Was the Revelation in the Cave of Hira a Dream? A Complete Refutation
The Doubt and Its Content
Some skeptics claim that the vision of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, of Gabriel, peace be upon him, in the cave was a dream, citing as evidence for that a narration by Ibn Isḥāq that claims that the first part of the Qurʾān to be revealed was a dream. They aim behind that to cast doubt on the fact that God, the Almighty, revealed to Muḥammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and to go to the conclusion that what he saw was nothing but a phantom that he imagined, so he thought it was revelation and considered himself a prophet — but they were visions that happened to him during his long seclusion and isolation in the Cave of Ḥirāʾ.
The two aspects of refuting the doubt: Revelation is of different types — some of which are dreams, some of which are inspiration that Allah casts into the heart of His Prophet, some of which are speech from Allah to His Prophet with words that he hears and understands their meaning, and some of which are through the trustworthy one of revelation, Gabriel, peace be upon him, and this is the most common type of revelation to our Messenger Muḥammad, may God bless him and grant him peace. God Almighty said:
“It is not for a human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil or by sending a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wills. Indeed, He is Most High, Most Wise.”
Depicting revelation as a dream in sleep contradicts what the Muslims have agreed upon — that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, saw the trustworthy one of revelation, Gabriel, peace be upon him, in the cave while awake and not in a dream. As for the narration of Ibn Isḥāq that they used as evidence, it is interpreted — if it is correct — as meaning that what happened in the dream was before that a prelude to what happened while awake.
First: The Different Types of Revelation
Revelation has different types.
The First Type: Dream Vision
Some of it is a dream — that is, the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, sees a vision in his sleep, and it comes true later in wakefulness just as he saw it in his sleep. What testifies to this is what was narrated on the authority of ʿĀʾishah, may God be pleased with her, who said:
Grade: Ṣaḥīḥ · Bukhārī and Muslim
Source: Revelation and the Holy Qurʾān, Dr. Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Dhahabī, Wahba Library, Egypt, 1st ed., 1406 AH/1986 AD, p. 8.
The vision of the prophets is true. Therefore the friend of the Most Merciful, Abraham, peace be upon him, hastened to slaughter his son when he saw in a dream that he was slaughtering him, and he considered this vision a divine command. God Almighty said about Abraham and his son Ismāʿīl, peace be upon them:
“And when he reached with him the age of striving, he said, ‘O my son, indeed I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering you, so see what you think.’ He said, ‘O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if God wills, among the steadfast.’ (102) So when they had both submitted and he laid him down on his forehead, (103) We called to him: ‘O Abraham, (104) you have fulfilled the vision. Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good.’” (105)
Source: Messengers and Messages, Dr. ʿUmar Sulaymān al-Ashqar, Dār al-Nafāʾis, Jordan, 1426 AH/2005 AD, pp. 58–59.
The righteous vision was a prelude to revelation and an introduction to prophethood, making the Messenger psychologically prepared for the honour that awaited him. This vision was so true and clear that it could be fulfilled while awake just as he saw it in a dream, or it could be expressed and be a sign of good and good tidings of guidance. This stage began six months before the encounter in the Cave of Ḥirāʾ and continued for the rest of his noble life. We do not know examples of visions before the prophethood, but the Qurʾān and the authentic Sunnah came with examples of visions that occurred after the prophethood — including for example:
“When God showed them to you in your dream as few. If He had shown them to you as many, you would have lost heart and would have disputed over the matter, but God saved. Indeed, He is Knowing of that within the breasts.”
In the Battle of Badr the Muslims faced the polytheists in the first decisive battle, and the polytheists were many times the number of Muslims. The vision of the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, occurred during the battle, in which he saw the polytheists as a small number, so he informed his companions that day, saying:
“This is the place where the people will be killed this evening.”
And that is divine good news so that determination is strengthened, will is strengthened, and courage increases. Source: The Prophethood of Muḥammad: Its Evidences and Characteristics, Dr. Muḥammad Sayyid Aḥmad al-Masīr, Dār al-Iʿtiṣām, Cairo, 1421 AH/2000 AD, pp. 169–170.
