Muhammad (PBUH) was well-loved and respected by his family and friends before the revelations of the Qur’an began. The most famous incident in his life before Islam was his arbitration between four major clans in Mecca that were near taking up arms against each other. There had been a flash flood that destroyed part of the Ka’aba and each of the four major tribes were helping to rebuild the holy structure. The last stone to be placed was the black stone of the corner and each of the tribes wanted the honor of putting the stone back in its place. They decided that the next person who walked through the doors of the mosque would decide which tribe would have the honor of replacing the black stone. When they saw Muhammad (PBUH) walk in they were overjoyed, for here came Al-Amin, and they were confident he would find a just solution. Muhammad’s solution was to place the black stone on a cloak and have one member of each of the four clans hold a corner to lift it up, and Muhammad (PBUH) himself put the stone in place. Everyone was happy with this solution and fighting was averted.
During the month of Ramadan in the year 610 CE, Muhammad (PBUH) had retreated to a cave on Mount Hira outside of Mecca for fasting, prayer and contemplation. It was here that the angel Gabriel first descended from Heaven and told the prophet to “Recite in the name of your Lord who created!” which was the first revelation of the Qur’an. The word Qur’an itself means recitation, or something to be recited. Muhammad (PBUH) was terrified of the experience and was afraid he was going crazy. He returned to his wife, Khadija, and told her what had happened. Khadija was the first person to accept Islam; she told him that she believed that he was