Ghar Hira (Cave of Hira)

A small cave on Jabal al-Nur, about two miles from Mecca. It is four cubits long and a cubit and three-quarters wide, measured by the iron cubit. In it the Prophet used to seclude himself in Ramadan before the mission, and there the angel came to him with the first revelation (the beginning of revelation) ^{1 2 3 4}.

When he was approaching forty, solitude became dear to him. He would take parched grain and water and go to the cave of Hira, with his family close by. He would stay there for the month of Ramadan, feeding the needy who came to him, and spending his time in worship and reflection on the sights of creation around him ^{1 3 4}. The author, citing the author of Fi Zilal al-Qur'an, says this seclusion came three years before the commissioning, one month each year ^{1 5}. In Aisha's hadith, he used to devote himself there, that is to say in worship, for many nights, and provide himself for it ^{2 6}.

The book does not record the cave's history after that, or visits to it in later ages. The coordinates on the data card come from the museum's plan, not from the book.