Sahih al-Bukhari 3

Translation

At first what started of the Waḥī (Revelation) to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was good visions during sleep and he never saw a vision except what came to him was the like of the crack of dawn (i.e. his visions came true). Thereafter, seclusion was made beloved to him. He used to go in seclusion in the cave of Ḥirāʾ where he used to practice monotheism, which was worship for several days until he longed to see his family and prepare for a similar trip. He would then return to Khadījah and would prepare for a similar trip. Until ˹one day,˺ the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Ḥirāʾ. The Angel came to him and asked him and said "Iqraʾ (Read!)". He said, "I do not know how to read!" He said, "The Angel grabbed me and overwhelmed me such that fatigue overcame me. He then let me go and and said 'Read.' I said, 'I do not know how to read!' Then he grabbed me a second time and overwhelmed me such that fatigue overcame me. He then let me go and said 'Read!' I said, 'I do not know how to read!' Then he grabbed me for the third time, overwhelmed me, and then let me go and said, 'Read in the name of your Lord: who created; He created man from ʿalaq (a thing suspended). Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous." (ʿAlaq 96:1-3) Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned with the Inspiration and with his heart beating severely. Then he went to Khadījah b. Khuwaylid ؓ and said, "Cover me! Cover me!" They covered him till his fear was lifted and after that he told her what had happened and said, "I fear for myself." Khadījah said, "Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you! (1) In fact, you keep good relations with your kith and kin, (2) you carry the weak, (3) you provide for those deprived, (4) you are hospitable to your guests, and (5) you assist the deserving ˹calamity-afflicted˺ ones." Khadījah then brought him to her cousin Waraqah b. Nawfal b. Asad b. ʿAbd al-ʿUzzá, paternal cousin of Khadījah, and one who had become a Christian during the pre-Islamic Period, and used to write in 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. Khadījah said to Waraqah: Listen to the story of your nephew, O my cousin! Waraqah said, "O my nephew! What have you seen? The Messenger of Allah ﷺ described to him whatever he had seen. Waraqah then said to him: This is the nāmūs (keeper of secrets) whom Allah had sent to Moses ﷺ. Would that I were young and would be alive when your people would turn you out. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Will they drive me out?" Waraqah said: Yes, no man has ever come with something similar to what you have brought and was not treated with hostility. And if I would see ˹such ˺ a day ˹of yours˺ then I would strongly support you. The Waraqah could not fulfill ˹his promise˺ and died. Then the Waḥī paused for a while.

Grades by grader

Same hadith, other wordings

• Shahih al-Bukhari 4955أَوَّلُ مَا بُدِئَ بِهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ الرُّؤْيَا الصَّالِحَةُ فَجَاءَهُ الْمَلَكُ فَقَالَ {اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ خَلَقَ الإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الأَكْرَمُ}
• Shahih al-Bukhari 4956أَوَّلُ مَا بُدِئَ بِهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ الرُّؤْيَا الصَّادِقَةُ جَاءَهُ الْمَلَكُ فَقَالَ {اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ خَلَقَ الإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الأَكْرَمُ الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ}
• Misykatul Mashabih 5841وَعَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ: أَوَّلُ مَا بُدِئَ بِهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنَ الْوَحْيِ الرُّؤْيَا الصَّادِقَةُ فِي النَّوْمِ فَكَانَ لَا يَرَى رُؤْيَا إِلَّا جَاءَتْ مِثْلَ فَلَقِ الصُّبْحِ

Other narrations of this report

Sahih Muslim 160aMusannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 36966al-Sunan al-Kubra (al-Bayhaqi) 17794al-Mustadrak (al-Hakim) 2873al-Mustadrak (al-Hakim) 3953

Narrators

1. 1
   ʿĀʾishah bt. Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq

   Mother of the Believers, the most knowledgeable woman in jurisprudence absolutely (afqah al-nisāʾ muṭlaqan)d. 57 AH, or 58 AH
   عَائِشَةُ بِنْتُ أَبِي بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقِأم المؤمنين ، أفقه النساء مطلقا
   عن
2. 2
   ʿUrwah b. al-Zubayr

   trustworthy (thiqah), a jurist (faqīh), well-known (mashhūr)d. 91 AH, or 92, or 93 AH, or 94 AH, or 95 AH, or 99 AH, or 100 AH, or 101 AH
   عُرْوَةَ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِثقة فقيه مشهور
   عن
3. 3
   al-Zuhrī

   The jurist and memorizer (ḥāfiẓ), whose eminence, precision and reliability are agreed upond. Ḍamrah b. Rabīʿah and others said: 123 AH. The nephew of al-Zuhrī and others said: 124 AH. Ibn Yūnus and others said: 125 AH
   ابْنِ شِهَابٍالفقيه الحافظ ، متفق على جلالته وإتقانه وثبته
   عن
4. 4
   ʿUqayl

   trustworthy, precise (thiqah thabt)d. 141 AH, or: 142 AH, or: 144 AH
   عُقَيْلٍثقة ثبت
   عن
5. 5
   al-Layth b. Saʿd

   Trustworthy (thiqah), reliable (thabt), a jurist (faqīh), a well-known imamd. 175 AH, or 176 AH, or 177 AH
   اللَّيْثُثقة ثبت ، فقيه إمام مشهور
   حدثنا
6. 6
   Yaḥyā b. Bukayr

   Trustworthy (thiqah) in narrating from al-Layth, but they spoke critically about his hearing from Mālikd. 231 AH or 232 AH
   يَحْيَى بْنُ بُكَيْرٍثقة في الليث ، وتكلموا في سماعه من مالك
   حدثنا
7. 7
   al-Bukhārī

   a mountain of memorization and the leader of the world in the comprehension of hadith (jabal al-ḥifẓ wa-imām al-dunyā fī fiqh al-ḥadīth)d. 256 AH
   الْبُخَارِيُّجبل الحفظ وإمام الدنيا في فقه الحديث

Who each narrator was and how reliable, from hdith.com

Latin names and English verdicts with a dotted underline are machine translations, not reviewed.

Also in

Mishkat al-Masabih 5841lulu-marjan 99