Was Quran revealed in one night or it took many years

Was Quran revealed in one night or it took many years

Question
Some opinions suggest that the Quran was revealed in a single night, and some say that the Quran was revealed over several years in Makkah and Madinah. Do these opinions contradict one another? Is one right and the other wrong? Or are they both wrong?

Answer
All Praise To Allah

Firstly: The issue mentioned has two aspects: on one there is consensus and the other is a matter in which there are differences of opinion. With regard to the aspect on which there is consensus, it is that the Quran did not come down from heaven to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) all at once; rather the Revelation came down to him from Allah piecemeal, according to events and circumstances. There are verses which confirm this quite clearly with no confusion, and they affirm the wisdom behind its being revealed in this manner: -1- Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “And those who disbelieve say: Why is not the Quran revealed to him all at once? Thus (it is sent down in parts), that We may strengthen your heart thereby. And We have revealed it to you gradually, in stages.” [25:32]. Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahman as-S
>;adi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: That is because every time something of the Quran was revealed to him, it increased him in certainty and steadfastness, especially when there was cause for anxiety. The fact that the Quran was revealed when new developments occurred meant that it had greater impact and was more reassuring to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). And that was more effective than if it had been revealed before that, then was remembered when the new developments occurred. “And We have revealed it to you gradually, in stages,” means We revealed it slowly and sent it gradually. All of this indicates that Allah was taking care of His Book, the Quran, and His Messenger, Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), as He sent down His Book in accordance with the situations faced by the Messenger and as needed to address unfolding issues. End quote from Tafsir as-S
>;adi -2- Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning) says: “And (it is) a Quran which We have divided (into parts), in order that you might recite it to men at intervals. And We have revealed it by stages.” [17:106]. Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahman as-S
>;adi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “at intervals” means at an easy pace, so that they might ponder it and think about its meanings, and derive knowledge from it. “And We have revealed it by stages,” means: bit by bit, piecemeal over twenty-three years. End quote from Tafsir as- S
>;adi. What confirms the fact that the Quran was revealed piecemeal is the suspension of the Revelation concerning the slander incident (al-ifk), in which ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was accused of adultery. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was waiting for Quranic verses to be revealed, because of the enormity of the calamity and the accusation that was made against his wife, until the words of Allah were revealed (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily! Those who brought forth the slander (against ‘Aishah, the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)) are a group among you. Consider it not a bad thing for you. Nay, it is good for you. Unto every man among them will be paid that which he had earned of the sin, and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be a great torment.” [24:11]. Another confirmation that the Quran was revealed piecemeal is the first few verses of Surah ‘Abasa which were revealed when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) turned away from teaching the blind man Ibn Umm Maktum (may Allah be pleased with him) in the hope that the leaders of Quraysh would become Muslim (as he was already talking to the leaders of Quraysh and the blind mind man came to him in the middle of the conversion). Secondly: With regard to that concerning which there is a difference of opinion, it has to do with the start of the revelation of the Quran. Was it sent down all at once to the first heaven, then brought down to the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) piecemeal, or was it all brought down in the same manner, piecemeal according to events, as stated above? The reason for this difference of opinion is differences in understanding some verses which indicate that the Quran came down at a particular time, such as the verses in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong).” [2:185] “Verily! We have sent it (this Quran) down in the night of Al-Qadr (Decree).” [97:1]. And Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) clearly stated this understanding. The scholars differed concerning this sending down; there are several opinions, the most well-known of which are two: -1- The view of the majority is that the Quran was sent down from al-Lawh al-Mahfooz (the Preserved Tablet) to the first heaven on Laylat al-Qadr (the night of the Decree) all at once, then after that it was sent down in stages over twenty-three years. It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, concerning the verse “Verily! We have sent it (this Quran) down in the night of Al-Qadr (Decree).” The Quran was sent down all at once on Laylat al-Qadr, then Allah sent it down to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) bit by bit. “And those who disbelieve say: Why is not the Quran revealed to him all at once? Thus (it is sent down in parts), that We may strengthen your heart thereby. And We have revealed it to you gradually, in stages.” [25:32]. [an-Nasaa
>;i] -2- The second opinion is that the revelation of the Quran began on Laylat al-Qadr, then after that it was revealed in stages at various times, according to the unfolding of events and what the people needed. This is the view of the great Tabi‘i (successor) ash-Sh
>;abi. This difference of opinion – as you can see – does not have any real impact on the reality of the revelation of the Quran in stages to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). It has been said that the reason for this revelation (being sent down all at once to the first heaven) was to highlight the nobility and great status of the Quran in the upper realm (the heavens). Badr ad-Deen az-Zarkashi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If it is asked: what is the reason for the Quran being sent down to the first heaven all at once? The answer is to highlight its high status and the high status of the one to whom it was revealed. That was so as to announce to the inhabitants of the seven heavens that this was the last of the Books that was being sent down to the last of the Messengers and to the noblest of the nations. End quote from al-Burhan fi ‘Uloom al-Quran. Thirdly: The Angel of Revelation who brought it down to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Jibril (peace be upon him) only heard it from the Lord of Glory, may He be exalted, then he passed it on to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so he heard it with his ears and his heart understood it. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “And verily, you (O Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)) are receiving the Quran from the One, All-Wise, All-Knowing.” [27:6] “And if you do not bring them a miracle (according to their (i.e. Quraysh-pagans) proposal), they say: Why have you not brought it? Say: I but follow what is revealed to me from my Lord.” [7: 203]. It was narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When Allah speaks via revelation, the people of heaven hear from heaven a clanging like a chain dragged across a rock and they swoon, then they remain like that until Jibreel (peace be upon him) comes to them. When he comes to them, they recover and say: O Jibril, what did your Lord say? He says: The truth, and they say: The truth, the truth.” [Abu Dawood] Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The fact that it – the Quran – is written in al-Lawh al-Mahfooz and in pure pages in the hands of the angels does not contradict the idea that Jibril (peace be upon him) brought it down from Allah, whether Allah wrote it down before sending Jibril (peace be upon him) with it or after that. And if He sent it down written to Bayt al-‘Izzah (in the first heaven) in one go on Laylat al-Qadr, then He had written it all before sending it down. … If anyone says that Jibril (peace be upon him) took the Quran from the Book and did not hear it from Allah, this is false for a number of reasons – which the author then listed. End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fatawa. We hope that this is sufficiently clear and we hope that you will remain in contact with us if you have any further questions about this matter or if you need to ask more questions about any matter of our religion. We ask Allah to help you and guide you to that which is in your best interests in this world and in the Hereafter. And Allah knows best. Reference Link

