We return to the long hadith of revelation in Bukhari, Jaabir continues the stor

y and mentions the prophet PBUH stopped getting revelation. Ibn Abass says the p
rophet PBUH would wonder Mecca and its valleys wanting to see Jibraeel AS again.
Some scholars say 2/3 years - this is way too much. Az-Zahabee said "many days"
so around 40 days. Thus an entire month and 10 days he didn't see Jibraeel AS a
gain. And he would go to the mountain of Hira expecting to see Jibraeel. Until f
inally one day he was coming down and he heard his name being called. He looked
in front and behind and couldn't see anyone. Then the prophet PBUH said "I looke
d up and there was the angel I had seen on Hira on a throne between the heavaans
and the Earth". Then the prophet PBUH began to tremble out of fear - subhanAlla
h he wanted to see him but when he saw him he trembled immensly. One report says
the prophet PBUH dropped onto his knees. So he rushes home again saying "Cover
me cover me" and this was when the second revelation were revealed. This is when
surah Mudatthir was revealed.
What is the wisdom of these 30/40 days? The scholars say one wisdom is to prepar
e him for the second reunion. To recollect his energy and make him feel enthused
. But despite this preperation he still became terrified when he saw him. All of
this shows us the humanity of the prophet PBUH. This surely isn't something a f
raud would do - if someone wanted to claim to be a prophet, the stories that are
invented are all grandeous. Look at the story of the prophet PBUH - we find a h
uman reaction and one that is sincere. Further, what is the relevance of these p
aticular verses? The revelation occured in the house of Khadija RA. This shows J
ibraeel AS followed the prophet PBUH back to the house and then said "Oh you who
is clothed" - meaning "Oh you who is living in comfort and ease, stop this life
of ease, stand up, be active, leave this sheltered life AND go out and warn the
people." And Jibraeel AS "While you are doing this, praise Him and glorify your
Lord". And "Make sure you're garments are clean - make sure you have a pure sou
l and a good soul. And as for idols, get rid of them and leave them". Then Allah
says "Don't remind people of the favours that you've done". This is important b
ecause Allah is saying when you do good, don't do it to get the favours back fro
m people or be repayed back. Again this goes back to sincerety - do things only
for the sake of Allah. Thus the prophet PBUH was not allowed to take charity or
zakat - "tell the people I'm not getting your money nor your sustenance". And th
e last ayah Jibraeel AS revealed was "for the sake of your Lord, be patient". Th
is shows that there WILL be calamities and troubles but be patient.
What exactly is revelation? How does it occur? It is a direct communication from
Allah to mankind. Ibn Qayyim said the prophet PBUH was inspired by 7 different
means:
1. True dreams - owest form of inspiration is true dreams. This is the only form
of inspiration still open to all of us. And anyone can get this. The prophet PB
UH saw these before and after his prophethood.
2. Whispering of the angels - ilhaam. Example is the mother of Musa being inspir
ed by Allah "We inspire the mother of Musa". This type of inspiration happens to
the extremely righteous people that Allah chooses. Similarly the mother of Isa
AS. So this type of inspiration does not make you a prophet.
3. To see the angel in front of your directly, and to speak to him directly in h
uman form. Sometimes the sahaba see him, and sometimes they don't. This is what
happened many times. Usually when Jibraeel AS would come to him, he would come i
n the form of a sahabi called Dihya, an ansaari, who was considered to be the mo
st handsome of all sahabi. Many times people thought they saw Dihya when actuall
y it was Jibraeel AS. Aisha RA saw the prophet PBUH talking to Dihya and asked "
what did he want" but the prophet PBUH said "that was Jibraeel". This was easier
for the prophet PBUH to bear.
4. More difficult inspiration - Jibraeel AS would communicate with the prophet P

BUH and the prophet PBUH would go into a 'trance'. The world around him would be
come unknown. Aisha RA said "in this state, the prophet PBUH on a cold day would
break into a sweat". In another hadith "when surah Ma'ida came down the prophet
PBUH was sitting on a camel, and the surah was so heavy the camel had to sit do
wn". As Allah says on the Quran "We will give you a heavy speech". In another ha
dith the prophet PBUH was resting on a sahaba and when wahi began the sahaba sai
d he thought his thigh bone would crack. In a hadith the prophet PBUH said "some
times Jibraeel AS comes to me in the form of a man, and sometimes he communicate
s with me and I hear a noise like the sound of a bell, and this is more difficul
t for me - and I understand what he tells me".
