Meditation in the Cave of Hira (605-610 AD)||THE ADVENT OF DIVINE REVELATION

Meditation in the Cave of Hira (605-610 AD)||THE ADVENT OF DIVINE REVELATION

THE ADVENT OF DIVINE REVELATION

Meditation in the Cave of Hira (605–610605–610 AD)

By the time Mohammad (PBUH) was thirty-five, , his life had begun to change profoundly. He was sick of the idolatry and Arab Paganism. There were a few other noble souls inMakkah who Makkah who also sought answers to some of the fundamental questions concerning man, such as, "What is the purpose of life?What happens What happens after death? Howdo I do I worship Allah Subhana-Hu? Howdo we do we end  exploitation? Howdo we do we bring peace toto earth? Howdo I do I live a life pleasing to the Supreme Creator?

The sensitive mind of the future prophet, though highly perturbed seeing the pathetic conditions around him,  did not know what to do. He also had many questions but no answers.  His state of mind before he became the prophet of Allah is revealed in ayat 1-3 of Surah Alam-Nashrah of the Holy Quran. Allah says to His Messenger, "Did We not open your mind for you, and thus We removed the burden from you, which was going to break your back?"

The urgent inner questioning drove him increasingly into solitude. It became his practice to retire from his family for a month every year to a cave in the desert for meditation. His place of retreat was the cave "Hira" at the hilltop, not far from Makkah, and his chosen month was Ramadhan, the month of fasting. There is a small hole, naturally cut in the wall facing the House of Allah Bait Allah Muhammad (PBUH), and you must have been observing the Kaaba through it several times daily. Sitting in the cave, he was so deeply absorbed in meditation that often he

The Greatest Event

would forget himself and would not even think of food and water for days. His worship was the same kind of worship that his great-grandfather Ibrahim (PBUH) had performed before his assumption of the prophetic office. He used to reflect deeply into the creations of his Lord, and so he tried to recognize Him through His signs. He would spend days in and days out thinking about the Creator, His purpose behind this universe, and the purpose of man in this organism.

In this period of his life, he used to see true dreams. They appeared to him as real as daylight events. This must have been a matter of surprise to him and for Khadija (RAH), but there was no explanation. With time, he grew to love solitude more and more. Sometimes, Khadija (RAH) also accompanied her illustrious husband, but mostly he was all alone.

It was there on Mount Hira that one night, towards the end of the month of Ramadan in the year 610 AD, the greatest event of human history took place. He was then forty years old. On that night, the Creator of the worlds manifested the reason for His creation of the universe and raised Muhammad (PBUH) as His Prophet and Messenger to all mankind and Jinns for all times to come. The blessed night on which that great event took place is given the name "Laila-tul-Qadr," i.e., "The Night of Honor," in the Holy Quran. It was the night of fulfillment of all the prophecies about the last Messenger of Allah, a night of great reward, better than the entire lifetime earnings of any individual.

With it, the new world order began, the era of the previous prophets came to an end, and the "Last of them" advanced on the scene of the earth to testify to the truth of the earlier prophets and to complete their message for mankind for all times to come. Henceforth, no religion is acceptable to the

Creator but Islam, i.e., "peace through submission to Allah alone" It is not a new religion but a continuation of the teachings of the time, as determined by priestly injunctions. Hence the need for the new prophet.  Mohammad (PBUH) told that before him, more than 100 thousand prophets were sent by Allah at various times to various nations over earth, and he is the final one, to complete their mission of life, who throughout ages had been giving the glad tidings of his coming (8).

It had been foretold by Jesus Christ (PBUH) in the Holy Bible (John), "Lo! Be it, when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you on to truth, for he shall not speak of himself, but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak" (John,  XVI, 13). Thus, Jesus (PBUH) ruled out his being the last prophet and taught his followers to be on the lookout for him.

He is further reported to have been told in the Bible by St. Barnabas (8). "I am indeed sent to the House of Israel as a Prophet of Salvation; but after me shall come the Messiah, sent by God to all the worlds, for whom God has made the world" (Ch. 82, The Gospel of St. Barnabas).

Before Jesus (PBUH), Moses (PBUH) had also been told in the Old Testament, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me (Moses) from among your brethren (descendants of Ishmael).". (Deuteronomy XVIII, 15–19).

Such prophecies were not limited to the Old and New Testaments alone.  Tidings of his coming are also found in the oldest religious books of the Hindus, known as the Puranas. For example, it is mentioned in Purana Para-3. "A Malecha (belonging to foreign countries) spiritual leader and teacher will appear with his companions. His name will be the most praiseworthy, i.e., Ahmedd."(Bhavishya Purana Parv-3 Khand 3)

Adhya 3, Shalok 5-8). (Ref. 8). And in the Vedas, it was proclaimed. "O people, listen to this emphatically! The man of praise (Mohammad) will be raised among the people (Atharna Veda Kanda 20, Sukta 127 Martra 1-3). These references have been dug by a Hindu professor, K.S. Rama Krishna Rao (14) of Benaras University.