Discover the Sacred Site: Jabal al-Nour and the Cave of Hira
The mountain Jabal al-Nour or the Mountain of the Light or Hill of the Illumination is positioned nearby Mecca in specific Hejaz area of Saudi Arabia. The grotto or cave of Hira, romanized: Hira Cave, translates to ‘House of Hira’. The Kufic script ‘Cave of Hira’ is of great importance to Muslims all over the world. It is the place from where the Islamic prophet Muhammad received the first revelation of the Quran, the first five verses of Surah al-Alaq from the angel Jibra’il (Gabriel in some schools of Quran recitation). Undoubtedly, one of the ’must-sees’ in Makkah. Despite the fact that the mountain measures 640 meters (2,100 feet) , the climb to the cave is quite steep and can takes anything from one to two hours. This shows that even a fit person would not have it easy climbing the 1750 stairs to the top of the statue, it might take between 30- 60 minutes.
Cave of Hira
The Hajj attracts about five thousand pilgrims each day to where Gabriel conveyed the Qur’an to Mohammed on the Laylat al-Qadr. Currently, a small number of Muslims include visiting this cave in their pilgrimage rituals of hajj. Some come for the fun and to pray and many for spiritual reasons and therefore regard it as a place of worship, a notion that is sharply at variance with the usage of Salafist ideologues of the Islamic concepts of rituals. It is also associated with As-Sīrah an-Nabawiyyah (prophetic biography) but the site is relatively less sacred than the areas of Mecca such as Al-Haram Mosque. In general and as stated by most scholars of Islamic jurisprudence, the prayer indeed given in the cave is worthy to be given the same rewards as one gets praying in an open area of Mecca.
Before the first revelation, the Prophet had wake induced transcendent dreams which revealed to him that he was a Prophet and that stones of Mecca will greet him with ‘Peace’. These dreams lasted six months and during this time, several policies were endorsed and formulated to help transform the nation’s economy.
Prophet Muhammad began to look for Muraqabah between the rocks around Mecca because his desire for seclusion increased. He used to retreat to the cave and there stay for one month of the year alone. He supported the needy clients who with supplies came to him. Before he reached his home he had to walk around the Kaaba seven times before he could go back for more food.