Islamic scholars have discussed and mention types of revelation:

· Good vision A Good or True vision was the first stage of Divine revelation to be experienced by the Prophet, . Any vision that he dreamed would take place in reality as clear as daybreak. It was narrated that the Prophet, , said: “Visions of the prophets are revelation.”Allah The Almighty says about Ibraaheem (Abraham), may Allah exalt his mention (what means): {O my son, indeed I have seen in a dream that I [must] sacrifice you.} [Quran 37:102] · Inspiration This is what the angel would breathe into the heart of the Prophet, , without being seen. It is narrated that the Prophet, , said: “The Holy Spirit, Jibreel [Gabriel], may Allah exalt his mention, has inspired me that no soul will die until it has completed its appointed term and received its provision in full, so fear Allah and seek provision moderately.”[Al-Albaani: Saheeh] · Revelation coming like the ringing of a bell, and this was the hardest form of all to receive. ‘Aa
>;ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said that Al-Haarith, may Allah be pleased with him, asked the Messenger, , how the revelation would come to him. The Messenger, , replied: “Sometimes it is like the ringing of a bell, and this is the most difficult. When it parts from me, I have grasped what is said. Other times the angel comes in the form of a man and speaks to me and I grasp whatever he says.” [Al-Bukhari] · What Allah The Almighty revealed to the Prophet, , without the mediation of an angel, like He spoke to Moosaa bin ‘Imraan (Moses), may Allah exalt his mention. This degree is certainly established as having occurred to Moosaa, may Allah exalt his mention, based on a Quranic text. It is also established to have occurred to Prophet Muhammad, , based on the Hadeeth of Al-Israa
>;. · The Prophet, , would see the angel in its original form and thus, the angel would inspire the Divine revelation to him that was sent by Allah The Almighty. · The angel would present himself like a man and address the Prophet, , who consequently comprehended what he said. In this case, the companions would see the angel too. The above details about Revelation have been stated by Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him. The Divine Revelation was the start of a new era in the history of humankind when it descended to the Prophet, , after it had ceased, and humankind was straying in darkness. The descent of the Divine Revelation was difficult for the Messenger, , as is evident in the aforementioned text, although the Messenger, , was the most courageous person ever and had the bravest of hearts as indicated by incidents throughout the next twenty-three years. The revelation was not man addressing man. It was an address by an angel bearing the words of Allah The Almighty to the Prophet, , whom Allah selected to bear His message and communicate it to humanity. It was an extremely grave situation and a great responsibility that was manageable by only the person whom Allah The Almighty chose to bear and communicate the Divine message. The seriousness of the situation was depicted by the part of the Hadeeth wherein the Prophet, , said, to his wife, Khadeejah, may Allah be pleased with her:“I fear for myself.”It is also explained by what ‘Aa
>;ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “The Messenger went back with his heart pounding violently, until he came to Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid, may Allah be pleased with her, and said: ‘Cover me! Cover me!
>; His family did so, until his fear subsided.” The difficulty of the descent of Divine Revelation is also expounded by the Hadeeth narrated by ‘Aa
>;ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said, “Indeed, I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the sweat dripping from his forehead.” [Al-Bukhari] ‘Ubaadah bin As-Saamit, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Whenever the Prophet received Divine Revelation, he felt its rigor and his complexion would change.” [Muslim] Reference Link

