Juz by Juz: The First Revelation

Juz by Juz: The First Revelation is an Islamic video for children aged 4 to 9 in which Sheikh Azhari and his children tell how the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ received the first words of the Qur'an in the Cave of Hira. It is the last episode of the series.

Before the Qur'an came, the Prophet ﷺ used to go to a small cave on a mountain near Makkah to worship Allah. One day the angel Jibreel came to him and said, "Iqra": read. Jibreel squeezed him hard, the way you squeeze a stiff jar to open it, and the Prophet ﷺ was left gasping for breath, like a child coming up from under the water. Then came the first verses of Surah Al-Alaq: "Read in the name of your Lord who created."

The Sheikh explains that Rabb means Lord, and that many duas begin with it, such as "Rabbi ishrah li sadri", My Lord, open my heart.

The Prophet ﷺ went home to his wife Khadijah and told her he was worried. She told him that Allah would never disgrace him, because he told the truth, helped the poor, was generous and was kind to people. The Sheikh turns this into a lesson on character: if we tell the truth, give in charity and help others, Allah will not abandon us, inshaAllah. And we fill our hearts with light by reciting the Qur'an.

The children draw something kept in a jar and something they would like to play with in Jannah, and answer a quiz about what we say after eating, the prophet whose miracle was a camel and the prophet with an army of animals.

• Surah Al-Alaq 96:1-5: Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clinging clot. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous, who taught by the pen.
• Sahih al-Bukhari 3: Jibreel comes to the Prophet ﷺ in the Cave of Hira, squeezes him and says "Read"; the Prophet ﷺ returns to Khadijah, who tells him Allah will never disgrace him.
• Surah Ta-Ha 20:25: My Lord, open my heart for me.