ILM AL-HÂL

38 He married Khadîjah Al-Kubrâ رضـي الل عنهـا (Mother of the Muslims), at the age of 25. He never worshipped idols. From childhood, he never showed any love for them. In fact, he always hated the idols. He would only worship Allâh تعالــى according to the religion of Ibrâhîm عليــه الســام . At times, he would ascend Mount Hira near Makkah and meditate on the endless greatness and supreme power of Allâh تعالــى . With the love Allâh تعالــى bestowed upon him, he immersed himself in the ocean of divine love and continuously engaged in the remembrance of Allâh while flashes of divine light of Tawhîd (unity) burning in his heart. Again, one day when Muhammad ﷺ was in the cave of Hira, deeply absorbed in contemplation of the spiritual world unique to him, Jibrâ’il عليــه الســام came to him by the order of Allâh تعالــى to officially announce his duty of prophethood. Jibrâ’il عليــه الســام said to Muhammad ﷺ , the beloved one of Allâh and the saviour of humankind and the jinn: “Iqra’!” (Read) “What shall I read?” asked Muhammad ﷺ . Jibrâ’il عليــه السلم embraced the prophet ﷺ , squeezed his chest tightly and released him. “Iqra’!” repeated Jibrâ’il عليه السلم . “What shall I read?” asked Muhammad ﷺ again. Jibrâ’il عليــه الســام embraced him, squeezed his chest tightly and released him by saying again: “Iqra’!” Prophet ﷺ asked