HISTORY OF THE PRESERVATION OF THE QUR'AN

What is The Qur'an?

The Qur
>;an is the sacred book of the Muslims, revealed by the creator Allah سبحانه و تعالىto the last and final Prophet i.e., Muhammad
;during his life in Makkah and Madinah. The Qur
>;an is the final book sent for the entire Mankind, contains the original text of Allah
>;s revelation to Muhammad
; Qur
>;an is the book which means literally to read or the recitation or something that is continuously recited. Qur
>;an is the only book which has maximum number of memorizers. Qur
>;an is a book which contains the knowledge of all required subjects in a nutshell or keywords like physics, history, biology, geology, history, inheritance laws etc. It contains all the information which is necessary for the success in both the worlds. It is structured in such a way that can be understood in the context. It also joins one incident with other, simple information to a detailed one.

Method of preserving The Qur'an The Qur
>;an was revealed over 1400 years ago to Muhammad
>;in the early 7th century CE. It was revealed over a period of 23 years, with the first revelation being sent down when Muhammad
; was 40 years old. The first revelation came to him when he was in a cave on mount Hira, situated east of the holy city of Makkah. After the revelation Muhammad
;began to spread the message of the Qur
>;an to the people around him. Whenever he used to receive a revelation, he used to first memorise it, as was taught by angel Jibreel. After memorizing, he used to recite it in a company of his companions who then memorized it under the supervision of Muhammad
;. Muhammad
; would then order them to write it down on scribes (shoulder blade bones, leaves, slate etc - whatever was available at the time) and he used to personally verify them. As the prophet didn't know how to read and write, the companions would first write it down and then read aloud what they had written. Muhammad
; would point out any mistakes and correct them. Memory and oral transmission were the main methods of storing and passing on information in those days, which meant that these skills were exercised and strengthened to a degree that is almost unknown today. The Qur'an was required to be recited regularly as an act of worship, especially during the five daily prayers (salah). Through these means, many repeatedly heard passages from the Qur
>;an were recited and memorized frequently. The Qur
>;an was revealed gradually over 23 years. As a result; the amount needed to be memorized per revelation was manageable and easy to remember. In this way, the whole of the Qur'an was written down under the personal supervision of Muhammad
;. Memorization of Qur
>;an by Prophet Each Ramadan, Muhammad
;would repeat after the angel Jibreel reciting the entire Qur
>;an in its exact order as far as it had been revealed, while in the presence of a number of his Companions, Sahih Al Bhukari Vol 1:5 In his last year, Muhammad
;recited the whole, completed Qur'an twice while in the presence of his Companions, reinforcing and double checking their memorizations, Sahih Al Bhukari Vol 6: 520. The First Generation Memorizers Muhammad
;encouraged his companions to learn and teach the Qur
>;an. Some of the companions who memorized the Qur
>;an were: 'Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Ibn Masud, Abu Huraira, Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As, Aisha, Hafsa, and Umm Salma (May Allah be pleased with them All). Muhammad
; allowed several companions to have their own manuscript in addition to memorizing the Qur'an ,the most famous of these people who are said to have taught many others .Uthman, Ali, Ubbay ibn Ka'b, Zayd ibn Thabit, 'Abd Allah ibn Masud, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, Salim(the client of Abu Hudayfah), and Mu'adh ibn Jabal (May Allah be pleased with them All). During the Caliphate of Abu Bakr Umar Ibn Al-Khattab رضي الله عنهurged Abu Bakr رضي الله عنهto preserve and compile the Qur
>;an. Consequently, Abu Bakr رضي الله عنهordered the collection of the scattered pieces of the Qur'an into one copy. This was prompted after the battle of Yamamah, where heavy casualties were suffered among the orators who had memorized the Qur
>;an. During this battle against Musaylima the liar, about 70 Muslims who had memorized the Qur'an were killed. Abu Bakr رضي الله عنهentrusted Zayed Ibn Thabit رضي الله عنهwith the task of collecting the Qur
>;an, Sahih Al Bukhari Vol 6:201. Zayed رضي الله عنهhad been present during the last recitation of the Qur
>;an by Muhammad
;to Angel Jibraeel (Gabriel).

