Posted on Wednesday 15 December 2004

Mohammed was not happy man, actually he was scared out of his wits. He was also starting to seriously doubt his own sanity.

One night while alone at his retreat in the desert, he was accosted by an angel. A particularly insistent angel, as it happens. This angel (if that indeed was what it was) claimed to be the archangel Gabriel, and it had a urgent message. "Recite!" it demanded pressing him so hard to the ground that he was convinced he would die. Then the angel released him. This happened three times, each time the angel pressing him down and commanding him to recite the words that it had given him.


Then it vanished and Mohammed was left alone and terrified. "Woe is me" he thought "am I poet or possessed?".

The thought that he might have lost his mind immediately made him want to throw himself off a cliff but on his way up a mountain, the angel once again appeared before him. Mohammed stood there transfixed, his feet rivetted to a mountain which he could neither walk up nor down. That was how he was found by messengers sent by his wife to fetch him.

Unlike Mohammed, his wife Khadijah (his cousin and 15 years his senior) was enthusiastic about the news that he was the receiver of divine revelation. Mohammed, however, remained uncertain as to whether they were genuine heavenly visitations or just the work of an evil djin. Khadijah reassured him and asked him to notify her if his heavenly visitor returned so that they could truly verify whether this was the archangel Gabriel or some ordinary demon.

When the angel did return, Mohammed called his wife, "This is Gabriel who has just come to me."

She said, "Really? Okay, Cousin, come here and sit by my left thigh.’

Mohammed did as he was told.

"Can you still see him?" she asked.

"Yes, he's still here"

"Right. Now move around and sit by my right thigh."

Again he did as he was told.

"Can you see him now?"

"Yes", replied Mohammed.

"Good. Now sit in my lap."

He did so, and once again she asked, "Can you still see him?"

"Yes."

"Hmmmm", this news concerned Khadijah greatly. She thought for a moment before finally flinging off her veil and opening her robe. She exposed her naked body to him.

"Now can you see him?"

"No", said Mohammed "he's gone".

Khadijah rejoiced, "Fantastic news, Cousin! That spirit really is an angel and not a Satan!"

She meant that only a lustful demon would have stayed around to watch Mohammed and his wife have sex. An angel, on the other hand, would naturally withdraw from the scene.

From that moment on, Mohammed no longer doubted.

(based on Wahi: The Supernatural Basis of Islam : Mohammed's reaction to the Quranic trance by Dr. Koenraad ELST, which also contains the incident known as the Satanic Verses.)