The Fifth: The Prophet [pbuh] saw the angel in his actual form. The angel would reveal to him what Allah had ordered him to reveal. This, as mentioned in (Qur’an), in Sûrah An-Najm (Chapter 53 - The Star), happened twice.
The Sixth: What Allah Himself revealed to him in heaven i.e. when he ascended to heaven and received Allah’s behest of Salât (prayer).
The Seventh: Allah’s Words to His Messenger [pbuh] at first hand without the mediation of an angel. It was a privilege granted to Moses عليه السلام
and clearly attested in the Qur’an, as it is attested to our Prophet [pbuh] in the Sûrah Al- Isrâ’ (Chapter 17 - The Journey by Night) of the Noble Qur’an.
Some religious scholars added a controversial eighth stage in which they state that Allah spoke to the Prophet [pbuh] directly without a curtain in between. This issue remains however unconfirmed. [Za'd Al-Ma'ad 1/18]
Proclaiming Allah, the All-High; and the Immediate Constituents
The first Revelation sent to the Prophet [pbuh] implied several injunctions, simple in form but highly effective and of serious far-reaching ramifications. The angel communicated to him a manifest Message saying:
"O you (Muhammad [pbuh]) enveloped (in garments)! Arise and warn! And your Lord (Allah) magnify! And your garments purify! And keep away from Ar-Rujz (the idols). And give not a thing in order to have more (or consider not your deeds of Allah’s obedience as a favour to Allah). And be patient for the sake of your Lord (i.e. perform your duty to Allah)!" [Al-Qur'an 74:1-7]
For convenience and ease of understanding, we are going to segment the Message into its immediate constituents:
1. The ultimate objective of warning is to make sure that no one breaching the pleasures of Allah in the whole universe is ignorant of the serious consequences that his behaviour entails, and to create a sort of unprecedented shock within his mind and heart. 2. ‘Magnifying the Lord’ dictates explicitly that the only pride allowed to nourish on the earth is exclusively Allah’s to the exclusion of all the others’. 3. ‘Cleansing the garments and shunning all aspects of abomination’ point directly to the indispensable need to render both the exterior and interior exceptionally chaste and pure, in addition to the prerequisite of sanctifying the soul and establishing it highly immune against the different sorts of impurities and the various kinds of pollutants. Only through this avenue can the soul of the Prophet [pbuh] reach an ideal status and become eligible to enjoy the shady mercy of Allah and His protection, security, guidance and ever-shining light; and will consequently set the highest example to the human community, attract the sound hearts and inspire awe and reverence in the stray ones in such a manner that all the world, in agreement or disagreement, will head for it and take it as the rock-bed in all facets of their welfare.