The Prophet Muhammad A simple Guide to his Life
The Life of the Prophet
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solitude. It was here that the Angel Jibril (Gabrial)
came to him for the first time and gave him the
good tidings that God had chosen him as His
Prophet. The first few verses revealed to him on this
occasion form part of chapter 96, titled ‘The Clot’ in
the Qu’ran.
The Qur’an was not revealed in the form of a book,
all at once, but in parts, very gradually over a
period of 23 years. Extraordinary arrangements
were made for the preservation of the Qur’an from
the very first day of its revelation. Whenever any
part of the Qur’an was to be revealed, Jibril
(Gabrial) would visit the Prophet and recite the
relevant verses to him. He would first of all commit
them to memory, then dictate them to his scribes, so
that they could be preserved for posterity. The
Prophet possessed an excellent memory, but being
unable to read and write, he appointed a number of
his companions as “transcribers of revelation.” One
or the other transcriber always remained in his
company so that he could immediately write down
the passages of the Qur’an as soon as they were
revealed. The Prophet took such great care in this
matter that even during such a critical and
