Divine Signs

Afew years after the judging in the Ka’ba, our Prophet started to receive some signs from the Divine. This kept on for about 4 years. There was no doubt that the Divine light was starting to rise over Arabia. Sometimes he would hear voices calling out, “O Muhammad!” and other times there would be a series of flashing lights. His blessed wife, Khadija, was the only one that knew what was happening to him. Our blessed mother Khadija would give solace to him each time, and she would utter words of faith and confidence. She told him that Allah would never embarrass him. In fact, she had complete faith in the truth that her husband was the awaited last Prophet to come.

The scholars, who had long been in pursuit of the signs of the last Prophet, could also feel that his coming was very close. When the Messenger of Allah was thirty-eight years old, Ibn al-Hayyiban, a Jewish scholar, migrated to Medina. Before long, he had fallen sick while in Medina. When he realized that he was going to pass away, he called out to the Medinan Jews.

“O Jews! Do you know the true reason for my coming to this land of poverty and hunger, from a land abundant in food and drink?” he asked them.

When the Jews replied, “You know better than we do,” Ibn al-Hayyiban said, “I came here to see the Prophet that would emigrate to this land! His time of coming is very close. O Jews! My advice to you is to be quick in joining him and following him, as I have done.” Then, he passed away.

That same year, a famous scholar of his time, Quss ibn Saida, had read a sermon while atop his camel in the fair at Ukaz. In this sermon, which he read to a big crowd, he gave the good tidings that the time of the last Prophet’s coming was drawing near. Those who were aware of what was written in the Holy Scriptures, their world was filled with these glad tidings during that period.

When the Messenger of Allah reached the age of thirty-nine he started having special, truthful dreams. Whatever he saw in his dreams at night, the same would happen during the day. This went on for about six months. Occasionally, he would hear the voice of a being that he could not see, calling out to him, saying, “O Muhammad!” As time went on, he had developed a liking to being alone by himself and had started to drift away from other people.

The fact that the society he was living in was leading an immoral life and that was suffocating him. Having forgotten the Creator of the universe, a majority of the people of Hijaz worshipped idols they made with their own hands, while others did not accept any belief at all. This worldly life was everything for them. All aspects of immorality, such as alcohol consumption, gambling, adultery, theft, fraud, and oppression had become a part of the daily life of society. The strong could very well force the weak into doing whatever they pleased. A person’s life had no value in their eyes. Being sold into slavery in the bazaar after an unexpected raid was not something out of the ordinary.

There was another group that believed in Allah and the Hereafter, yet failed to accept the belief that a Prophet was going to emerge from amongst the people. There were others that accepted the existence of Allah but did not believe in life after death. Aside from all of these, you could also find very few people that lived according to the monotheistic religion of Prophet Abraham. The idol-worshippers had filled even the Ka’ba with their idols. Yet, the Ka’ba was the first building in this world built according to the orders of Allah in order to bring peace and serenity to the people.

Allah’s Messenger could in no way break away from the Ka’ba, but the ways of the idol-worshipers was also hurting him deep within. Our Prophet witnessed these acts with a deep sadness; he wanted to ease the pain within and bring comfort to his soul. He had recently started to drift away from other people, wondering off to deserted areas, by himself, to ponder on his thoughts.

He would especially go up to the Mountain of Light very often. He would walk for hours to reach the mountain. He would sit inside the cave of Hira, facing the Ka’ba, and would dive deep in his gaze towards the Ka’ba. He had made it a habit to come to this cave on certain days of the year; this cave in which he would be alone with his Lord and would find peace and serenity.

Our Prophet found the cave of Hira very peaceful, yet each time he left home, Khadija would worry after him. She was frightened that something bad would happen to Allah’s Messenger. So, she would send her men after him to make sure that he was safe and sound. She would constantly instruct her men to protect him from any possible danger. There were many times when Khadija herself also followed in his path towards the Mountain of Light. She would walk the long miles for hours and would climb the 860-meter-high Mountain of Light and would bring food to Allah’s Messenger.

The bright light our Prophet saw around him and the voices that he heard had started to occur even more often than before. Especially as he left Mecca behind and came closer to the cave of Hira, he would hear voices say, “Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah!” He would immediately look to his right and left yet would see nothing else but the trees and rocks along the path. These things he experienced started making him anxious and worried. He would immediately come home and would tell his beloved wife, Khadija, of the things that happened to him. He would find comfort in her words.

On one of the days that he was returning from the cave of Hira, he heard someone calling out to him, saying,

“O Muhammad! I am the Archangel Gabriel!”

Allah’s Messenger shuddered with anxiety; he went to Khadija’s side and said to her, “I am worried that something bad will come to me.”

With her soothing tone of voice Khadija said to him, “Don’t utter such words! Allah will not embarrass such a servant as you! For you are a man who does not neglect that which is entrusted to you. You maintain your ties with those of your kin, you rush to their aid in their time of need, and you always tell the truth.”

It was yet another night; the darkness had fallen and everyone had gone into their homes. A deep silence ruled all around him, and at that moment, our Prophet heard the Archangel Gabriel’s voice once again. The voice said to him, “Peace be upon you.”

Our Prophet walked towards his home in hurried steps. When Khadija noticed the flustered way about him, she asked, “What is the matter? Did something happen?”

As soon as our Prophet finished describing what had happened to him, she cried out in excitement, “How wonderful for you, because peaceful greetings can only signify good.” The dreams he previously had, the glad tidings told of in the Holy Scriptures, and the things he was now experiencing, they all seemed to complement each other. These were the signs of Prophethood that had been longingly awaited for years.

Soon after, they went to Khadija’s cousin, Waraqa ibn Nawfal, to tell him of the events that had been happening. Waraqa ibn Nawfal was not at all surprised with what he heard. Every Prophet told of in the Holy Scriptures had experienced such events. He turned to Allah’s Messenger in a very calm manner, and said to him, “There is nothing harmful for you in this.”

When our Prophet said, “When I hear that voice, I change my direction and walk away in fear,” Waraqa responded, “Don’t do such a thing! When the one who is calling out to you comes, be patient and listen to what he has to say to you! Then come to me and tell me of the things you heard.”

It hadn’t been long until one day our Prophet was alone by himself once again, and he heard a voice call out, “O Muhammad!” This time, when he heard the voice, he did not walk away but waited a while longer, just as Waraqa had told him to do. The voice said to him, “O Muhammad! Say, ‘La ilaha illallah (There is no deity but Allah).’”

In the meantime, Allah’s Messenger was still seeing the special signs in his dreams. One time, he had seen a hole being opened on the top of his house by removing a piece of wood on the rooftop, then a silver staircase had been placed and two men had entered the house through this hole. Upon this sight, he had wanted to call someone for help but had been unable to speak. Then, these two men sat on either side of him. One of them took hold of him, reached into his body and took out two of his rib bones. Then, the man reached for his heart, taking it out and giving it to his hand. Meanwhile, the man was saying to his friend, “What a beautiful heart this righteous man has.”

Then he cleaned the heart and put it back into its rightful place. Before long, he also put the ribs back into their place. Afterwards, the men headed back in the direction they had come—they went up the stairs and disappeared out of sight. They took the staircase with them as they went. The roof was also retrieved to its previous state, and all was back to normal.

When our Prophet described his dream to Khadija, once again, she said, “Glad tidings to you!”

Then she continued, “There is no doubt that Allah only wants what is best and good for you. And that is wonderful tidings!”