Mount Nur - 1
Mount Nur - 1
The Witness of the Silent Mountain
Located northeast of Mecca and known as "Jabal al-Nur" (Mountain of Light), this sacred
peak is one of the rare witnesses of Islamic history, as it was where Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) retreated in solitude before his prophethood.
At approximately 642 meters high, the Cave of Hira at its summit is not just a hollow in the
rock; it is the starting point of the greatest enlightenment in human history.
As he neared the age of forty, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would frequently ascend to
Hira, distancing himself from the idolatry of Mecca, reflecting and contemplating the meaning
of creation. According to classical biographers such as Ibn Hisham and Tabari, the time he
spent here was a spiritual preparation for prophethood.
And one night in Ramadan, the first light of revelation tore through that silent darkness;
the arrival of Gabriel (peace be upon him) with the command "READ" (IQRA) transformed
Mount Nur from a mere geographical location into an eternal symbol of spirituality.
The Light Born of Silence
Mount Nur now truly bore a "LIGHT"; the revelation born here was not merely words but
a divine hand extended to humanity lost in darkness.
The Prophet’s time in Hira was filled not only with worship but also with inner (spiritual)
purification and deepening. Every step was a search, every silence a prayer…
Mount Nur invites one to turn toward the “dark cave” within oneself.
What happened here was not only words descending from the heavens but also the
fluttering of a heart ascending from earth to heaven.
The trembling of the Messenger of Allah as he returned to Khadijah after receiving the first
revelation shows how it shook the human soul and how heavy a responsibility it was.
Mount Nur was the first center of this heavy burden — but this burden brought both pain
and light to humanity.
Withdrawing to the Hira of the Heart
Sufi thought interprets Mount Nur not only as an external place but also as an inner field
of manifestation.
Hira is, in fact, a cave in the heart. Every person has a Mount Nur within, and every heart
has a Cave of Hira.
Rumi points to this inner cave:
"If you seek Hira on the mountain of ego, descend into the depths of your heart.
For true light is the light that pierces the darkness within."
For the Sufis, Hira symbolizes distancing from the ego, purifying the heart through silence,
and turning inward to hear the divine truth.
Thus, retreating to Hira means not only ascending a mountain outwardly but descending
into the heart inwardly.
Ibn Arabi says:
"Hira is where the mind falls silent and the heart begins to speak."
This mountain where revelation was born is a metaphysical threshold where man first
contacted his Lord.
There was no ritual recitation there — only pure waiting… pure turning toward God.
This turning is described in Sufism as "Khalwa": withdrawing from crowds, facing one’s
inner emptiness, and meeting the Divine there.
The Truth Echoed in the Cave
The command "READ" that came in Hira urged not only reading words but reading existence.
In this sense, Hira carries the first command of the Qur’an.
The verse revealed here addresses not just Muhammad (peace be upon him) but all
humanity through him:
"Read! In the name of your Lord who created." (Al-‘Alaq 96/1)
This command calls man to look with both the eyes of reason and the eyes of the heart.
This is also the aim of Sufism: to transcend the visible face of existence and read the
divine manifestation behind it.
Mount Nur: A Cave in Every Heart
Mount Nur is more than a mountain.
It is the place where divine truth first touched human hearts.
The reading that began there still continues.
For the Qur’an is not just a textual book; it is also the light that pierces the darkness
of every age.
And Mount Nur remains a call amid the darkness of every era:
"Come, listen to the silence of Hira… READ the revelation within your heart…"
Dr. Özer Akpınar
Researcher-Historian
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