Revelation of Quran

The Wisdom behind the Gradual Revelation of Quran:

If Allah had willed, the Quran would have been sent down in its entirety to the
Prophet (s.a.w) at any stage of his prophethood, just like some of the previous
scriptures. However this was not the case. The Quran was revealed in 23 years and
Allah in fact refers to its gradual revelation in many verses and from these verses
some of the benefits of this gradual revelation can be understood.

The Prophet (s.a.w) was distressed by the attitude of his people towards his
message. They ridiculed and mocked him, and claimed that he was a sorcerer, a
madman, or that he was possessed by jinn. They even went on to threaten him.
Naturally when a human being faces discouragement, opposition and threats, his
determination weakens and he becomes fearful. So in order to prevent a pile up of
such feelings in the heart of His messenger, Allah sent down verses from time to
time, consoling the Prophet (s.a.w), ensuring him that the disbelievers can cause no
harm to him and promising him victory over them.

disbelievers.

would reveal to them an answer. Included in this category are the answers that the
Prophet (s.a.w) gave to the problems that the believers faced. Whenever a situation
or crises arose, the Quran would clearly lay out the solution.

i
The first revelation of Quran:
When the Prophet (s.a.w) was nearly forty, he developed the habit of being alone
and away from the people he could not understand the beliefs of nor approved of
their ways of living. In order to be away from people and their idolatrous and corrupt
practices and to think clearly he used to set out for mountains. One of the places he
chose was the cave of Hira in mount Hira. He used to spend hours and days there in
retirement, meditating and thinking about life, the right way of living, all aspects of
creation around him, and meanwhile detaching himself from the impurities of the
Arab society. His heart was restless about the moral evils and idolatry that were
common among his people; he was helpless because he did not know the truth and
no definite course, or specific approach had been available for him to follow and
change the ill practices of his society.
At the same time, he (s.a.w) used to have true dreams. Whatever vision he (s.a.w)
was shown in his dream happened in reality in exactly the same way. These true
visions continued roughly for around six months before his prophet-hood.
When the Prophet (s.a.w) was forty, the age of complete maturity and sensibility at
which Prophets were ordered to deliver Allah's message to the humanity, in
Ramadan, during the time of solitude in the cave of Hira’, Allah decided to send the
light of revelation to the earth.
As for the exact date, careful investigation into circumstantial evidence and relevant
clues point directly to Monday, 21st Ramadan at night, i.e. August, 10, 610 A.D. with
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) exactly 40 years, 6 months of age according to the lunar
calender, i.e. 39 Gregorian years, 3 months.
The angel Jibreel (a.s) came to him, the Prophet (s.a.w) saw a light and heard the
voice which said: "Read". He (s.a.w) replied: "I cannot read". Jibreel (a.s) then
squeezed him (s.a.w) strongly and after letting him free, repeated the order ‘Read.’ ‘I
cannot read’ said the Prophet (s.a.w), and once again Jibreel (a.s) squeezed him till
he (s.a.w) was exhausted. Then he (s.a.w) said: ‘Read.’ The Prophet (s.a.w) gave the
same reply: ‘I cannot read.’ He squeezed him for a third time and then said:
‫ذ‬
َْ‫) ْ َعلذ ْم‬4(ْ ‫اَّلي ْ َعلذ َْم ْبالْ َقلَ ْم‬ ْ َ ْ َ ُّ َ َ ْ َ ْ َ ْ َ َ ْ ََ َ َ َ ‫ْ َ ْ ْ َ ِّ َ ذ‬
ِ ِ
َ
ِ ْ )3(ْ ْ‫ك ْاْلكرم‬ْ ‫) ْاقرْأ ْورب‬2(ْ ْ‫ن ْ َعلق‬
ْ ‫ان ْ ِم‬
ْ ‫اْلنس‬
ِ ْ‫ق‬ َْ ‫اَّلي ْخل‬
ْ ‫) ْخل‬1(ْ ‫ق‬ ِ ْ‫ك‬ ْ ‫اقرْأ ْبِاس ِْم ْرب‬
ْ َْ َ َْ َ َ َ ْ
ْ )5(ْ‫انْماْل ْمْيعل ْم‬ْ ‫اْلنس‬ ِ
"Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists), has created
man from a clinging substance. Read! and your Lord is the Most Noble/Generous.
Who taught by the pen. Taught man that which he knew not." [96:1-5]
The Prophet (s.a.w) heard this and was trembling with fear. He left the cave and
headed home to his wife Khadijah (a.s), and said: "Cover me, cover me." He (s.a.w)
was covered and after recovering from the fear and shock, he narrated the incident
of the cave to Khadija (r.a) and added that he was horrified. She tried to soothe him
and reassured him saying: "Allah will never disgrace you. You unite blood relations;
you bear the burden of the weak; you help the poor and the needy, you entertain
the guests and endure hardships in the path of truthfulness."

ii
 The Makkee and madanee verses

The definition of Makkee and Madanee:

If a verse was revealed before the hijrah or migration, it is considered makkee, and if
revealed after the hijrah, it is considered madanee. This definition ignores the actual
place of revelation. The criterion according to this definition is the time of revelation
not the place.

iii
iv