On the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, may God be pleased with them both, who said: I heard the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, say:
Grade: Ṣaḥīḥ · Bukhārī and Muslim
Here the Messenger interpreted his vision and interpreted the milk as knowledge — in the abundance of benefit from it. And from that appears the virtue of ʿUmar, for he is the Fārūq whose Islam was a conquest, his migration was a victory, and his caliphate was a mercy. Source: The Prophethood of Muḥammad: Its Evidences and Characteristics, Dr. Muḥammad Sayyid Aḥmad al-Masīr, Dār al-Iʿtiṣām, Cairo, 1421 AH/2000 AD, pp. 170–171.
These are some of the visions that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, saw and then they came true like the break of dawn. This does not mean that the revelation was a dream vision — rather it was a divine revelation that Gabriel, peace be upon him, brought down to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and the Companions sensed that and saw signs of change on his face, may God bless him and grant him peace.
The Second Type: Inspiration into the Heart
Some revelation is inspiration!!Nafth!!: blowing. that God bestows into the soul!!Al-Rawʿ!!: the soul. of His Prophet — he finds in himself a necessary knowledge that this is from God Almighty. This is what is meant by the inspiration into the soul mentioned in the ḥadīth of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace:
Grade: Ṣaḥīḥ · al-Albānī
The Third Type: Direct Speech from God
Some of it is that which is spoken by God to His Prophet with words that he hears and understands their meaning, with his certainty that it is the word of God and not the word of anyone else — as God spoke to Moses, peace be upon him, when he went to the appointed time with his Lord:
“And when Moses came to Our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said, ‘My Lord, show me [Yourself] that I may look at You.’ He said, ‘You will not see Me, but look at the mountain; if it remains in its place, then you will see Me.’”
“And God spoke to Moses directly.”
The Fourth Type: Revelation Through Gabriel
Some of it is through the trustworthy one, Gabriel, peace be upon him — and this is the most common type of revelation for our Messenger Muḥammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and for other messengers. The entire Qurʾān is of this type. Source: Revelation and the Holy Qurʾān, Dr. Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Dhahabī, Wahba Library, Egypt, 1st ed., 1406 AH/1986 AD, pp. 8–9.
What bears witness to the revelation of the entire Qurʾān by means of Gabriel is God Almighty’s words in describing the Qurʾān:
“And indeed, it is the revelation of the Lord of the worlds. (192) The Trustworthy Spirit has brought it down (193) upon your heart that you may be among the warners (194) in a clear Arabic tongue.” (195)
“Say: The Holy Spirit has brought it down from your Lord in truth to strengthen those who believe and as guidance and good tidings to the Muslims.”
Source: Revelation and the Holy Qurʾān, Dr. Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Dhahabī, Wahba Library, Egypt, 1st ed., 1406 AH/1986 AD, p. 9.
Second: The Prophet’s Vision of Gabriel in the Cave Was While Awake — Not in a Dream
It is established among the historians of the pure biography that the revelation began with the speech of the Holy Spirit, Gabriel, peace be upon him, to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, in the cave while he was awake. Dr. Muḥammad Muḥammad Abu Shahbah says:
[!scholar] Dr. Muḥammad Muḥammad Abu Shahbah — Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah, Dār al-Qalam, Damascus, 8th ed., 1427 AH/2006 AD, Vol. 1, pp. 261–264
It was reported in the Two Ṣaḥīḥs on the authority of ʿĀʾishah, may God be pleased with her, who said: “The first thing that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, began with from revelation was a good vision in his sleep — so he would not see a vision except that it came like the break of dawn. Then seclusion was made beloved to him, and he would seclude himself in the Cave of Ḥirāʾ and seclude himself there for many nights before he went to his family, and he would provision himself for that, then he would return to Khadījah and provision himself for the same — until the truth came to him while he was in the Cave of Ḥirāʾ, and the angel came to him and said: ‘Read.’ He said: ‘I cannot read.’ He said: He took me and covered me until I was exhausted, then he released me and said: Read. So I said: I cannot read. So he took me and covered me a second time until I was exhausted, then he released me and said: Read. So I said: I cannot read. So he took me and covered me a third time, then he released me and said: ‘Read in the name of your Lord who created. (1) He created man from a clot. (2) Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous. (3) Who taught by the pen. (4) He taught man that which he knew not.’ (5) (Al-ʿAlaq). So the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, returned with it, his heart trembling, and he entered upon Khadījah bint Khuwaylid, may God be pleased with her, and said: ‘Cover me, cover me’ — until the fear left him. Then he said to Khadījah — and told her the news —: ‘I feared for myself.’ So Khadījah said: ‘No, by God, God will never disgrace you — you maintain kinship ties, bear burdens, support the needy, welcome the guest, and help in times of need.’”
