Was the angel at the cave of Hira the same as at the burning bush?
In 610 AD, something supernatural happened that would alter the course of history. A forty-year-old merchant seeking solitude in the Arabian wilderness had an awe-inspiring experience—he encountered an angel in the cave of Hira. This encounter was the dawn of the Islamic era.
The backstory of this event is in the hadith. According to Sahih al-Bukhari 3, Muhammad used to retreat in seclusion to the Cave of Hira, where he worshipped Allah continuously for many days. One day, while he was in the cave, the angel Jibril came to him and commanded him to read, to which the Prophet replied, “I do not know how to read”.
Muhammad reports, “The angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it anymore. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, ‘I do not know how to read.’ Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it anymore. He then released me and again asked me to read but again I replied, ‘I do not know how to read.’ Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said, ‘Read in the name of your Lord, who has created (all that exists), created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous.” These are the words we can find today in Surah Al-‘Alaq 96:1-3—the first words Muhammad ever recited.
The hadith continues as follows: “Then Allah’s Messenger returned with the inspiration and with his heart beating severely. He went to Khadija bint Khuwailid and said, “Cover me! Cover me! [with a blanket]” They covered him till his fear was over and after that he told her everything that had happened and said, “I fear that something may happen to me.” Khadija calmed him down, saying “Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your kith and kin, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guests generously and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones.” Following this, Khadija accompanied him to her cousin Waraqa bin Naufal bin Asad bin ‘Abdul ‘Uzza, who, during the pre-Islamic Period, became a Christian. Waraqa was an old man and had lost his eyesight.
“So, Khadija said to Waraqa, “Listen to the story of your nephew [= Muhammad], O my cousin!” Waraqa asked, “O my nephew! What have you seen?” Then, Allah’s Messenger described whatever he had seen. Waraqa said, “This is the same one who keeps the secrets (angel Jibril) whom Allah had sent to Musa. I wish I were young and could live up to the time when your people would turn you out.” Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) asked, “Will they drive me out?” Waraqa replied in the affirmative and said, “Anyone (man) who came with something similar to what you have brought was treated with hostility; and if I should remain alive till the day when you will be turned out then I would support you strongly.” But after a few days Waraqa died and the Divine Inspiration was also paused for a while.”
Let’s summarize this hadith. The angel meets Muhammad in the cave and presses him heavily—to the point of suffocation. Then, he tells Muhammad the first verses of Surah Al-‘Alaq and prompts him to recite them. Terrified, Muhammad returns to Khadija and asks her to cover him. Initially, he thinks something was wrong with what he experienced. It doesn’t seem like he knows for certain that the angel was from Allah and that he is a prophet. Khadija reassures him and takes him to her cousin Waraqa, who likewise assures Muhammad that he was truly sent by God. How? By explaining that the angel he met was the same one that appeared to Musa. Thus, the point Waraqa is making is that Muhammad is a true prophet because he received revelation the same way the great prophet Musa did.
Which story about the angel appearing to Musa was Waraqa thinking of? He did not say, but there is only one story that he could be referring to: the angel appearing to Musa in the burning bush. Why? Because Musa received his first revelations and divine calling from God on this occasion, just like Muhammad did in the cave of Hira many centuries later.
Musa’s encounter with the angel was written down in the Torah long before Muhammad was born. It is important to stress that Waraqa could only have been referring to the account in the Torah, not the Qur’an, because only five ayahs of the Qur’an (Surah Al-‘Alaq 96:1-5) had been revealed at that time—and they say nothing about Musa and the burning bush!
Why did Waraqa think the angel that appeared to Musa was the same one that appeared to Muhammad? Presumably, he thought the stories were similar. Let’s look at the Torah and see if this is really the case. Are the stories actually similar? This will help us determine whether the angel was the same on both occasions. Let’s find out.
Similar to the hadith, the Torah describes Musa as being alone in the wilderness. While Musa was shepherding a flock, the angel of God appeared to him:
[2] And the angel of the LORD appeared to him [= Musa] in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
[3] And Musa said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
[4] When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Musa, Musa!” And he said, “Here I am.”
[5] Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
[6] And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub.” And Musa hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
[7] Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,
[8] and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
[9] And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
[10] Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
[11] But Musa said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
[12] He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
[13] Then Musa said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”
[14] God said to Musa, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
[15] God also said to Musa, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
[16] Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, of Ishaq, and of Yaqub, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt.
– Exodus 3:2-16 –
This was the beginning of Musa’s calling according to the Torah. What stands out from this account?
- The angel was calm. In contrast to Muhammad’s calling, there was no violence, no forcing, no suffocating that almost led to death. On the contrary. The angel appeared friendly and merciful, saying that he came to rescue the oppressed people of Israel and to lead them out into a good land (verses 7-8). Musa was filled with awe and reverence (verse 6), but not with paralyzing fear that something bad had happened to him.
- The angel that appeared to Musa clearly said that the words he was speaking were from God. In contrast, the angel that appeared to Muhammad did not reveal his identity.
- As a result, Musa knew from the beginning that he was commissioned by God. Muhammad however only believed that Allah had given him the gift of prophethood after Khadija and Waraqa convinced him.
- Musa was given a clear mission: “Go to the Fir’awn and lead the people of Israel out of Egypt!” (verse 10). Muhammad was told to recite, but he was not given any clear mission.
- A few verses later, we read how God showed Musa miracles that he could perform if people did not believe him. One of those miracles was Musa’s staff turning into a snake:
[2] The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”
[3] And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Musa ran from it.
[4] But the LORD said to Musa, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—
– Exodus 4:2-4 –
Unlike Musa, Muhammad received no miracles to perform after his initial calling. Therefore, he had no way to prove to anyone around him that this initial revelation was from God.
- After Musa received instructions from God, he met his brother Harun in the wilderness (Exodus 4:27-28). Musa already knew that he was a prophet, and he was the one who convinced Harun that God had spoken to him. He did not rely on others to tell him about his own experience—Harun did not have to convince Musa of anything. In contrast, Muhammad had a bad impression of his experience and had to be reassured by Khadija that nothing bad would happen to him.
- Musa and Harun went together to the elders of the people of Israel (Exodus 4:29). Harun told the elders everything that had happened to Musa, and when they saw the miracles, they believed that Musa was truly called by God (Exodus 4:30-31). Musa never doubted and did not have to be convinced by the elders of Israel.
On the other hand, when Muhammad went with Khadija to Waraqa, he was not sure that the angel was from God. He only became convinced when he relied on Waraqa’s understanding of his experience.
Musa convinces others that he’s a prophet, but Muhammad is not sure he’s a prophet until others convince him that what he experienced was something different than he had thought. However, how could Khadija and Waraqa have known whether Muhammad received revelation or whether the angel was the same? They were not there in the cave.
Overall, we see that the two stories are very different. Muhammad did not receive revelation the same way Musa did. The angel that appeared to Musa was not the same one that appeared to Muhammad. Waraqa was wrong. Unfortunately, Muhammad could not fact check Waraqa’s claims by reading the story of Musa in the Torah, because he could not read Hebrew.
Is it possible that Muhammad was correct with his initial impression—that there was something wrong with the angel and with the whole experience?
Dear reader, in the next article we will examine the claim of the Qur’an that Muhammad is prophesied in the Torah. Please continue reading: