what  had come to him was no more than the ambassador of inspiration. His waiting and longing for the  coming of the revelation constituted a good reason for his steadfastness and self-possession on the  arrival of Allâh’s inspiration, Al-Bukhari reported on the authority of Jabir bin ‘Abdullah that he had  heard the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) speak about the period of pause as follows:
“While I was walking, I heard a voice from the sky. I looked up, and surely enough, it was the same  angel who had visited me in the cave of Hira’. He was sitting on a chair between the earth and the  sky.
I was very afraid of him and knelt on the ground. I went home saying: ‘Cover me …, Cover me …’.
Allâh  revealed to me the verses:
‘O you Muhammad (Peace be upon him) enveloped (in garments)! Arise and warn! And your
Lord (Allâh) magnify! And your garments purify! And keep away from Ar-Rujz (the  idols)!’” 74:1-5
After that the revelation started coming strongly, frequently and regularly.
SOME DETAILS PERTINENT TO THE SUCCESSIVE STAGES OF REVELATION:
Before we go into the details of the period of communicating the Message and Prophethood, we would  like to get acquainted with the stages of the Revelation which constituted the main source of the
Message and the subject-matter of the Call. Ibn Al-Qayyim, mentioning the stages of the Revelation,  said:
The First: The period of true vision. It was the starting point of the Revelation to the Men of Allâh
(Peace be upon him).
The Second: What the angel invisibly cast in the Prophet’s mind and heart. The Messenger of
Allâh (Peace be upon him) said: “The Noble Spirit revealed to me ‘No soul will perish until it  exhausts its due course, so fear Allâh and gently request Him. Never get so impatient to the  verge of disobedience of Allâh. What Allâh has can never be acquired but through obedience to
Him.’”
The Third: The angel used to visit the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) in the form of a  human being and would speak to him directly. This would enable him to fully understand what  the angel said. The angel was sometimes seen in this form by the Prophet’s Companions.
The Fourth: The angel came to him like the toll of a bell and this was the most difficult form  because the angel used to seize him tightly and sweat would stream from his forehead even on  the coldest day. If the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was on his camel, the camel would not  withstand the weight, so it would immediately kneel down on the ground. Once the Messenger of
Allâh (Peace be upon him) had such a revelation when he was sitting and his thigh was on
Zaid’s, Zaid felt the pressure had almost injured his thigh.
The Fifth: The Prophet (Peace be upon him) saw the angel in his actual form. The angel would  reveal to him what Allâh had ordered him to reveal. This, as mentioned in (Qur’ân), in Sûrah An-
Najm (Chapter 53 - The Star), happened twice.
The Sixth: What Allâh Himself revealed to him in heaven i.e. when he ascended to heaven and  received Allâh’s behest of Salât (prayer).
The Seventh: Allâh’s Words to His Messenger (Peace be upon him) at first hand without the  mediation of an angel. It was a privilege granted to Moses (Peace be upon him) and clearly  attested in the Qur’ân, as it is attested to our Prophet (Peace be upon him) in the Sûrah Al-
Isrâ’ (Chapter 17 - The Journey by Night) of the Noble Qur’ân.
Some religious scholars added a controversial eighth stage in which they state that Allâh spoke to the
Prophet (Peace be upon him) directly without a curtain in between. This issue remains however  unconfirmed.
PROCLAIMING ALLAH, THE ALL-HIGH; AND THE IMMEDIATE CONSTITUENTS
The first Revelation sent to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) implied several injunctions, simple in  form  but highly effective and of serious far-reaching ramifications. The angel communicated to him a  manifest Message saying:
“O you Muhammad (Peace be upon him) enveloped (in garments)! Arise and warn! And your
Lord (Allâh) magnify! And your garments purify! And keep away from Ar-Rujz (the idols). And  give not a thing in order to have more (or consider not your deeds of Allâh’s obedience as a  favour to Allâh). And be patient for the sake of your Lord (i.e. perform your duty to
Allâh)!” 74:1-7
For convenience and ease of understanding, we are going to segment the Message into its immediate