Muhammad didn’t know how to read, but he was able to read the words anyway. He was terrified, and thought he must be going crazy. He ran out of the cave to escape, but everywhere he looked all he saw was the angel. Before the angel left, it said, “O Muhammad, you are the messenger of God, and I am Gabriel.”

Muhammad went home and told his wife what had happened to him, and she believed the vision of the angel. She didn’t think Muhammad was crazy at all. As time went on, he began to have more visions and angelic encounters, and slowly began to accept that he was to be a prophet of God, one in a long line of prophets which included Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus. His conviction grew, and he started to preach in Mecca, continuing to receive revelations from God for the next twenty years.