5. The prophet PBUH would see Jibraeel AS in his original angelic form. And scho
lars have differed how many times this has happened - for sure this happened at
least twice. All we know he was so big he blocked the horizion and he has 600 wi
ngs (the most number of wings of an angel).
6. Allah inspired him directly without the intemediary of the angels.
7. The highest form - Allah's direct speech. This only happened once to the prop
het PBUH in the journey of al-'Isra' wal-Mi'raj. Only once Allah spoke to him di
rectly - Jibraeel AS was not there. So the prophet PBUH went to a place where he
could hear the scribes writing. And was closer than two bows lengths. And he co
uld see the hijab of Allah - the veil of light; and this was when Allah spoke to
him directly. And certainly Allah preferred the prophet PBUH directly as he cal
led the prophet PBUH to the seven heavans.
Some scholars came he became a nabi with Iqra. When he got second revelation, he
became a rasul. What is the difference between them? There are four opinions:
1. One group of scholars say there is no difference. They are synonyms. This is
not the strongest opinion, of them is the verse in the Quran "We didnt send befo
re you either a rasul or a nabi except that..." If they were the same, it dosen'
t make sense to say this. So not the strongest opinion.
2. A nabi is one who is inspired by Allah with a revelation but not called to pr
each it. Whereas a rasul is told to proclaim it to mankind. This is very problem
atic - in the Qur'an Allah says He also sent nabis. Also the prophet PBUH said "
I saw all of the prophets and there was a nabi with a large group, few people, 2
people and no one". Also it dosent make sense because we are told if you concea
l knowledge you will be punished. Thus logically this opinion cannot be right.
3. A rasul is someone who has been given a new shariah. A nabi follows the shari
ah of the rasul before him. It seems to be good but it dosen't match up to all o
f the examples. By this definition, Yusuf AS appears to have been a rasul. If a
nabi is someone who follows the shariah of the previous prophets, Adam AS was a
rasul. But the prophet PBUH said "Yes Adam was a nabi; Allah spoke to him in Jan
nah". And in Bukhari the prophet PBUH said "the first rasul in Nuh AS". Dawud an
d Sulayman AS they were rasul even though they followed the shariah of Musa AS.
Dawud AS had books, the Zaboor (it was not meant to be a law, its just praise).
Another example is Idris AS was a nabi, before Nuh AS. This third opinion does n
ot make sense.
Note: Can there me female prophets? This is a interesting question. Maryam AS is
the foremost example for those who believe there are female prophets so let us
see how she is described in the Qur'an. Its agreed that the angel showed himself
to Maryam AS - does this make her a prophet? No. The sahaba saw them. We alread
y mentioned ilhaam is not the wahi of the prohpets. But furter Allah says "Isa A
S was a rasul, and his mother was a 'siddique'". So the prophets of Allah has on
ly been men.

4. The correct opinion is that of Ibn Tamiyyah RA. You can see why - he talks wi
th precision and accuracy. He says lets look at the lingusitic meaning. Nabi com
es from naba'a which means information. So a nabi informs and preaches and teach
es - he gives information. He speaks to you a message form Allah. A rasul comes
from arsala rasoola which means to send, so a rasul is sent to a nation that doe
s not beleive in him. Whereas a nabi teaches to a people that already accepts hi
m. Nuh, Dawud, Sulayman they were sent. They established kingdoms. Another examp
le: Isa AS and Yahya AS. One was a rasul, the other a nabi because they accepted
Yahya and rejected Isa.
Generally every rasul has a new shariah (not permenant there are some exceptions
). The prophet PBUH said "there were 310 and something rasuls - a large quantity
and 124,000 prophets". This was the exact number of Badr, and also the exact nu
mber of the people of Thaloot (the people who crossed over the river). Thus we c
an see every rasul is a nabi, not the other way around. Out of the rasul, they a
re the elite rasul - Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa and Muhammad AS.
