# How reliable is the story of the first revelation in the cave?

*The first revelation in the cave: Waraqa, the namus and 'iqra'*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/xznxiyp0b5s/s/13/
- Date: 2020-07-03 · Kind: discussion · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Prof. Dr Khalil Andani | The Oral Text & the Ontology of The Quran | Mindtrap with Mufti #28 (57:30–1:03:08)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xznXIYp0B5s&t=3450s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/xznxiyp0b5s/

**Topics:** The life of the Prophet; Text criticism, reason and the Quran

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** The guest doubts the historicity of the cave story, attributing it to al-Zuhri; Mufti Abu Layth says he would take the whole description with a pinch of salt.

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says the idea resonates, since he has generally understood ruh as consciousness, and notes that in the popular account of the first revelation Khadijah's learned Christian relative calls what the Prophet met the namus, not Jibril. The guest says namus means law, describing the content of what happened rather than the entity, and says the whole story of the Prophet shocked in the cave comes from al-Zuhri, an Umayyad-era storyteller to whom he gives little historical weight, adding that Ibn Ishaq's version has Gabriel bring the verse written down. Mufti says he would take the whole description with a pinch of salt, but notes that the written version at least fits the reply 'I am not one who reads'; the guest mentions variants such as 'what shall I recite?'. The guest cites a reading by an Israeli scholar, captioned as Yuval Rubin [?], that the verse means 'recite the name of your Lord', a meditative practice the Prophet was already doing in the cave, which Mufti calls fascinating.

## Sources and names cited

- Dr Khalil Andani (guest)
- ruh
- Khadijah
- Waraqa ibn Nawfal (not named on air)
- namus
- report: this is the namus that was sent down to musa (unresolved)
- al-Zuhri
- Ibn Ishaq
- Quran 96:1: https://quran.com/96/1
- Uri Rubin [?] (captioned 'Yuval Rubin')

## Transcript (machine tier, 57:30–1:03:08)

[57:00] It's always mentioned as something separate from the angels. So, whatever it is, we're not dealing with a literal winged creature who's transmitting verbal messages. Rather, it looks to me that the Quranic wahy and the Quranic ruh is non-verbal inspiration. And in this view anyway, um the the prophet Muhammad was responsible for verbalizing or translating wahy into Arabic.

[57:30] Yeah. Uh which of course is the consequence I have to say that does resonate cuz I've generally kind of translated ruh to mean consciousness. What's also interesting on that note is uh the description the Sunni description that is popular of when revelation began. And the prophet alayhi wasallam comes back and then he tells Khadijah and she takes him to her uncle uh who is this Christian uh it's assumed like a Christian learned scribe.

[58:02] Like, he's somebody very intelligent like a scholar or or a wise person. But, when he when he hears the encounter, he says, "Oh, that sounds like the namus." He uses this word, this kind of entity, this kind of experiential thing that you've encountered which is what Moses encountered and these prophets before you. But, he doesn't use the word Jibril.

[58:28] It's interesting. I'm just saying that that's an interesting kind of point. So, that's that's a very interesting point. But, like I wonder how how I I guess I haven't checked, but how namus became glossed as as Gabriel because it doesn't mean that. It means law. Right? It's this like older term uh for for like divinely revealed law or divine prescription in a sense.

[58:55] So, so Yeah. Yeah. I mean, whatever about Yeah. I I saw it I mean, it was all that is how they translate it as well, but I saw it more as a kind of like about the experience. Like, this kind of this spiritual kind of awakening or this in that sense a a divinely prescribed So, making that connection with with law.

[59:20] Yeah. I think I think it namus describes the content of what happened. It doesn't describe the entity that, you know, spoke to Muhammad allegedly. I mean, that whole story that whole story which I've pointed out elsewhere to to some of the people who follow me. That whole story of Muhammad in the cave and being not knowing what's going on and being shocked and I mean, that's that is from from Zuhri.

[59:48] Right? This Umayyad era storyteller of sorts. And I don't know I wouldn't put as much I don't put a lot of historical stock into that account. I think it reflects a certain theology of the Quran. Even Ibn Ishaq's version which is similar. The Ibn Ishaq's version in that story, he has Gabriel bring the the verse written down on something and Muhammad actually reads it physically like it's a physical text that he reads whereas In some In some ways that would at least fit that story better.

[1:00:22] Like in the you know, like because the normal interpretation with that story is everybody's kind of stuck because they're saying, "Well, the prophet's response is I'm not one that reads." Person seem to like if a person's saying read and I'm saying, "Well, I'm not one that reads." It doesn't seem to kind of correlate. So, there seems to be a bit of they have to struggle to explain what what that actually means.

[1:00:50] So, not that I go with this understanding that it was written or so on. This I would take it with a pinch of salt as well this whole description. But, I'm just saying at least that story fits that story better of saying it was on like it was actually written down. You see, I see it maybe there's a variant version where where he says he doesn't say I'm not There's one where he says, "What do I recite?" Okay.

[1:01:19] Instead. There's different textual versions of the same story. So, one says like I'm not a reader. I'm not a reciter. Another one says, "Recite." He's like, "Well, what do I recite?" Mhm. You know? So, so there's there's different versions and again like we can't date it whatever it is. We can't date it That one makes a lot more sense with the with the general understanding. What do I recite? Mhm. You know? There's a There's a reading of this by by Israeli scholar Yuval Rubin who notes that um there's an argument to be made that does not mean does not mean recite or read in the name of Allah.

[1:01:56] It simply means recite the name of your Lord. That that the prophet is being ordered So, if you discount the Hadith for a second and the meaning of this would be the prophet is being told here just like in other Meccan surahs, recite the name of your Lord. And that that the prophet is engaged in this what you could say by today's standards a very Sufi type of practice of of and and that this this whole surah at least that part of the surah is just reiterating a practice that the prophet Muhammad was was engaging in in the

[1:02:34] cave. That he was doing this this spiritual meditation in the cave and then because the bar in here, it's been argued that it's it's what they call a either bar. So, like the bar is there you you you vocalize the the bar, but in meaning it doesn't take any meaning. It's silent in the But, even if it even if it did take meaning with that, it would still fit in the sense that you know, this how you're trying to connect do it with or in the name of God.

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment xznXIYp0B5s/s/13. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/xznxiyp0b5s/s/13/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.