Grade: Ṣaḥīḥ · Bukhārī and Muslim
However, there is a narration in the biography of Ibn Isḥāq that states that the first conversation between Gabriel, peace be upon him, and the Prophet Muḥammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, was a true vision in a dream. In the narration of Ibn Isḥāq on the authority of ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr, without a chain of transmission: The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Gabriel came to me while I was sleeping with a piece of dīmaqsī!!Dīmaqsī!!: a type of rug. brocade!!Brocade!!: a type of clothing made of silk. in which there was a book, and he said: Read…”
So it appears from this that it was a dream. This narration was authenticated by Muḥammad bin Isḥāq al-Fākihī in Akhbār Makkah, Book of the Mention of Ḥirāʾ and its Merit, Chapter: There was nothing among creation more hateful to me than a poet (2354), and authenticated by al-Albānī in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah (1/87). Source: Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah, Dr. Muḥammad Muḥammad Abu Shahbah, Dār al-Qalam, Damascus, 8th ed., 1427 AH/2006 AD, Vol. 1, pp. 261–264, with modifications.
This narration contradicts the authentic narration narrated by al-Bukhārī about Gabriel descending with the sūrah aloud and publicly. And what al-Bukhārī narrated about the revelation of Sūrat al-Muddaththir — on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace — makes the matter completely clear:
Grade: Ṣaḥīḥ · Bukhārī and Muslim
Source: The Prophetic Biography and the Delusions of Orientalists, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭal al-Jabrī, Wahba Library, Cairo, 1st ed., 1408 AH/1998 AD, p. 79.
What is relied upon is what is in the Two Ṣaḥīḥs — and that this was while awake, not in a dream. If what Ibn Isḥāq mentioned is confirmed, then what happened in the dream was before that, a prelude to what happened while awake. Source: Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah, Dr. Muḥammad Abu Shahbah, Dār al-Qalam, Damascus, 8th ed., 1427 AH/2006 AD, Vol. 1, p. 264.
Thus we come to a fixed fact that is consistent with all the narrations and meets with the minds — which is that the encounter with the Holy Spirit began in a dream, then Muḥammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, experienced the true dream vision, and it appears that in its clarity and plainness it resembles the vision of wakefulness; for it came like the break of dawn as the Mother of the Believers ʿĀʾishah informed — until when the familiarity with the Holy Spirit and the soul being filled with spirituality came, the vision was in wakefulness; because that is a serious and great station which souls cannot bear except after they are polished spiritually. Source: Khātam al-Nabiyyīn, Imam Muḥammad Abu Zahrah, Dār al-Fikr al-ʿArabī, Cairo, 1425 AH/2004 AD, Vol. 1, p. 271.
We do not know that anything from the Qurʾān was revealed to the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, in a dream or by inspiration or by speaking from God without an intermediary. All we know of that is that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, would sometimes see a vision in his sleep, and then the Qurʾān would come down to confirm it. It was also reported that he, may God bless him and grant him peace, dozed off and saw the River of Kawthar that God had prepared for him in Paradise. When he woke up, the words of God Almighty were revealed to him:
“Indeed, We have granted you, [O Muḥammad], al-Kawthar.”
How the Revelation Comes: The Two Modes
As for how the revelation comes, the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, says:
Grade: Ṣaḥīḥ · Bukhārī and Muslim
Source: The Qurʾānic Revelation from an Orientalist Perspective and Its Criticism, Dr. Maḥmūd Māḍī, Dār al-Daʿwah, Cairo, 1416 AH/1996 AD, p. 50.
So the revelation would come to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, like the ringing of a bell, and this state is the most difficult state of revelation. There is something in the noble ḥadīths that indicates this severity and describes what befalls the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, at that time. In the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah:
Grade: Ṣaḥīḥ · Bukhārī
The Angel Appearing in Human Form — Agreed Upon by All Religions
The angel would also come to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, in the form of a man, and the angel’s ability to take on a human form is agreed upon by all religions. The angels came down to Abraham, peace be upon him, as an honoured guest, and he presented them with a roasted calf, and he did not know that they were angels until they revealed to him the truth of their matter. The angels came to Lot, peace be upon him, in the form of young men. God Almighty said:
“And when Our messengers came to Lot, he was distressed by them and felt straitened for them and said, ‘This is a difficult day.’”