Zayed رضي الله عنه, with the help of the companions who memorized and wrote ayaah of the Qur
>an, accomplished the task and handed Abu Bakr رضي الله عنهthe first authenticated copy of the Qur
>an. The copy was kept in the residence of Hafsah رضي الله عنه daughter of Umar رضي الله عنهand wife ofMuhammad ﷺ, Sahih Al Bhukari Vol 6: 201

During the Caliphate of Usman رضي الله عنه
By the time of the caliphate of Usman ibn Affan رضي الله عنه, there was a perceived need for the compilation of the Qur'an. The Caliphate had grown considerably; bringing into Islam's fold many new reverts from various cultures with varying degrees of isolation. These reverts spoke a variety of languages but were not well learned in Arabic and so a complete written text of the Qur'an had to be compiled. Another reason for compiling the Qur'an was that many of the Muslims who had memorized portions of the Qur'an were dying, especially in battle.

So 'Uthman رضي الله عنهsent a message to Hafsa رضي الله عنهsaying, "Send us the manuscripts of the Qur'an so that we may compile the Qur'anic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you." Hafsa رضي الله عنهsent it to 'Uthman رضي الله عنه. 'Uthman رضي الله عنهthen ordered Zaid bin Thabit رضي الله عنه, 'Abdullah bin AzZubair رضي الله عنه, Said bin Al- As and 'AbdurRahman bin Harith bin Hisham رضي الله عنهto rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. The Qur'anwas revealed in their tongue ie, in the dialect of Quraish, " They did so, and when they had written many copies, 'Uthman رضي الله عنهreturned the original manuscripts to Hafsa رضي الله عنه 'Uthman رضي الله عنهsent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Qur'anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscriptsor wholecopies, be burnt,Sahih Bhukari Vol 6: 510.

So on the order of Usman رضي الله عنهthe Qur
>an for the first time came in the form of a book (Mushafs), Sahih Al Bhukari Vol 6:507. And perfect copies of the Qur
>an were made and it was verified with the authenticated copy kept with Hafsa رضي الله عنه. And Copies were sent to various places in the Muslim world like Medina in Saudi Arabia, Syria,Yemen, Cairo in Egypt, Istanbul in Turkey and Tashkent etc.

Knowledge of the preservation of The Qur
>an
The story of how the Qur'an came to be preserved is drawn entirely from authentic Ahadith. Early Muslim scholars have developed some of the most rigorous criteria to scrutinize such reports for authenticity. The majority of what we know of the life of Muhammad ﷺand his Companions are from mutawaatirreports (reported by many different reliable narrators, who all independently verify the same account). This continuing and dynamic science (now over thirteen centuries old) has produced highly accurate reports of Muslim history. All the geographically scattered scholars of the first four centuries of Ahadith collection, who belonged to varied and competing schools of thought, had the same historical facts about the preservation of the Qur'an when compared.

