Period of Revelation
The first seven verses of this Sura belong to the earliest period at Makkah. Even
according to some traditions which have been related in Bukhari
Muslim
Tirmidhi
Musnad Ahmad
etc.
on the authority of Hadrat Jabir bin Abdullah
these are the very earliest verses of the Qur'an to be revealed to the Holy Prophet
(upon whoa be peace). But the Muslim Ummahalmost unanimously agreed that the
earliest Revelation to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) consisted of the first five
verses of Sura Al-Alaq(XCVI) However
what is established by authentic traditions is that after this first Revelation
no Revelation came down to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) for quite some
time. Then
when it was resumed
it started with theme verses of Sura Al- Muddaththir. Imam Zuhri has given the following
details of it; "Revelation to the Holy Prophet remained suspended for quite some time
and it was such a period of deep grief and distress for him that he started going early to
the tops of the mountains to throw himself down from them. But whenever he stood on
the edge of a peak
the Angel Gabriel would appear and tell him that he was Allah's Prophet. This would
console him and restore to him full peace of mind." (Ibn Jarir). After this Imam Zuhri
relates the following tradition on the authority of Hadrat Jabir bin Abdullah; "The Ho]y
Messenger of Allah describing the period of falrat al-wahi (break in revelation) said: One
day when I was passing on the way
I suddenly heard a call from heaven. I raised my head and saw that the same Angel
who had visited me in the Cave of Hira was sitting on a throne between heaven and
earth. This struck terror in my heart
and reaching home quickly
I said: 'Cover me up
cover me up'. So the people of the house covered me up with a quilt (or blanket). At
that time Allah sent down the Revelation: Ya ayyuhal-Muddaththiru... From then on
revelation became intense and continuous." (Bukhari
Muslim Musnad Ahmad
Ibn Jarir). The rest of the Sura (vv. 8-56) was revealed when the first Hajj season came
after public preaching of Islam had begun in Makkah. This has been fully well described
in the Sura by Ibn Hishan and we shall cite it below.
Theme and Subject. Matter
As has been explained above
the earliest Revelation to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) consisted of the first
five verses of Sura Al-Alaq
in which it had been Said: "Read (O Prophet)
in the name of your Lord
Who created: created man from a clot of congealed blood. Read: and your Lord is Most
Generous
Who taught knowledge by the pen
taught man what he did not know." This was the first experience of Revelation met with
suddenly by the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace). in this message it was not told
what great mission he had been entrusted with and what duties he had to perk form in
future. He was only initiated into it and then left alone for a time so that the great strain
this experience had caused should pass away and he should mentally become
prepared to receive the Revelation and perform the prophetic mission in the future.
After this intermission when Revelation Was resumed
tbe first seven verses of this Sura Were revealed:In these he Was for the first time
commanded to arise and warn the people of the consequences of the way of life they
were following and to proclaim the greatness of God in the world where others were
being magnified without any right. Along with that he was given this instruction: The
demand of the Unique mission that you have to perform
now is that your life should be pure in every respect and you should carry out the duty
of reforming your people sincerely irrespective of any worldly gain. Then
in the last sentence
he was exhorted to endure with patience
for the sake of his Lord
all the hardships and troubles that he might have to face while performing his mission.
In the implementation of this Divine Command when the Holy Messenger of Allah
began to preach Islam and recite the Qu'anic Suras revealed success sively
the people of Makkah felt alarmed
and it provoked a great storm of opposition and hostility. A few months passed in this
state until the Hajjseason approached. The people of Makkah feared that if Muhammad
(upon whom be Allah's peace) started visiting the caravans of the pilgrims coming from
all over Arabia at their halting places and reciting the spell binding and unique
Revelations of the Qur'an in their assemblies on the occasion of Hajj
his message would reach every part of Arabia and influence countless people.
Therefore
the Quraishchiefs held a conference and settled that they would start a propaganda
campaign against the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) among the pilgrims as soon
as they arrived. After they had agreed on this
Walid bin al-Mughirah said to the assembled people: "If you said contradictory things
about Muhuammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings)
we all would lose our trust among the people. Therefore
let us agree upon one opinion
which we should all say without dispute. Some people said that they would call
Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) a soothsayer. Walid said : No
by God
be is not a soothsayer. We have seen the soothsayers: what they murmur and what
they utter has no remote resemblance with the Qur'an. Some other people said: Then
we say be is possessed. Walid said: He is not a possessed one: we have seen bad and
insane people; the way one talks disjointedly and behaves foolishly in that state is
known to all: who would believe that what Muhammad (upon whom be peace)
presented was the incoherent speech of a madman?The people said: Then we say he
is a poet. Walid said: No
he is not a poet
for we know poetry in all its forms
and what he presents conforms to no form of it. The people said: Then he is a sorcerer.
Walid said: He is no sorcerer either: we have Seen sorcerers and we also know what
methods they adopt for their sorcery. This also does not apply to Muhammad. Then he
said: "Whichever of these things you said about Muhammad
it would be known to be a false accusation. By God
his speech is sweet
his root is deep and his branches are fruitful. At this Abu Jahl urging on Walid said:
Your people will
