Ayesha reported,

The revelation first came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the form of true dreams in his sleep. He never saw a dream but that it came to pass as clearly as the breaking of dawn. Then solitude was made dear to him, and he would go to Hira and devote himself to worship there for a number of nights, taking provisions with him. Then he would return to Khadijah, and she would supply him again for a similar stay, until the truth came upon him suddenly while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to him there and said, "Recite."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "I am not one who recites."He said, "So he seized me and pressed me until I could bear no more, then released me and said, 'Recite.' I said, 'I am not one who recites.' So he seized me and pressed me a second time until I could bear no more, then released me and said, 'Recite.' I said, 'I am not one who recites.' So he seized me and pressed me a third time until I could bear no more, then released me and said, 'Recite in the name of your Lord who created' [Alaq 96:1] until he reached 'what he did not know' [Alaq 96:5]."He returned with it, the muscles of his neck trembling, until he came in to Khadijah and said, "Wrap me up, wrap me up."They wrapped him until the terror left him, and he said, "Khadijah, what is happening to me?" Then he told her what had occurred and said, "I fear for myself."She said to him, "Not at all. Rejoice. By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You maintain ties of kinship, you speak the truth, you bear the burdens of others, you show hospitality to the guest, and you help others in times of genuine hardship."Then Khadijah took him to Waraqah bin Nawfal bin Asad bin Abdul-Uzza bin Qusayy, who was her cousin, the son of her father's brother. He was a man who had become a Christian in the time before Islam and who wrote the Arabic script, and he used to write out from the Gospel in Arabic as much as Allah willed him to write. He was by then a very old man who had gone blind.Khadijah said, "Cousin, listen to your nephew."Waraqah said, "Nephew, what have you seen?"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ told him what he had seen.Waraqah said, "This is the same keeper of secrets that was sent down to Musa . I wish I were a young man in those days. I wish I could be alive when your people drive you out."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked, "Will they really drive me out?"Waraqah said, "Yes. No man has ever brought what you have brought without being treated as an enemy. If your day comes while I am still alive, I will support you with all my strength."But it was not long before Waraqah died, and the revelation ceased for a time, until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ grew so grieved, according to what has reached us, that he set out more than once intending to throw himself from the peaks of high mountains. Yet every time he reached the summit of a mountain to cast himself down, Jibreel would appear to him and say, "Muhammad, you are truly the Messenger of Allah." That would settle his heart and calm his soul, peace and blessings be upon him, and he would return. And whenever the pause grew long and the revelation was withheld, he would set out again with the same intent, and when he reached the summit of a mountain, Jibreel would appear to him and say the same thing to him.

حدثنا عبد الرزاق حدثنا معمر عن الزهري فذكر حديثا ثم قال قال الزهري فأخبرني عروة

عن عائشة أنها قالت

أول ما بدئ به رسول الله ﷺ من الوحي الرؤيا الصادقة في النوم وكان لا يرى رؤيا إلا جاءت مثل فلق الصبح ثم حبب إليه الخلاء فكان يأتي حراء فيتحنث فيه وهو التعبد الليالي ذوات العدد ويتزود لذلك ثم يرجع إلى خديجة فتزوده لمثلها حتى فجئه الحق وهو في غار حراء فجاءه الملك فيه فقال اقرأ فقال رسول الله ﷺ ما أنا بقارئ قال فأخذني فغطني حتى بلغ مني الجهد ثم أرسلني فقال اقرأ فقلت ما أنا بقارئ فأخذني فغطني الثانية حتى بلغ مني الجهد ثم أرسلني فقال اقرأ فقلت ما أنا بقارئ فأخذني فغطني الثالثة حتى بلغ مني الجهد ثم أرسلني فقال {اقرأ باسم ربك الذي خلق} حتى بلغ {ما لم يعلم} قال فرجع بها ترجف بوادره حتى دخل على خديجة فقال زملوني زملوني فزملوه حتى ذهب عنه الروع فقال يا خديجة مالي فأخبرها الخبر قال وقد خشيت علي فقالت له كلا أبشر فوالله لا يخزيك الله أبدا إنك لتصل الرحم وتصدق الحديث وتحمل الكل وتقري الضيف وتعين على نوائب الحق ثم انطلقت به خديجة حتى أتت به ورقة بن نوفل بن أسد بن عبد العزى بن قصي وهو ابن عم خديجة أخي أبيها وكان امرأ تنصر في الجاهلية وكان يكتب الكتاب العربي فكتب بالعربية من الإنجيل ما شاء الله أن يكتب وكان شيخا كبيرا قد عمي فقالت خديجة أي ابن عم اسمع من ابن أخيك فقال ورقة ابن أخي ما ترى فأخبره رسول الله ﷺ ما رأى فقال ورقة هذا الناموس الذي أنزل على موسى عليه السلام يا ليتني فيها جذعا أكون حيا حين يخرجك قومك فقال رسول الله ﷺ أو مخرجي هم فقال ورقة نعم لم يأت رجل قط بما جئت به إلا عودي وإن يدركني يومك أنصرك نصرا مؤزرا ثم لم ينشب ورقة أن توفي وفتر الوحي فترة حتى حزن رسول الله ﷺ فيما بلغنا حزنا غدا منه مرارا كي يتردى من رءوس شواهق الجبال فكلما أوفى بذروة جبل لكي يلقي نفسه منه تبدى له جبريل عليه السلام فقال له يا محمد إنك رسول الله حقا فيسكن ذلك جأشه وتقر نفسه عليه الصلاة والسلام فيرجع فإذا طالت عليه وفتر الوحي غدا لمثل ذلك فإذا أوفى بذروة جبل تبدى له جبريل عليه السلام فقال له مثل ذلك