What is the purpose of prophets? Why do we need them? This is the difference bet
ween us and the rest. They believe they will find their own way in life but we b
eleive the best law of the law of Allah sent through the prophets. Allah knows w
hat is best. This is why He sends prohpets - to deny Allah sends prophets is to
deny the mercy and power of Allah. Its insulting to Allah. He says "they did not
give the respect that is due to Allah when they said Allah does not reveal anyt
hing to mankind". That is, they insulted Allah when they claimed he didn't send
anything. We say "for God so truly loved the world he send his only special prop
hets". Look around - how many states have the same laws? None of them. If its il
legal in one land, why is it legal in the other? It dosent make sense - thus its
necessary for Allah to send prophets.
Getting back to the seerah, in this early time when "Arise and warn" was reveale
d we only have a few brief stories as to what the prophet PBUH did. That is he p
reached to his friends and family. The first revert was Khadija RA which shows h
ow much faith she had in the prophet PBUH. She converted without even knowing. T
he second was Wariqah ibn Nawful. He reverted without even saying the shahada an
d died with Islam without ever praying or anything. The third is either Ali, Abu
Bukr or Zaid RA. One of the easiest to resolve is: first child was Ali, first a
dult man was Abu Bukr and first freed slave was Zaid. As for Ali there is no que
stion because he is being raised by the prophet PBUH and Khadija RA themselves i
n their household. At this time he was around 10 years old. Of course when Abu T
alib had Ali, the prophet PBUH offered to take care of Ali as Abu Talib was very
poor. So Ali was raised in the house of the prophet PBUH. Then of course the co
nversion of Abu Bukr: when the prophet PBUH presented Islam, he converted instan
tly. In a hadith, once when the companions began to argue the prophet PBUH said
to Umar RA, "Allah sent me with the truth, and all of your accused of me lying b
ut it was only Abu Bukr who said you are telling the truth". In another hadith,
"there was not a single person who accepted with doubt except for Abu Bukr RA".
Thus we see Abu Bukr RA was the best of companions. The prophet PBUH said "Allah
has chosen me as a kaleel - but were I to choose a kaleel it would have been Ab
u Bukr RA". The only sahabi to be mentioned by name is Zaid in the Qur'an. The o
ther sahabi that is mentioned is Abu Bukr RA - when Allah says "when the TWO of
them is in the cave". So Allah called him "the second of the two". That is, seco
nd to none but the prophet PBUH. So anyone who curses Abu Bukr, may Allahs curse
be on him. And then of course Zaid whose story we went through. These coverts w
ere directly from the prophet PBUH.
The next batch of converts all coverted by the hands of Abu Bukr.
1. Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas
2. Uthman ibn Affan
3. Zubayr ibn al-Awam

4. Abdur Rahman bin Awf

So Abu Bukr RA then went to these four people and they all converted. Sa'ad was
the youngest, around 16, and he was from a great family of the Quraysh. His moth
er threatened him, tried to toture him etc. She then used emotional blackmail "I
will stop eating and drinking if you dont worship idols. And I will die a painf
ul death in front of you". He tried to convince her but she withered away and on
her deathbed until Sa'ad became very emotional "I swear by Allah I will not giv
e my religion up no matter what you do - even if I had 100 lives and in each lif
e I saw you die I will not go back to wowrshipping idols". When his mother saw t
his determinaton, she broke her fast and started eating again. In response to th
is Allah said "if they force you to try and worship idols, dont listen to them b
ut be good to them". He is the first person to throw a bow and arrow for Islam.
He is the only person where the prophet PBUH said to him "may my father and moth
er be given to you in randsom". The prophet PBUH never said this to anyone. This
is a huge honour. And he was chosen in the Shura, Umar RA on his deathbed said
"I will choose the only people I am sure the prophet PBUH was happy with him, th
e first was Sa'ad". Uthman was also in this Shura and there are many things to s
ay about him, we will say later. Zubayr ibn al-Awam was the third convert - a di
rect cousin through the aunt. His mother is Saffiyah bint Abdul-Muttalib. He is
the son, brother and father of a sahabi. The prophet PBUH said "every prophet ha
s been given a special friend/disciple, my friend is Zubayr". And Abdru Rahman,
who was very wise and honest in his business. He is the famous one who had to gi
ve up all of his belongings to Quraysh when he left Mecca. And he came to Madina
h with just the clothes on his back. He took some butter and started selling etc
until he became a rich businessman again who lived a long and noble life.