And God sent Gabriel, peace be upon him, to the Virgin Mary in the form of a normal human being to give her the good news of her selection and the selection of her child. Source: The Muḥammadan Prophethood, Dr. Muḥammad Aḥmad al-Masīr, Dār al-Iʿtiṣām, Cairo, 1421 AH/2000 AD, pp. 175–177, with some modifications.
The Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, also saw the angel in his true angelic form. After the first cave meeting between the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and Gabriel, peace be upon him, the revelation was interrupted for a period of time. Then the situation became clear and Gabriel, peace be upon him, appeared to the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, in his angelic form, and the beginning of Sūrat al-Muddaththir was revealed to him. It was narrated from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, that he said:
“While I was walking, I heard a voice from the sky, so I raised my eyes, and behold, the angel who had come to me in Ḥirāʾ was sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth, so I was terrified of him, so I returned and said: Cover me, cover me. So God Almighty revealed: ‘O you wrapped in garments (1) Arise and warn (2) And your Lord glorify (3) And your garments purify (4) And uncleanliness avoid (5).’ (Al-Muddaththir). Then the revelation became intense and continued.”
Source: The Muḥammadan Prophethood, Dr. Muḥammad Aḥmad al-Masīr, Dār al-Iʿtiṣām, Cairo, 1421 AH/2000 AD, p. 186, with some modifications.
After all these facts — is there any doubt that the Prophet’s, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, vision of Gabriel in the cave was awake and not in a dream?
Also see
Prophet Muhammad’s Fear in the Cave of Hira — A Natural Human Response Consistent with All Prophets
With Gabriel, Peace Be Upon Him, in the Cave of Hira, Isaiah 29
Conclusion
Revelation has different methods and various means — including: dream visions, direct teaching from angels in their human form, teaching by voice from angels in their luminous nature, teaching from angels in secret, and speaking from behind a veil. Dream visions are one of these different forms, and this is what happened with Abraham, peace be upon him, in his vision of slaughtering Ismāʿīl, peace be upon him. The Prophet’s, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, vision of the trustworthy Gabriel, peace be upon him, in the cave was awake and not in a dream. The angel would come to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, like the ringing of a bell, and sometimes he would come to him in his angelic form, and other times he would come to him in the form of a man. The appearance of angels in human form is agreed upon by all religions. The narration of Ibn Isḥāq, which these people used as evidence that the vision was a dream, indicates that this was — in the dream — a preparation for what would happen in wakefulness, and it is proven that the visions of the prophets are true.
Sources
- But Muḥammad Has No Mourners, Dr. Ibrāhīm ʿAwad, Dār al-Fikr al-ʿArabī, Cairo, 2nd ed., 2001.
- The Formation Period in the Life of the Truthful and Trustworthy, Khalīl ʿAbd al-Karīm, Merit for Publishing and Information, Egypt, 2001.
- Revelation and the Holy Qurʾān, Dr. Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Dhahabī, Wahba Library, Egypt, 1st ed., 1406 AH/1986 AD.
- Messengers and Messages, Dr. ʿUmar Sulaymān al-Ashqar, Dār al-Nafāʾis, Jordan, 1426 AH/2005 AD.
- The Prophethood of Muḥammad: Its Evidences and Characteristics, Dr. Muḥammad Sayyid Aḥmad al-Masīr, Dār al-Iʿtiṣām, Cairo, 1421 AH/2000 AD.
- Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah, Dr. Muḥammad Muḥammad Abu Shahbah, Dār al-Qalam, Damascus, 8th ed., 1427 AH/2006 AD.
- The Prophetic Biography and the Delusions of Orientalists, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭal al-Jabrī, Wahba Library, Cairo, 1st ed., 1408 AH/1998 AD.
- Khātam al-Nabiyyīn, Imam Muḥammad Abu Zahrah, Dār al-Fikr al-ʿArabī, Cairo, 1425 AH/2004 AD.
- The Qurʾānic Revelation from an Orientalist Perspective and Its Criticism, Dr. Maḥmūd Māḍī, Dār al-Daʿwah, Cairo, 1416 AH/1996 AD.
- The Muḥammadan Prophethood, Dr. Muḥammad Aḥmad al-Masīr, Dār al-Iʿtiṣām, Cairo, 1421 AH/2000 AD.