported by Imam al-sadiq (s) who said,

Whenever the revelation came through Gabriel; he said so and so; however, if he received the revelation directly, he would show the pressures he was under and sometimes he would become unconscious. [18]

Meeting with Gabriel did not produce any special emotional reaction in the Holy Prophet and Gabriel would never enter his presence without permission. He would sit in front of him quite politely. [19]

Historians unanimously contend that since the first verses of the Holy Qur’an were revealed in the Hara’ cave by Gabriel, the Holy Prophet did not suffer any unusual pressure. Of course, this does not negate the worry which the Holy Prophet had vis-à-vis the idolaters and their animosities.

(4) Taking into consideration the fact that the Holy Prophet received the revelations continuously, there is no need to assume that he would be taken by surprise or have been perplexed. Besides, in most records, Gabriel attended the Holy Prophet’s presence for the first time on Saturday night, Sunday night and Monday night to ascend revelations to him. [20]

So, Gabriel’s visit in Hara’ was not the first so that he might have been perplexed. Generally, it is the case that a person would not receive God's revelation unless he was quite prepared for such a huge position.

(5) How could it happen for Khadijah to have known more than the Holy Prophet and to have comforted him when she had seen him anxious?

(6) The worst part of the above fable is the assumption that the Holy Prophet had been raised to this position of prophethood without previous knowledge; and that he had not recognized Gabriel and could not have recognized him or his Message until an old Christian confirmed; and Muhammad (s) had relied on his prediction and had been assured of his prophethood and had become quiet! We do not need to elaborate on this story because it is so absurd that it would not need to be criticized.

(7) It is noteworthy that such unfounded myths have never been presented for the prophethood of the previous prophets.

(8) This myth is incompatible with what the Holy Qur’an states about the Holy Prophet:

The heart was not untrue making him see what he saw. (53:11)

tabirsi, well-known Shi`ite scholar and interpreter of the Holy Qur'an, writes:

God would not reveal anything to His Prophet unless His revelations are accompanied by some vivid reasons and unless He assures to the Prophet that what is revealed unto him is from God. The Prophet would not need anything more and he does not need to be worried. [21]

When Imam al-sadiq (s) was asked by one of his followers, “Why didn't the Holy Prophet assume that the revelation could have been nothing but Satan’s temptations when he received them?” The Imam answered,

“When God appoints a servant of His as a prophet, He would give him the required assurances in such a way that he would vividly observe what is revealed unto him.”[22]

Although they are distinguished scholars, the interpreters of sahih al-Bukhari and sahih Muslim (in which `a’ishah’s account appears) have taken the narration as authentic and then tried to explain it, but they resorted to spurious reasoning which at times seems irrational. [23]

Similar narrations have been reported by narrators such as `Abdullah ibn Shaddad, `Ubayd ibn `Umayr, `Abdullah ibn `Abbas and `Urwah ibn al-Zubayr. However, since their accounts are baseless and invented, we will not deal with them. [24] These spurious and unfounded accounts have penetrated into some Christian sources and misused against the Holy Prophet. [25] This critique of ours would make them useless.

Secret Invitation to the New Religion

For three years, the Holy Prophet invited people to the new religion secretly, because the circumstances at Mecca were not yet ready for an open invitation. During these three years, he secretly met people whom he thought mentally ready to accept the new religion. [26] He invited them to accept the uniqueness of Allah and his prophethood. Meanwhile, Quraysh became aware of his claims; whenever they saw him on the roads and streets, they used to remark, “The young man of Banu-`Abd al-Muttalib talks about the heavens.”[27] However, they were not aware of the content of his invitations since he did not proclaim his ideology. Therefore, they would not react harshly.

During this time, some people became Muslims. Then, one of these newly converted, named Arqam, offered his house which was at the foot of safa Mount to be used by the Prophet.

