Beginning of Revelation
The revelation of the Qur'an
began in the laila al-qadr of Ramadan (one of the odd nights
after the 21st till end Ramadan) after the Prophet Muhammad had
passed the fortieth year of his life (that is around the year
610), during his seclusion in the cave of Hira' on a mountain
near Makka.
Bukharis Account [English
translations of ahadith are, unless otherwise indicated, from
Khan, Muhammad Muhsin: The Translation of the Meanings of Sahih
al-Bukhari, 9 vols., Istanbul, 1978 (abbr. as Bukhari) and
Siddiqui, Abdul Hamid: Sahih Muslim, 4 vols., Lahore, 1978
(abbr. as Muslim).]
This is the account, as
reported in the Sahih of Bukhari:
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 Hira', 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) Khadija to take his food likewise again, till
suddenly the truth descended upon him while he was in the Cave
of Hira'.
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" ...
[Bukhari, I, No. 3; VI, No. 478; Muslim I, No. 301.]
The narration goes on to tell us that the
Prophet went back to his wife Khadija and recounted to her his
dreadful experience. She comforted him and both of them
consulted Waraqa, Khadlja's relative and a learned Christian,
about it. Waraqa told Muhammad that he had encountered the one
'whom Allah had sent to Moses' and that he would be driven out
by his people
Narrated Aisha, the mother of
the faithful believers: Al-Harith bin Hisham 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'.
[Bukhari, I, No. 2.]
The first revelation that the
Prophet Muhammad received is in the first verses from Sura 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 Sura 96,
which now has 19 ayat, was revealed on some later occasion.
After the first message thus
received, revelation ceased for a certain period (called fatra)
and then resumed:
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah
Al-Ansari 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 Hira' 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'an): 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. [Bukhari, I, end of No. 3.]
The second portion of the
Qur'an revealed to the Prophet Muhammad was the beginning of
Sura al-muddaththir (74: 15). 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 ...'
Many hold that Sura
al-muzzammil (73) was the next revelation.
According to others, Sura
al-fatiha (1) was the third sura to be revealed. [Suyuti, Itqan,
I, p.24.]
Among other early
revelations, which the Prophet declared in Makka, are, according
to some reports, Sura 111, Sura 81, Sura 87, Sura 92, Sura 89,
etc. Then revelation continued, 'mentioning Paradise and Hell,
and until mankind turned to Islam, then came revelation about
halal and haram ... ' [Suyuti, Itqan, I, p.24.]
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 after Hijra (632)
Many Muslim scholars agree
that the last revelation was Sura 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. [Kamal, Ahmad 'Adil: 'ulum al-Qur'an, Cairo,
1974, p.18.]
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 Sura 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
was the last revelation is not sound according to many scholars,
since it was revealed during the last pilgrimage of the Prophet.
This information is based upon a hadith from 'Umar. Suyuti
explains concerning the verse in Sura 5 that after it nothing
concerning ahkam and hal'al and haram was revealed, and in this
sense it is the 'completion' of religion. However, revelation
reminding man of the coming day of judgement continued and the
last such revelation is the above verse. [Sabuni, tibyan pp.
18-9]
The Qur'an was revealed in
stages over a period of 23 years, and not as a complete book in
one single act of revelation. There are a number of reasons for
this; most important are the following:
-
To strengthen the heart of the Prophet (saws) by addressing
him continuously and whenever the need for guidance arose.
- Out of consideration for the
Prophet since revelation was a very difficult experience for
him.
- To gradually implement the laws of
God.
- To make understanding, application
and memorisation of the revelation easier for the believers
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