Ulum al Qur'an. Ahmad Von Denffer
for He is Most High, Most Wise’ (42: 51).
Means of revelation are:
— Inspiration, e.g. in a dream (see 37: 102, where it is related that Ibrāhīm receives guidance in a vision, while asleep, to sacrifice his son).
— Speech hidden away (see 27: 8, where it is related that God spoke to Mūsā from the fire).
— Words (speech) sent through a special messenger from God (see 2: 97, where it is related that God sent the Angel Gabriel as the messenger to Muḥammad to reveal His message).
The Qur’ān revealed to Muḥammad
Prophet Muḥammad, the last of God’s messengers, received the revelation of the Qur’ān through a special messenger sent by God for this purpose: the Angel Gabriel, who recited to him God’s words exactly.
The Descent of the Qur’ān
According to Suyūṭī14 on the basis of three reports from ‘Abdullāh Ibn ‘Abbās, in Ḥākim, Baihaqi and Nasā’ī, the Qur’ān descended in two stages:
— From the lauḥ al-maḥfūẓ, the ‘well-preserved tablet’, to the lowest of the heavens (bait al-‘izza) of the world, all together, in the laila al-qadr.
— From the heavens to earth in stages throughout the twenty–three years of Muḥammad’s prophethood, and first in the laila al-qadr of Ramaḍān, through the Angel Gabriel.
This second descent from the heaven to the heart of the Prophet is referred to in Sūra al-isrā’ (17) and Sūra al-furqān (25).
The revelation of the Qur’ān began in the laila al-qadr of Ramaḍān (the 27th night or one of the odd nights after the 21st) after the Prophet Muḥammad had passed the fortieth year of his life (that is around the year 610), during his seclusion in the Cave of Ḥirā’ on a mountain near Makka.
Bukhārī’s15 Account
This is the account, as reported in the Ṣaḥīḥ of Bukhārī:
Narrated Aisha the mother of the faithful believers: The commencement of the divine inspiration to Allah’s apostle was in the form of good dreams which came like bright daylight (i.e. true) and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him.
He used to go in seclusion in the Cave of Ḥirā’, where he used to worship (Allah alone) continuously for many days before his desire to see his family. He used to take with him food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadīja to take his food likewise again, till suddenly the truth descended upon him while he was in the Cave of Ḥirā’.
The angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet replied ‘I do not know how to read’.
The Prophet added, ‘The angel caught me (forcibly) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, “I do not know how to read”. Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read, but again I replied, “I do not know how to read” (or what shall I read?). Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said: “Read, in the name of your Lord, who created, created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the most bountiful”’.16
The narration goes on to tell us that the Prophet went back to his wife Khadīja and recounted to her his dreadful experience. She comforted him and both of them consulted Waraqa, Khadīja’s relative and a learned Christian, about it. Waraqa told Muḥammad that he had encountered the one ‘whom Allah had sent to Moses’ and that he would be driven out by his people.
How Revelation came
Narrated Aisha, the mother of the faithful believers:
Al-Ḥārith bin Hishām asked Allah’s apostle: ‘O Allah’s apostle! How is the divine inspiration revealed to you?’ Allah’s apostle replied, ‘Sometimes it is “revealed” like the ringing of a bell, this form of inspiration is the hardest of all and then this state passes off after I have grasped what is inspired. Sometimes the Angel comes in the form of a man and talks to me and I grasp whatever he says’.17
The First Revelation 18
The first revelation that the Prophet Muḥammad received is in the first verses from Sūra al-‘alaq (96: 1-3, according to others 1-5):
‘Read in the name of your Lord, who created, created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is most bountiful. (He who taught) the use of the pen taught man which he knew not.’
The remainder of Sūra 96, which now has 19 āyāt, was revealed on some later occasion.
The Pause (fatra)
After the first message thus received, revelation ceased for a certain period (called fatra) and then resumed:
Narrated Jābir bin ‘Abdullāh Al-Anṣārī while talking about the period of pause in revelation reporting the speech of the Prophet, ‘While I was walking, all of a sudden I heard a voice from the heaven. I looked up and saw the same angel who had visited me at the Cave of Ḥirā’ sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I got afraid of him and came back home and said “Wrap me (in blankets)” and then Allah revealed the following holy verses (of the Qur’ān): “O you covered in your cloak, arise and warn (the people against Allah’s punishment)…” up to “and all pollution shun”.’
After this revelation came strongly and regularly.19
The Second Revelation
The second portion of the Qur’ān revealed to the Prophet Muḥammad was the beginning of Sūra al-muddaththir (74: 1-5). It now consists of 56 verses, the rest revealed later, and begins as follows: ‘O you, covered in your cloak, arise and warn, thy Lord magnify, thy raiment purify, pollution shun .. .’
Other Early Revelations
Many hold that Sūra al-muzzammil (73) was the next revelation.
According to others, Sūra al-fātiḥa (1) was the third sūra to be revealed.20
Among other early revelations, which the Prophet declared in Makka, are, according to some reports, Sūra 111, Sūra 81, Sūra 87, Sūra 92, Sūra 89, etc. Then revelation continued, ‘mentioning Paradise and Hell, and until mankind turned to Islam, then came revelation about ḥalāl and ḥarām….’21
Revelation came to the Prophet throughout his lifetime, both in Makka and Madina, i.e. over a period of approximately 23 years, until shortly before his death in the year 10 Hijra (632).
The Last Revelation
Many Muslim scholars agree that the last revelation was Sūra 2, verse 281:
‘And fear the day when ye shall be brought back to God. Then shall every soul be paid what it earned and none shall be dealt with unjustly.’
Some also say that it was 2: 282 or 2: 278.22
It has also been suggested that all three verses were revealed on one occasion. The Prophet died nine nights after the last revelation.
Others hold that Sūra 5: 4 was the last to be revealed:
‘This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.’
The opinion that this verse