Umm al-Mu’minin Hazrat Aisha Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that once Hazrat Harith bin Hisham (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet (peace be upon him), “O Messenger of Allah! How does the revelation come to you?” The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied, “Sometimes the revelation descends upon me like the ringing of a bell, and at that time the (process) stops when I am able to remember the words of the revelation. This state is very difficult for me. Sometimes the angel appears in the form of a man and whatever he says, I remember it.” Umm al-Mu’minin (may Allah be pleased with her) says that she saw during severe cold winters that when the process of revelation stopped for the Prophet (peace be upon him), his forehead would be covered with sweat.
Benefit:
The revelation continued to descend upon the Prophet (peace be upon him) continuously for 23 years. The manner of this revelation sometimes varied. Only two methods are mentioned in this hadith, but other books of hadith provide further details, which Hazrat Maulana Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) has compiled in his valuable book “Uloom al-Quran.”
