The Descent of the Qur'an on the Night of Decree
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner: Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Qadr 97:1] Did the Qur'an descend as a single unit on the Night of Decree, Honorable Shaykh?
Answer:
The Qur'an was undoubtedly revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in portions, according to events and occurrences, in order to clarify the rulings for people. For this reason, it is said, "We revealed it by stages," and revelation by stages means something after something. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Furqan 25:32] The orderly arrangement refers to the gradual sending down of the revelation, because it was not revealed all at once. Therefore, when the disbelievers proposed and said: [Al-Furqan 25:32], Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Furqan 25:32] And they do not bring you anything similar except that We bring you the truth and a better explanation. So there is no doubt that the Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) over a period of twenty-three years, from when Allah sent him as a messenger until Allah took his soul, and the Qur'an was revealed to him in portions according to events and occurrences to clarify the rulings and laws, until it was completed at the end of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) life. This is in the statement of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Ma'idah 5:3] This is the known view that the Qur'an was revealed in portions.
As for the statement of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Qadr 97:1], and the pronoun refers to the Qur'an, the scholars have answered that the meaning is that We revealed it, meaning that its revelation began in the Night of Decree, and then it continued to be revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in portions thereafter. The term Qur'an is used for the entire Qur'an, and it is also used for a part of it; it is used for a verse that it is Qur'an, for a surah that it is Qur'an, and for surahs that they are Qur'an. So the meaning of "We revealed it" is that the revelation of the Qur'an began in the Night of Decree. Yes.
The questioner: Allah the Exalted said:
Indeed, We sent the Qur'an down during the Night of Decree.
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِAnswer:
The Qur'an was undoubtedly revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in portions, according to events and occurrences, in order to clarify the rulings for people. For this reason, it is said, "We revealed it by stages," and revelation by stages means something after something. Allah the Exalted said:
And We have spaced it distinctly.
وَرَتَّلْنَاهُ تَرْتِيلًاWhy was the Qur'an not revealed to him all at once?
لَوْلَا نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ الْقُرْآنُ جُمْلَةً وَاحِدَةًThus [it is] that We may strengthen thereby your heart. And We have spaced it distinctly.
كَذَٰلِكَ لِنُثَبِّتَ بِهِ فُؤَادَكَ وَرَتَّلْنَاهُ تَرْتِيلًاThis day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًاAs for the statement of Allah the Exalted:
Indeed, We sent the Qur'an down during the Night of Decree.
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 19 من 27|وقفات مع آيات الصيام|إنا أنزلناه في ليلة القدر|صالح الفوزان|فقه|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (5:43)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.