Chapter 2...

Chapter 2; verse 185) WE HAVE INDEED REVEALED THIS (MESSAGE) IN THE NIGHT OF POWER. (Quran Majid. Chapter 97; verse 1) BY THE BOOK THAT MAKES THINGS CLEAR; WE SENT IT DOWN DURING A BLESSED NIGHT... (Quran Majid. Chapter 44; verses 2 and 3) The Night of Power or the Blessed Night occurs, according to tradition, during the last ten nights of Ramadan, and could be the 21st or 23rd or 25th or 27th of the month.

According to the Gregorian calendar, the first revelation came to the Prophet on the 12th of February, 610, as per the calculations of Mahmud Pasha al-Falaki of Egypt. These five verses are at the beginning of the 96th chapter of Quran Majid. The name of the chapter is Iqraa (Read) or ~, (the Clot of Congealed Blood). In their respective accounts of the reception by Muhammed Mustafa of the First Revelation, the Sunni and the Shia Muslims are not in agreement.

According to the Sunni tradition, the appearance of Gabriel suprised Muhammed; and when the former ordered him to ~ he said: "I cannot read." This happened thrice, and each time when Muhammed declared his inability to read, the angel pressed him hard to his bosom. Eventually, he was able to repeat the five verses whereupon the angel released him, and disappeared.

When Archangel Gabriel disappeared, Muhammed, who was now "ordained" the Messenger of Allah, descended from the cliffs of Hira, and repaired to his home in a state of great trepidation. Apparently, Gabriel's sudden intrusion had been a traumatic experience for him. He was shivering with cold, and when he entered his house, he asked his wife, Khadija, to cover him with a blanket which she did.

When he had sufficiently recovered from the shock, he recounted to her the story of his strange encounter with Archangel Gabriel in the cave of Hira.

The traditional Sunni account of this event is given in an article written by Shaykh Ahmad Zaki Hammad, Ph.D., captioned "Be Hopeful," published in the magazine, Islamic Horizons of the Islamic Society of North America, Plainfield, Indiana, May-June 1987, as follows: "The Prophet (pbuh) in the early stages in Makkah, feared that the revelation experience was an evil touch preying upon him, playing with him mentally, upsetting his tranquility and peace of mind.

He was afraid that one of the jinn had touched him. He expressed this to Khadija.