On this trip...

On this trip, they came across another monk called Nestorah who also affinned the previous predictions of Baherah. The trading went exceptionally well and they made unusual profit in their transactions. They returned home laiden with exchanged merchandise. Khadija was very pleased at the great success of her trading mission under Muhammad and wondered over the stories her servant had told her about him.

Marriage to Khadija and their progeny Muhammad had reach ' ed marriageable age of twenty five years. Khadija was forty. The proposal of marriage for the two, originating from Khadija, was gladly accepted by Muhammad, after consultation with his uncle, and they were married. The nikah was recited by Abu Talib. They had three sons and one daughter from this marriage, but only the daughter Fatima survived. Her brothers Qasim, Abdullah and Taher (Tayyeb) all died in infancy.

The Cave of Hira and the beginnings of Divine Revelations Muhammad regularly visited a cave known as Hira, high in one of the mountains surrounding Makkah. He meditated and pondered over the complications and intricacies of the creation. During one of these days when he was deep in thought, the archangel Jibril of Allah appeared in front of him and asked him to read. Muhammad asked him what was he to read, for he had not received any formal education.

Jibril told him again " Read in the name of Allah who created man from but a mere clot. It is only He whom you must trust. It is He who teaches every thing. He is who teaches all that can be inscribed, and it is He who taught man what he knew not." After this extra-ordinary experience in the cave, Muhammad returned home and narrated this to his wife Khadija. She at once remembered the predictions that had been made about the prophethood of her husband.

She comforted him and he laid down under the cover of a light blanket. Jibril came down to him again with the message of Allah, "O, you who is lying under cover of the blanket, this is no time to rest! Get up and spread the message with energy and diligence!" This was a formal mandate to him to proclaim his prophethood. According to some reports, his daughter, Fatima was bom in the same year. The Methods of Spreading the Message The task was tough. The people were totally immersed in idolatory.

Many of them were rich and arrogant. He wondered how would he approach them and commence his task.