Sahih Bukhari

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for."

Al-Harith bin Hisham asked Allah's Apostle "O Allah's Apostle! How is the Divine Inspiration revealed to you?" Allah's Apostle replied, "Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell, this form of Inspiration is the hardest of all and then this state passes off after I have grasped what is inspired. Sometimes the Angel comes in the form of a man and talks to me and I grasp whatever he says."

'Aisha added: Verily I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over).

The commencement of the Divine Inspiration to Allah's Apostle was in the form of good dreams which came true like bright daylight, and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him. He used to go in seclusion in the cave of Hira where he used to worship (Allah alone) continuously for many days before his desire to see his family. He used to take with him the journey food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadija to take his food likewise again till suddenly the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet replied, "I do not know how to read."

The Prophet added, "The angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, 'I do not know how to read.' Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read but again I replied, 'I do not know how to read (or what shall I read)?' Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said, 'Read in the name of your Lord, who has created (all that exists) has created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous.'"

Then Allah's Apostle returned with the Inspiration and with his heart beating severely. Then he went to Khadija bint Khuwailid and said, "Cover me! Cover me!" They covered him till his fear was over and after that he told her everything that had happened and said, "I fear that something may happen to me." Khadija replied, "Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your Kith and kin, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guests generously and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones."

Khadija then accompanied him to her cousin Waraqa bin Naufal bin Asad bin 'Abdul 'Uzza, who, during the Pre-Islamic Period became a Christian and used to write the writing with Hebrew letters. He would write from the Gospel in Hebrew as much as Allah wished him to write. He was an old man and had lost his eyesight. Khadija said to Waraqa, "Listen to the story of your nephew!"

During the letter of Heraclius to the Prophet, I along with some other merchants of Quraish was in Sham (a town in Syria). Suddenly a messenger came with a letter from the Prophet to Heraclius. When the messenger reached Heraclius, he said, "Who will convey the message of this man?" Someone said, "I will take this letter." So the messenger gave the letter to one of the kings of Sham and that king took me along with some of my companions to the court of Heraclius at Homs. When I entered the court, I was told that Heraclius would like to ask me some questions about the man who claimed to be a Prophet. Heraclius asked me, "What is his family status amongst you?"

I replied, "He comes from a noble family."

Heraclius asked, "Is there anyone among you who claimed to be a Prophet before him?"

I replied, "No."

Heraclius asked, "Did any of his ancestors wear a crown (i.e. was any of them a king)?"

I replied, "No."

Heraclius asked, "Are the wealthy people of the nation his followers or the poor?"

I replied, "The poor follow him."

Heraclius asked, "Does his following increase or decrease?"

I replied, "It always increases."

Heraclius asked, "Does anyone of those who embraced his religion become displeased and abandon his religion?"

I replied, "No."

Heraclius asked, "Did you ever accuse him of telling lies before he made his claim (to be a Prophet)?"

I replied, "No."

Heraclius asked, "Does he break his promises?"

I replied, "No. We are at truce with him but we do not know what he will do in it." I could not find opportunity to say anything against him except that.

Heraclius asked, "Have you ever had a war with him?"

I replied, "Yes."

Then he said, "What was the outcome of the battles?"

I replied, "Sometimes he was victorious and sometimes we."

Heraclius said, "What does he order you to do?"

I said, "He tells us to worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship anything along with Him, and to renounce all that our ancestors had said. He orders us to pray, to speak the truth, to be chaste and to keep good relations with our Kith and kin."

Heraclius said, "If what you have said is true, he will very soon occupy this place underneath my feet and I knew it (from the scriptures) that he was going to appear but I did not know that he would be from you, and if I could reach him definitely, I would go immediately to meet him and if I were with him, I would certainly wash his feet."