The Message of Islam — Page 21
The Commencement of Revelation 21 after an interval the Prophet saw began to receive revelation at brief intervals. He has described the experience vividly in these words: ‘Revelation comes to me in different ways. Sometimes the words strike directly at my heart, like the ringing of a bell, this is physi- cally hard on me. Sometimes I hear the words as if spoken from behind a veil. At other times I see a Presence that speaks the words to me. ’ This is confirmed by the Quran: ُءٓاَشَي١ؕ ٗهَّنِا ٌّيِلَع ٌمْيِكَحَو اَم َناَك ٍرَشَبِل ْنَا ُهَمِّلَكُّي ُهّٰللا اَّلِا اًيْحَو ْوَا ْنِم ِئٓاَرَّو ٍباَجِح ْوَا َلِسْرُي اًلْوُسَر َيِحْوُيَف ٖهِنْذِاِب اَم And it is not for a man that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil or by sending a messenger to reveal by His command what He pleases. Surely, He is High, Wise. ( Surah ash-Shuraa, 42:52) Four persons believed in the Prophet saw from the very outset: his wife, Khadijah ra ; his young cousin, Ali ra, son of his uncle, Abu Talib, a lad only eleven years of age; his freed man, Zaid ra, and his closest friend, Abu Bakr ra. These four joined the Prophet saw and undertook to help him spread the Divine Light. When this become known to the Meccans, they laughed in derision. But they did not laugh long. Verse by verse, the revelation proceeded, until some wondered, and one by one began to be drawn to it. Soon mockery gave way to active concern. The Meccans began to feel that the message Muhammad saw proclaimed, of the Oneness of God, threatened their whole way of life and their very means of subsistence. If the worship of idols was abandoned, they rea- soned, Makkah would cease to be a resort for pilgrims, and lose its position as a leading town, and would see its main industry