Some quotes from non-Muslims regarding the preservation of The Qur’an

> Jeffrey Langconcludes that: "
> Muslim scholars' deductions of history hold ground more solidly with the available evidence than their orientalist counterparts."
> Gibb, an orientalist: "It seems reasonably well established that no material changes were introduced and that the original form of Muhammad
>s discourses was preserved with scrupulous precision."
> John Burton, at the end of his substantial work on the Qur'an's compilation, says with reference to criticisms made of different readings narrated in Ahadith that "No major differences of doctrines can be constructed on the basis of the parallel readings based on the Uthmanic consonantal outline, yet ascribed to mushafs other than his. All the rival readings unquestionably represent one and the same text. They are substantially agreed in what they transmit."
> Kenneth Craggdescribes the transmission of the Qur'an from the time of revelation to today as occurring in "an unbroken living sequence of devotion."
> Schwallyconcurs that "As far as the various pieces of revelation are concerned, we may be confident that their text has been generally transmitted exactly as it was found in the Prophet's legacy."
> Sir William Muirstates: "There is probably no other book in the world which has remained twelve centuries [now fifteen] with so pure a text."

The Qur'an remains unchanged

Research carried out to compare the various ancient Qur
>anic texts reveal no differences between them. The institute for Koranforschung, in the University of Munich (Germany) collected over 42,000 complete or incomplete ancient copies of the Qur'an. After around fifty years of research, they reported that there was no variance between the various copies. From the above facts and research, one can conclude, with evidence, that the story of how the Qur'an came to us has to be true as told by the Ahadith scholars of the first four centuries. Their accounts mutually agree and prove the incident which led the Qur'an to be in its present state. Preservation of Qur
>an by Allah Allah سبحانه و تعالىSaid in the Qur
>an: "Verily We have revealed the reminder, and verily We shall preserve it." (Qur'an.Surah Hijr 15:9) The Qur'an has been preserved in both oral and written form in a way no other book has, and with each form providing a check and balance for the authenticity of the other. Furthermore, The Qur'an is the only piece of literature which is completely memorized word for word and in order by many Muslims around the world. This is a miracle in its own self. The fact that every modern Qur'an can be checked against the ancient remaining copies of the Qur'ans sent out by Uthman رضي الله عنهand found to be exactly the same, is evidence in itself. The fact that every Qur'an, both written and memorized, are all exactly the same, testifies to the preservation of the Qur'an from the initial revelation up to modern day. This consistency also shows that any attempt to alter the Qur
>anic text has failed. It is impossible to change The Qur
>an Due to the sheer number of Qur'ans it is not possible to change them all without invading every Muslim home and Masjid in the world, and that's just for the written Qur'ans. It would be exponentially more difficult to change the Qur'ans people have committed to memory. Even if somebody managed to change one or a few of the written Qur'ans and produced their own, altered version, it would quickly be discovered as soon as it is read either by a Muslim who knows the Qur'an by heart, or read in a gathering and the person reading it notices that it does not correspond with what is being read out loud. Even a Muslim, who does not know it by heart and doesn't read it in a gathering, will most likely notice the inconsistency in the flow of the language. If all the Qur'ans were rounded up in a big movement against the Muslims and either changed or destroyed, Muslims would still be able to reproduce it due to the fact that many of them have committed the entire text to memory. References

> Reference Link
> Sir William Muir, Life of Mohamet, London, 1894, vol.1, Introduction
> H.A.R Gibb, Mohammedanism, London: Oxford University Press, 1962. p.25
> Arthur Jeffrey, Materials for the History of the text of the
> Qur’an, Leiden: Brill, 1937, p.31
> William graham, beyond the written Word, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1993, p.80
> Kenneth Cragg, The Mind of the
> Qur’an, London: George Allen & Unwin, 1973, p.26
> Ignaz Goldziher,
> Muslim Studies II, London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1971
> Bilal Philips, Usool at-Tafseer, Sharjah: Dar al-Fatah, 1997, p.159
> Jeffrey Lang, struggling to surrender, Maryland: Amana publications, 1994, p.92
> Edward Said, Orientalism, NY: Pantheon Books, 1978
> Nabia Abbott, Studies in Arabic Literary Papyri, vol.1: Historic Texts, Chicago, 1957, & Vol.2: Qur’anic Commentary and tradition, Chicago, 1967
Reference Link