Muhammad ﷺ Meets Jibril عليه السلام

This Sirah lesson tells the story of the moment that changed everything, the night our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ first met Angel Jibril عليه السلام in the cave of Hira.

Muhammad ﷺ used to climb Mount Nur and sit alone in the cave of Hira, thinking about Allah. He did this often. One day in Ramadan, when he was forty years old, something happened that he had never experienced before. Angel Jibril عليه السلام appeared before him. Muhammad ﷺ had never seen anyone like him. He felt afraid. Jibril عليه السلام commanded: “Read!” Muhammad ﷺ answered: “I don’t know how to read.” Jibril عليه السلام held him tightly, then let go, and commanded again. This happened three times. Then Jibril عليه السلام taught him the first words of the Qur’an and left.

Muhammad ﷺ ran home, terrified. “Cover me! Cover me!” he called out to Khadijah. She covered him, held him, and said what he needed to hear: “Allah will never let you down. You always help people.” Then she took him to her wise old cousin, Waraqah, who listened carefully and told him: that was the same angel Allah had sent to Prophet Musa عليه السلام. Muhammad ﷺ had become a Prophet of Allah.

The lesson pauses here with something worth saying to young learners: it is okay to feel scared. Allah takes care of those who do good.