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How the revelation came to Prophet Mohamed: the ringing of a bell, the sweat on the cold day, the humming of bees, the reddened face at al-Ji’rana, the sura al-Ma’ida upon the she-camel, from the two Sahihs and Ahmad.
Updated on 07 September 2026 at 11:07 PM
al-Harith ibn Hisham asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “O Messenger of Allah, how does the revelation come to you?” He answered: “Sometimes it comes to me like the ringing of a bell: that is the hardest upon me; it breaks off when I have retained what was said. Sometimes the angel appears to me in the form of a man who speaks to me, and I retain what he says.” Aisha said: “I saw him receiving the revelation on a very cold day: when it broke off, his brow streamed with sweat.” Related by the two Sahihs, from Malik. Imam Ahmad related it, from Amir ibn Salih, from Hisham ibn Urwa, similarly; as did Abda ibn Sulayman and Anas ibn Iyad, from Hisham ibn Urwa. Ayyoub as-Sakhtiyani related it, from Hisham, from his father, from al-Harith ibn Hisham, who said: “I asked the Messenger of Allah: how does the revelation come to you?”, and he mentioned it without mentioning Aisha.
In the hadith of the slander (al-ifk), Aisha said: “By Allah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would not go to his council, and no one of the household would leave, before there descended upon him [the revelation]: there seized him then what the shivering seized, until there trickled from him, like pearls, sweat, on an icy day, from the weight of the revelation descending upon him.” Imam Ahmad related, from Abd ar-Razzak, the dictation of Younous ibn Sulaym, from Ibn Shihab, from Urwa, from Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abd al-Qari, that he heard ’Oumar ibn al-Khattab say: when the revelation descended upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), there was heard near his face like the humming of bees. The complete hadith stands at the descent of “The believers have certainly succeeded”. at-Tirmidhi and an-Nasaï related it likewise, from Abd ar-Razzak; an-Nasaï said: rejected relation, we know none who related it but Younous ibn Sulaym, and we do not know him.
In the Sahih of Mouslim and elsewhere, from al-Hasan, from Hittan ibn Abdallah ar-Raqachi, from ’Ubada ibn as-Samit: when the revelation descended upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), it distressed him, his face changed, and in one version he closed his eyes, and we knew that of him. In the two Sahihs is the hadith of Zayd ibn Thabit, when “Not equal are the believers who remain sitting” descended: Ibn Umm Maktoum complained of his disability, and “other than those who are disabled” descended. Zayd said: “The thigh of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was upon my thigh, and I was writing: when the revelation descended, his thigh nearly crushed mine.”
In the Sahih of Mouslim, from Hammam ibn Yahya, from Ata, from Safwan ibn Ya’la ibn Umayya, from Ya’la ibn Umayya: ’Oumar said to me: “Would it please you to see the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while revelation is made to him?” He lifted the edge of the garment from his face, while revelation was being made to him at al-Ji’rana: his face was reddened, and he snored as a young camel snores. And it is established in the two Sahihs, from Aisha, that when the veil descended and Sawda then went out by night to the fields, ’Oumar said: “We have recognized you, O Sawda.” She returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and asked him, while he sat taking his meal, sweat in his hand; Allah made revelation to him, the sweat in his hand; then he raised his head and said: “It is permitted to you to go out for your needs.” This proves that revelation did not wholly suspend his sensations: he was seated without falling, and the sweat did not fall from his hand either: may Allah’s prayers and peace be perpetual upon him.
Abu Dawud at-Tayalisi related, from Ibbad ibn Mansour, from Ikrima, from Ibn Abbas: when the revelation descended upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), his body and face grew heavy, he withdrew from his Companions and none of them spoke to him. In the collection of Ahmad and elsewhere, from Ibn Lahi’a, the chain of Yazid ibn Abi Habib, from Amr ibn al-Walid, from Abdallah ibn Amr, who said: “O Messenger of Allah, do you sense the revelation?” He said: “Yes: I hear clinking sounds, then I stand firm; and each time revelation comes to me, I think my soul will escape.” Abu Ya’la al-Mawsili related, through a chain going back to al-Faltan ibn Asim: we were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) when there descended upon him [the revelation]: his eyes remained open, and he devoted his hearing and his heart to what came to him from Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Abu Nu’aym related, from Qutayba, a chain going back to Abu Hurayra: when the revelation descended upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), he was seized and covered his head with henna. This hadith is very rare in its chain.
Imam Ahmad related likewise, from Asma bint Yazid: “I was holding the reins of the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) she-camel when the sura al-Ma’ida was sent down to him entire: because of its weight it nearly broke the she-camel’s foreleg.” Abu Nu’aym related it, from ath-Thawri, from Layth ibn Abi Sulaym, likewise. Ahmad related further, from Hassan, from Ibn Lahi’a, the chain of al-Hubeuli, from Abdallah ibn Amr: the sura al-Ma’ida was sent down upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while he was mounted on his beast: it could not bear him, and he dismounted. Ibn Mardawayh related, from Sabbah ibn Sahl, from Asim al-Ahwal: Umm Amr related to me, from her uncle: we were on a journey with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) when the sura al-Ma’ida descended upon him, and the mount’s neck cracked from its weight. And that is very rare from this angle.
It is nevertheless established in the two Sahihs that the sura al-Fath descended upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on his return from al-Hudaybiyya, while he was upon his mount: so there are times and times, according to the circumstance. Allah is most knowing. We mentioned the types of revelation to him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) at the beginning of our commentary on the Sahih of al-Boukhari, and what al-Halimi and other imams said (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).