Up to the time when he initiated his open invitation, the Holy Prophet and Muslims would gather at this house, which had become a center for the religious propaganda, and prayed therein. [28]

The First Muslim Woman and Man

In accordance with the unanimous view of Muslim historians, Khadijah was the first woman to accept Islam. Among men, `Ali[29] was the first man to accept Islam. [30] This is because it was natural for the Prophet to inform Khadijah, his wife, and `Ali, who was a member of his household and was educated and nourished by him, of his ideology as soon as he returned home from Hara’. Those two who were familiar with Muhammad's sincerity, confirmed him immediately. It would not be difficult to prove this issue even in the absence of valid historical documents. However, there are ample documents, some of which we will address here:

The Reasons Behind `Ali's Taking the Lead

(1) The Holy Prophet explicitly referred to `Ali's pioneering in accepting Islam. At the presence of a group of Muslims, he declared:

The first person among you who will meet me at the side of the heavenly fountain [Kawthar], on the Resurrection day, will be `Ali, who is the first among you who accepted Islam. [31]

(2) Great and well-known narrators report that Muhammad (s) became a prophet on Monday and `Ali prayed with him on Tuesday. [32]

(3) Imam `Ali (s), concerning this issue, remarks:

On that day, Islam had not yet entered the house of the Holy Prophet and Khadijah: I was the third one after them. I could vividly see the light of prophethood and smell its fragrance. [33]

(4) Elsewhere, Imam `Ali (s) refers to his pioneering in Islam:

O God, I am the only person who answered the Prophet's call and turned to You. Except for the Prophet, nobody else prayed You before me. [34]

(5) Imam `Ali (s) says elsewhere:

I am God's servant and the brother of the trustworthy Prophet. I prayed with him seven years prior to the others. Nobody may deny it except for a wicked liar. [35]

(6)  `Ufayf ibn Qays al-Kindi says:

During the Ignorance Era, I used to be a trader of perfumes. On one of my journeys, I entered Mecca and visited `Abbas, one of the Meccan merchants and the Prophet's uncle, on an extremely hot day. A young man whose face was as bright as the moon came. He looked up at the sky, stood in the direction of the Kaaba and started praying. After a short time, another good-looking young man arrived, stood next to him and started praying. Then a veiled woman arrived, stood behind them and started praying. I was astonished to see three persons praying at the center of the idolaters. I turned my face toward `Abbas and exclaimed, “What restful scenery!” He repeated my sentence and added, “Do you recognize these three?” I replied, No, I do not.” He said, “The first person was my nephew, Muhammad ibn `Abdullah; the second was my other nephew, `Ali ibn Abi-talib; the third was Muhammad's wife. Muhammad claims that his religion has come from Allah. Now, these are the only believers in this religion on the entire earth.”[36]

This issue vividly shows that at the beginning of the spread of Islam, it was Imam `Ali who joined the Prophet after Khadijah. Pioneering in the acceptance of Islam is a value which the Holy Qur’an has highly stressed:

And the foremost are the foremost; these are they who are drawn near to Allah. (56:10-11)

The Holy Qur’an also considers of great value the conversion to Islam of those who, prior to the conquest of Mecca, sacrificed their lives and wealth for God’s sake and accepted the new religion:

…not alike; among you are those who spent before the victory and fought. They are more exalted in rank than those who spent and fought afterwards; and Allah has promised good to all; and Allah is aware of what you do. (57:10)

The significance of conversions to Islam prior to the conquest of Mecca (which occurred at the eighth year AH) lies in the fact that they accepted Islam at a time when it was not yet powerful and when Mecca was still the stronghold for the idolaters and Muslims' lives and wealth were at risk from permanent danger. Of course, Muslims achieved some security after their migration to Medina and the acceptance of Islam by the two tribes of Aws and Khazraj and the other neighboring tribes; in later military conflicts, Muslims were triumphant. However, the environment was still dangerous. For these reasons, the acceptance of Islam under those perilous and turbulent times was quite significant. Such early acceptance of Islam was a great honor for the Prophet's close followers. Having this in mind, we will realize how important Imam `Ali's early acceptance could have been.

