Chapter 12 : Trained By Angels Flashcards
What are the stages in The Prophet’s Development from a Spiritual Point of View
Childhood and Young Adulthood
- From childhood, he was spoken to by angels and was watched over and trained by them :-
” From the time he was weaned, God sent the greatest of his angels to accompany him and lead him, day and night, down a path to nobility and virtue “
- Nahjul Balagha ( Imam Ali ), Sermon 192
- Another hadith stated the following :-
” God entrusted Muhammad to a great angel, from the time he was weaned, to guide him to righteousness and to the highest character and to divert him from evil and from base character. This angel is the one who used to call out to him ‘ Peace be upon you, O Muhammad ! O Messenger of God ! ‘ while he was yet a youngster, not having attained to the station of messengership. He would think the sound came from a stone or from somewhere so he would look around but see nothing. “
- Sharh Najulbalagha ( Sunni Scholar ), Volume 13, Page 207 ( Statement by Imam Baqir )
37 Years Old
- When he was 37 years, he began to see inspired dreams :-
” When The Prophet reached 37 years, he used to see the following dream while he slept. It was as though someone was approaching him while he was in the mountains herding Abu Talib’s goats. He said to him ‘ O Messenger of God ! ‘. The Prophet then asked the person ‘ Who are you ? ‘. He replied ‘ I am Gabriel. God has sent me to you because he wants to make you a messenger ‘. And the Messenger of God would conceal this from the people. Then Gabriel brought water from heaven and told him ‘ O Muhammad, stand and perform wudhu ‘. Then he taught him the wudhu ( By washing ) on his face and his arms from the elbows and wiping his head and 2 feet up to the ankles. Then he taught him the sujood and the ruku. “
- Qasas Al Anbiya of Al Rawandi, Page 315
- It seems that during this 3 year period, his prayer consisted only of sujood per the following tradition :-
” Imam Ali said, ‘ I prayed before other people prayed for 7 years. We used to do sujood and not ruku ‘. “
- Sharh Nahjulbalagha ( Sunni Scholar ), Volume 3, Page 258
40 Years Old
- When he was 40, he was appointed as a Prophet but not a Messenger to the people
- This is what happened on the 27th Rajab in 610 C.E. / A.D.
- Shia sources are unanimous in naming this date and the age of 40 as the beginning of Prophethood :-
” When The Prophet left off trading in Syria and he had given all that God had provided him through his business as charity, he used to go to Hira every morning, climb it and look from its peak at the manifestation of God’s mercy, at the various wonders he had created out of his mercy and at his creation’s fresh perfection. He would ponder over the sky, the earth, the sea and the desert and derive lessons from these things and worship God as he deserves to be worshipped. “
- Tafseer Al Imam Al Askari, Page 157
- Another hadith is as follows :-
” Do not forsake the fast of the 27th Rajab for it is the day on which Prophethood was ordained on Muhammad “
- Tahdheeb Al Ahkam, Volume 1, Page 438 ( Imam Al Sadiq )
- Another Sunni Hadith is as follows :-
” The Prophethood was assigned to him when he was 40 years old. At that time, Israfil was assigned to him for 3 years. He used to teach him various things but he did not reveal the Quran to him. After 3 years were over, Gabriel was assigned to him and he revealed the Quran to him for 10 years in Makkah and 10 years in Madinah. “
- Tarikh Al Tabari, Volume 2, Page 100
- The Prophet’s Nubuwwah ( Prophethood ) began at age 40
- The Prophet became a Rasul at age 43 ( At the age of 43, The Prophet receives the first ayat of the Quran )
Nabi = Prophet = Derived from the word Nubuwwat which means to be high ( High in the presence of Allah )
Rasul = Messenger / Apostle [ Prophet + New Sharia ( Code of Law ) ] = Derived from the word Risalat which means one who is sent ( One who is sent from Allah )
- The Quran was revealed over a period of 20 years but The Prophet’s Nubuwwah ( Prophethood ) lasted for 23 years
- The Prophet was a Nabi for 23 years but a Rasul for 20 years
- No reliable shia source says that Surat Al Alaq or any part of the Quran was revealed on the day of the Mab’ath
- It seems that during this 3 year period, the main activity of muslims was prayer
- There is a narration which goes as follows :-
” Abu Talib came to the Messenger of God along with Jafar. He observed the Messenger with Ali next to him praying. Abu Talib told Jafar ‘ Go and pray next to your cousin ‘. So Jafar stood on his other side. So when Jafar stood to his left, the Messenger of God stepped forward between them both. When Ali, Khadijah and Jafar had accepted islam, Zayd Ibn haritha Ibn Al Kalbi accepted after them. Thereafter, Ali, Jafar, Zayd and Khadijah would pray behind the Messenger of God. “
- Tafseer Al Qummi, See 15 : 94
- Another hadith is as follows :-
” From Zurara who has said the following ‘’ I asked Abu Abdallah about the words of God, the Most Holy, the Most High. He was a Messenger, a Prophet. What is a Messenger and what is a Prophet ‘. The Imam said ‘ A Prophet is one who sees things in his dreams and hears voice but does not see the angel. The Messenger is one who hears the voice in his dreams and sees the angel ‘. “
- Imam Al Baqir
- Another hadith is as follows :-
” I asked Abu Jafar about the Messenger, Prophet and the Imam said ‘ A Messenger is one to whom Gabriel comes openly, he sees him and speaks to him. Such person is a Messenger. A Prophet is one who sees in his dream something like the dream of Abraham or the dream of our Prophet … before the coming of revelation until Gabriel came from God to inform him that he was to be a Messenger. In the case of Prophet Muhammad, when Prophethood was established in him, then Gabriel brought him the message that he was to be a messenger. Gabriel would come and speak to him openly. Some of the Prophets in whom Prophethood is established, they see in their dreams, the spirit comes to them, speaks and reports to them but they do not see the spirit when awake. Al Muhaddath is one who hears ( Angels ) but does not see openly or in his dreams ‘. “
- Imam Al Baqir
- Muhaddath = Can hear angels but cant see angels
- Prophet = Can hear angles and can see angels only while dreaming
- Rasul ( Messenger ) = Can hear + see angels while awake + dreaming
