Ghar e Hira: The Cave Of First Revelation
Ghar e Hira: The Cave Of First Revelation: Ghar e Hira is also known as the Hill of illumination and the Mountain of light. It is in the Jabal Al-Nour mountain and is the very first place known for Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) being blessed with any revelation out of many.
As per Islamic history and culture it is believed that the very first revelation of Holy Quran was received by Prophet Muhammad in Ghar e Hira during Ramadan in 610 CE. As the holy Quran says, ‘this very night is known to be the Night of Power’.
Once, when Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was on a solitude retreat in the cave, during the last 10 days of Ramadan, Hazrat Jibreel visited and asked the Prophet to recite the initial/ first verse of the Holy Quran. It is believed that during that time the very first revelation was received by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The Completed History of Ghar e Hira
It is believed that during his youth, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) travelled all around Syria and Palestine and sat down for meditation in quiet and isolated places. The mountain, Jabal Al Nour was a very favourite for Prophet. Here could meditate in solitude and focus on offering prayers to Allah.
When Prophet was 40 years old, he received his first revelation through Hazrat Jibreel, during the last third of the month of Ramadan. The angel gave him a piece of silk brocade and ordered him to read what was written on it. The Prophet was unable to read anything but suddenly he heard an angelic sound, which gave him his first revelation. It made the Prophet tremble in surprise.
He was then comforted by his wife who told him, he is a Prophet, the messenger of Allah. That was the time when Muhamad became Prophet Muhammad.
How to Reach Ghar e Hira
The Jabal Nour mountain is approximately 3 km away from the holy city of Makkah. One can easily take a cab or a bus to the reach the foot of the mountain. From here, the hike to the top of the mountain can take upto 2–3 hours depending upon one’s speed and stamina. From the top, one can easily spot the cave of Hira. To reach the top, it is a climb of about 1200 steps and the weather is usually hot. Therefore, most pilgrims prefer to hike up to the summit either at dawn or at dusk.
Ghar e Hira Hadith
The Hadith number 4 as narrated by Jabir bin Abdullah Al-Ansari states the following:
While talking about the period of pause in revelation, reported the speech of the Prophet (saw), “While I was walking, all of a sudden I heard a voice from the sky. I looked up and saw the same angel, who had visited me at the cave of Hira, sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth.
I got scared of him and came back and said, ‘Wrap me (in blankets).’ And then Allah (swt) revealed the following Holy Verses (of the Quran): ‘O you (Muhammad [saw]) enveloped (in garments)! Arise and warn… (up to) …and keep away from Ar-Rujz (the idols)!’ (V.74:1–5) After this, the revelation started coming strongly and frequently in succession one after the other.”
Certainly, Ghar e Hira or the cave of Hira in Jabal Nour is one of the important places in the history of Islam. Hence, pilgrims coming from outside of Makkah, and especially from foreign countries make it a point to visit here and pay their respects.