The Pioneer Groups in Acceptance of Islam

Among the social groups of those days, two groups pioneered in accepting Islam:

A) The youth

A cursory look at the list of the early Muslims indicates that most of them were youth. Elderly people were conservative; idolatry was deeply rooted in them. Due to their bright minds, the youth were more ready to accept the new faith—a fact applying to religious revelations.

On the basis of a historical report, during the early days of the secret invitation to Islam, there were groups of youth and destitute people who joined Islam. [37] When the Holy Prophet started his public invitation and when his followers increased in number, people of Quraysh complained to Abu-talib about Muhammad, saying, “We have come to you several times to ask you to ask your nephew to stop cursing our ancestors and idols and seducing our children, men, women, and servants into the new faith...”[38]

On the Holy Prophet's journey to ta’if for the propagation of Islam, the noblemen refused to accept Islam for fear that their youth might follow Muhammad. [39] After the migration to Abyssinia, representatives of Quraysh went to the royal court of the Abyssinian king, al-Najashi, to force these Muslims to return home. In that court, there were some complaints regarding the spread of Islam among the youth of Mecca. [40]

A man from the Hudhayl tribe entered Mecca and the Holy Prophet invited him to Islam. Abu-Jahl warned him, saying, “Never listen to Muhammad; this man considers us stupid and says that our dead parents would go to hell. Besides, he utters nonsense.” The man asked, “How come you don’t expel him from your city?” Abu-Jahl replied, “If he is expelled, our youth will go after him and listen to his flowery speech and then they will attack us.”[41]

`Utbah, a dignitary of Quraysh, complained to Asad ibn Zurarah, a nobleman from the Khazraj tribe in Yathrib, about the inclinations of the youth towards the Holy Prophet. [42]

An investigation of the list of the early Muslims shows that most of them were under thirty years of age. For instance, Sa`d ibn Abi-Waqqas was either seventeen[43] or nineteen[44] years old; al-Zubayr ibn al-`Awwam was fifteen[45] or sixteen;[46] `Abd al-Rahman ibn `Awf was thirty; he was born ten years after the Elephant Year. [47] Mus`ab ibn `Umayr was nearly twenty-five years old; at the time of his martyrdom at the Battle of Uhud that took place at the third year after Hegira, he was nearly forty years old. [48] Arqam, who submitted his house to the Prophet, was between twenty and thirty years old; when he died in 55 AH, he was eighty years old. [49]

B) The Deprived and the Oppressed

By these two expressions, so prevalent in the Islamic sources, is meant the freed slaved who, despite superficial freedom, had some relationships with their previous owners. They were called mawla meaning made free. Another group of these oppressed ones was the strangers who had come to Mecca from other places to live. Since they lacked tribal associations, they had to be under the protection of a certain tribe in order for them to be secured. They did not enjoy the same rights that members of Quraysh had. They were socially disadvantaged.

This group, who had no tribe in Mecca to be affiliated with and who lacked power, represented the pioneers in the acceptance of Islam. [50] Their conversion to Islam was not tolerated by the infidels, according to a narration; whenever the Holy Prophet (s) sat in the Holy Precinct with his oppressed followers—such as `Ammar ibn Yasir, Khabbab ibn al-Aratt, suhayb ibn Sinan, Bilal, Abu-Fukayhah and Amir ibn Fuhayrah—they were ridiculed by people of Quraysh who sarcastically remarked, “Look at his companions! God has chosen from among us these bare-footed individuals who have adopted Islam!”[51]

The chiefs of Quraysh, once, passed by a gathering which the Holy Prophet had held with suhayb, Khabbab, Bilal, `Ammar and some others. Observing this, they addressed the Holy Prophet, saying, “Muhammad! Have you selected only this few from among your nation and you are happy with them? Should we follow this group? Has God only guided this group? If you dismiss this group, we might then be your followers.” At this time, the following Qur'anic verses were revealed:

And do not drive away those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, they desire only His favor; neither are you answerable for any reckoning of theirs, nor are they answerable for any reckoning of yours, so that you should drive them away and thus be of the unjust.

