The Expeditions. Maʿmar ibn Rāshid

مع خديجة حتّى ولدت له بعض بناته، وكان لها وله القاسم. وقد زعم بعض العلماء أنّها ولدت له غلامًا آخر يُسمّى الطاهر. قال: وقال بعضهم: ما نعلمها ولدت له إلّا القاسم. وولدت له بناته الأربع: زينب وفاطمة ورقيّة وأمّ كلثوم. وطفق رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وسلّم بعدما ولدت له بعض بناته يتحنّث وحُبّب إليه الخلاء.

      The Messenger of God remained with Khadījah, and eventually she bore him several daughters. The two of them also had al-Qāsim. Some scholars claim that she bore him another young boy named al-Ṭāhir. Another scholar said, “We do not know of her giving birth to any boy except al-Qāsim, and she also bore him his four daughters: Zaynab, Fāṭimah, Ruqayyah, and Umm Kulthūm.” After she had born him a number of daughters, the Messenger of God also began to practice acts of religious devotion,²⁷ and he became fond of seclusion.

      1.2

      عبد الرزّاق قال: أخبرنا معمر قال: أخبرنا الزهريّ قال: أخبرني عروة عن عائشة، قالت:

      ʿAbd al-Razzāq said: Maʿmar related to us and said: al-Zuhrī related to us and said: ʿUrwah related to me that ʿĀʾishah said:

      1.2.1

      أوّل ما بُدئ به رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وسلّم من الوحي الرؤيا الصادقة^١ فكان لا يرى رؤيا إلّا جاءت مثل فلق الصبح. ثمّ حبّب إليه الخلاء، فكان يأتي حراءً فيتحنّث فيه، وهو التعبّد الليالي ذوات العدد، ويتزوّد لذلك. ثمّ يرجع إلى خديجة، فيتزوّد لذلك، فيرجع إلى خديجة، فيتزوّد^٢ لمثلها.

      فحينما جاءه الحقّ، وهو في غار حراء، فجاءه الملك فيه. فقال له: اقرأ! يقول لرسول الله صلّى الله عليه وسلّم: اقرأ! فقال رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وسلّم:

      قلتُ: ما أنا بقارئ! فأخذني، فغطّني حتّى بلغ منّي الجهد. ثمّ أرسلني، فقال: اقرأ. فقلت: ما أنا بقارئ. فأخذني فغطّني الثالثة حتّى بلغ منّي الجهد. ثمّ أرسلني، فقال: اِقْرأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الّذي خَلَقَ حتّى بلغ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ.

      ١ مم، ن؛ بد: الصالحة.

      ٢ ن، بد؛ مم: فيترون.

      The first revelation experienced by the Messenger of God came to him in the form of the “true vision.”²⁸ Not a vision came that did not resemble the breaking of dawn. Afterward, he became fond of seclusion and would go to Mount Ḥirāʾ, where he practiced acts of religious devotion—meaning that he worshipped God for nights on end. He would provision himself for that and then return again and again to Khadījah to reprovision himself for further journeys.

      When the Truth came to him, he was in a cave on Mount Ḥirāʾ, and the angel came to him there. The angel said to him, “Read!” And again the angel commanded the Messenger of God, “Read!” The Messenger of God said,

      “I said, ‘But I cannot read!’ So he took hold of me and crushed me until I could no longer bear it. Then he released me and said, ‘Read!’ ‘I cannot read!’ I said. He took me and crushed me a third time, until I could no longer bear it. He again released me and said:

      «Read in the name of your Lord who created: He created man from a clinging form. Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One who taught by means of the pen, who taught man what he did not know.»”²⁹

      1.2.2

      فرجع بها ترجُف بَوادِرُه حتّى دخل على خديجة. فقال: زمّلوني! فزمّلوه حتّى ذهب عنه الروع. فقال لخديجة: ما لي؟ وأخبرها الخبر، فقال: قد خشيت عليّ! فقالت: كلّا! والله لا يخزيك اللهُ أبدًا. إنّك لتصل الرحم وتصدق الحديث وتقري الضيف وتعين نوائب الحقّ!

      Muḥammad returned with these words,³⁰ his shoulders trembling, and eventually he reached Khadījah. He said, “Cover me! Cover me!”³¹ They covered him in a cloth until the terror had left him. He said to Khadījah, “What’s wrong with me?” And he related to her what had transpired. “Are you fearful for my sake?” he said. “Not at all!” Khadījah said. “By God, God will never disgrace you, for you are a man who honors the bonds of kinship and speaks only the truth, who acts hospitably toward guests and aids his kinsmen in their duress.”³²

      1.2.3

      ثم انطلقت به خديجة حتّى أتت به ورقة ابن نوفل بن راشد بن عبد العزّى بن قصيّ، وهو ابن عمّ خديجة، أخو أبيها. وكان تنصّر في الجاهليّة وكان يكتب الكتاب العربيّ. فكتب بالعربيّة من الإنجيل ما شاء الله^١ أن يكتب. وكان شيخًا كبيرًا قد عمي.

      فقالت خديجة: أيْ ابن عمّي! اسمع من ابن أخيك!

      فقال ورقة: ابن أخي؟ ما ترى؟ فقال رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وسلّم ما رأى. فقال ورقة: هذا الناموس الّذي أنزل على موسى عليه السلام! يا ليتني فيه جذعًا حين يخرجك قومك!

      فقال رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وسلّم: أَوَمخرجيّ هم؟

      فقال ورقة: نعم، لم يأتِ أحد بما أتيت به إلّا عودي وأوذي. وإن يدركني يومك، أنصرك نصرًا مؤزّرًا.

      ثم لم ينشب ورقة أن توفّي.

      ١ بد؛ ساقطة من مم.

      Khadījah then set off with the Prophet to bring him to Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Rāshid ibn ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā ibn Quṣayy, Khadījah’s cousin, the son of her father’s brother. He had converted to Christianity during the Age of Ignorance prior to Islam. He was able to write the Arabic script and had written as much of the Gospels in Arabic as God had willed.³³ At the time, he was quite an old shaykh and had gone blind.

      Khadījah said to him, “O cousin! Listen to your nephew!”

      Waraqah said, “My nephew? What did you see?” When the Messenger of God explained what he had seen, Waraqah declared, “This is the Nomos³⁴ that God sent down to Moses! If only I could be a strong youth when your people exile you!”

      The Messenger of God said, “Will they really exile me?”

      Waraqah replied, “Yes, for oppression