The next companion to convert was Abdullah ibn Masud. All of these are from the
Quraysh and are noblemen who all have prominent lives in Islam. Every one of the
se early converts became a legand. They are a mountain in Islam in and of themse
lves. He was the first to convert not of the nobleman of the Quraysh. He wasnt n
oble nor was he a slave - he was in the middle. And he said "one day I was with
my flock and I saw two men. I didn't know who they were.. they say "oh young man
, we are thirsty can you give us some milk?"." Ibn Masud said "this milk isn't m
ine to give I cannot give it to you". So the prophet PBUH said "show us a she go
at that stopped producing milk". And then the prophet PBUH rubbed the goat and s
tarted producing milk. And so Ibn Mas'ood is astonished, he is seeing a miracle
- and he converts right there and thus. He is the one where the prophet PBUH sai
d "if you want to learn the Qur'an, read it like Ibn Masud". He said "I learnt o
ver 70 surahs directly from the prophet PBUH".
After this, alot of converts happened from the slave class. People such as Bilal
, Khabab, Yasir and his wife Sumaya and their son Amar etc. One final story, a v
ery interesting story of a Yemeni who was called Amr ibn Abasa. He narrates his
own story "I knew that idol worshipping was wrong. And I knew my nation was on m
isguidance so I didnt join them. News reached me someone in Mecca is saying this
. So I travelled all the way to Mecca and I found him not public, hiding. And I
asked him "who are you?". The prophet PBUH said "I am a prophet". Then I said "w
hat is a prohpet". And the prophet PBUH said "He is someone that Allah has sent"
. And I asked with what? The prophet PBUH said "to be good, break all idols and
worship Allah alone". And who has followed you? He said "one free man, and one s
lave - Abu Bukr and Bilal". Then I became a follower". Thus Amr wants to be a co
nvert, the first non-Meccan convert. But the prophet PBUH said "you cannot do th
is now". The early dawah was preach only to his own people. So he told Amr "go b
ack to your people and when you hear that I have been victorious over my own peo
ple then come back to me". SubhanAllah. Amr said I went back to Yemen waiting an
d knowing for this, and when I heard the prophet PBUH immigrated to Madinah I we
nt there, entered the mosque and said "Oh prophet, do you remember me?". The pro
phet PBUH said "yes - you are that man who came to me".

Full hadith:
Amr b. Abasa Sulami reported: "I in the state of the Ignorance (before embracing I
slam) used to think that the people were in error and they were not on anything
(which may be called the right path) and worshipped the idols. In the meanwhile
I heard of a man in Mecca who was giving news (on the basis of his prophetic kno
wledge) ; so I sat on my ride and went to him. The Messenger of Allah (may peace
be upon him) was at that time hiding as his people had made life hard for him.
I adopted a friendly attitude (towards the Meccans and thus managed) to enter Me
cca and go to him (the Holy Prophet) and
I said to him: Who are you? He said: I am a Prophet (of Allah).
I again said: Who is a Prophet? He said: (I am a Prophet in the sense that) I ha
ve been sent by Allah.
I said: What is that which you have been sent with? He said: I have been sent to
join ties of relationship (with kindness and affection), to break the Idols, an
d to proclaim the oneness of Allah (in a manner that) nothing is to be associate
d with Him.
I said: Who is with you in this (in these beliefs and practices)? He said: A fre
e man and a slave. He (the narrator) said: Abu Bakr and Bilal were there with hi
m among those who had embraced Islam by that time.
I said: I intend to follow you. He said: During these days you would not be able
to do so. Don t you see the (hard) condition under which I and (my) people are li
ving? You better go back to your people and when you hear that I have been grant
ed victory, you come to me.
So I went to my family. I was in my home when the Messenger of Allah (may peace
be upon him) came to Medina. I was among my people and used to seek news and ask
people when he arrived in Medina. Then a group of people belonging to Yathrib (
Medina) came. I said (to them): How is that person getting on who has come to Me
dina? They said: The people are hastening to him, while his people (the polythei
sts of Mecca) planned to kill him, but they could not do so. I (on hearing It) c
ame to Medina and went to him and said: Messenger of Allah, do you recognise me?
He said: Yes, you are the same man who met me at Mecca. I said: It is so."
So intially the dawah was private and closed and this is important to note. We w
ill explain further next time.