And thus, so We try some of them by others so that they say: Are these they upon whom Allah has conferred benefit from among us? Does not Allah best know the grateful? (6:52-53)

During the first years of his mission, people of Quraysh dispatched some representatives to ask about the Holy Prophet. They went to the Jews: “We have come here to seek your advice regarding the event that is taking place in our town. A young orphan thinks that he has been sent by Rahman (the All-beneficent God); and we do not know any person by this name except for one living in Yamamah.” The Jew asked for the characteristics of the Holy Prophet: “Who are his followers?” They replied, “The lowliest persons!” The great Jewish scholar replied smilingly, “This is the same Prophet whose signs are predicted in our Holy Book. His nation will be his worst enemies.”[52]

Of course, the rapid inclinations of the oppressed towards Islam did not mean securing the interests or benefits of special social classes; rather, they implied the negation of the worldly domination of man over man; they implied the adoption of Allah's government and domination—an immediate threat to the power of the aggressors and oppressors that excited their severe opposition. This matter had happened with the previous prophets as well:

But the chiefs of those who disbelieved from among his people said:  We consider you but a mortal like ourselves, and we do not see who have followed you but those who are the meanest of us at first thought and we do not see in you any excellence over us; nay, we deem you liars. (11:27)

The chief of those who behaved proudly among his people said to those considered weak to those who believed from among them: Do you know that salih is sent by his Lord? They said: Surely, we are believers in what he has been sent with. (7:75-76)

Inviting His Relatives to the New Religion

After three years of his mission, the Holy Prophet received an order from Allah to invite his relatives to his faith:

And warn your nearest relations, and be kind to him who follows you of the believers. But if they disobey you, then say: Surely, I am clear of what you do. (26:214-216)

Having received this revelation, the Holy Prophet ordered Imam `Ali to prepare some food and invite the sons of `Abd al-Muttalib to hear God's revelation. Imam `Ali (s) carried out the order. Nearly forty people showed up. Among them were Abu-talib, Hamzah and Abu-Lahab. The food seemed insufficiently little; however, every body was able to eat their fill. Abu-Lahab declared, “This man has hypnotized you.” This statement caused the Holy Prophet to abandon his propagation of the faith on that day and the meeting came to an end with no result. Next day, `Ali (s) once again prepared some food and invited the same group. This time, the Holy Prophet, after dinner remarked,

I do not know of anybody among Arabs who has brought to his people anything better than what I am bringing to you. I am bringing to you the good of this world and the Other World. God has ordered me to guide you all to Him. Now, who is ready among you to help me and he will be my brother and successor?”[53]

Nobody answered. `Ali (s), who was the youngest among them, said, “O Messenger of God; I will help you.” Then, the Holy Prophet replied,

“This is my brother, my representative and my successor. Listen to obey him.”

p This event leads us to the basic fact that the issues of prophethood and Imamate are inseparable; during the first years of his prophethood and on the first day of his mission, the Holy Prophet brought up the topic of Imamate and the future leadership of Muslims.

On the other hand, it should not be assumed that the Holy Prophet, up to his death and during the event of Ghadir Khumm, brought up `Ali's Imamate. Later on, he brought up the same issue on other occasions, such as in the famous hadith al-manzilah (Narration of Position). [54] However, the event of Ghadir Khumm was the most significant for the announcement of `Ali's successorship due to the fact that there were so many witnesses present.

With regards to the sequence of the surahs (chapters of the Holy Qur'an), it could be understood that the invitation of the relatives could have happened prior to the public invitation to the new faith. [55]