Mawaqi an Nujum - The Revelation of the Quran in Stages

The Quran was revealed in every Ramadaan in Night of Laylatul Qadr for 23 years

The Quran was revealed in the month of Ramadaan in the night of Qadr (power) which majority of scholars concur happened on 27th of the Islamic holy month of Ramadaan or as few say, occurred on one of the last odd nights of Ramadaan, which are the holiest nights of this month. Firstly, the Quran confirms the fact that it was revealed in the month of Ramadaan: “It was in the month of Ramadan that the Quran was revealed as guidance for humankind, clear messages giving guidance and distinguishing between right and wrong.”[1] Then Quran claims that it was revealed in one of the holiest nights called Laylatin Mubarakah (blessed night): “We sent it down on a blessed night… in which every firm decree is made distinct.”[2] In another place, Allah ﷻ says He sent down the Quran on Laylatul Qadr (the night of power or destiny): “Behold, We revealed this (Qur'an) on the Night of Power.”[3] Based on these verses of the Quran it is confirmed that revelation of the Quran began in Ramadaan and it was a blessed night called night of Qadr (power/destiny) in which the revelation was sent.

Before the Quran was revealed in this wonderful night in Ramadaan, it was already inscribed in Lawhal Mahfuz, the preserved tablet of Allah ﷻ where all matters have been preordained and predestined for His entire creation. This fact is also mentioned in the Quran and best translated as: “NAY, I call to witness the coming-down in parts [of this Qur'an - Mawaqi an Nujum] - and, behold, this is indeed a most solemn affirmation, if you but knew it! Behold, it (Quran) is a truly noble discourse, [conveyed to man] in a well-guarded divine writing (Lawhal Mahfuz) which none but the pure can touch: a revelation from the Sustainer of all the worlds!”[4] Many English translators of the Quran, translate the term mawaqi an nujum as ‘positioning of the stars’, but some like Muhammad Asad on the authority of Ibn Abbas (r.a), prophet's foremost knowledgeable companion, said this term can also be defined as ‘the step-by-step revelation’ or ‘coming-down in parts’ in references to revelation of the Quran.

The Quran, already preserved in lawhal mahfuz, was first brought down to the lowest heaven i.e. the heaven  above the earth and from there it continued to come down in parts within a period of twenty three years of Prophet’s ministry. This process for revelation of every verse from first heaven to earth was under the protection and delivery of Allah’s angels and that is meant by the words: “none but the pure can touch (Al Quran 56:79).” As recorded in the hadith literature Ibn Abbas (r.a) explained this process in the following words: “The Quran was sent down all at once to the heaven of this world, and then God, Exalted is He, sent it down to the Prophet ﷺ in installments of five verses at a time, or more or less than this’. He has said, Glorified and Exalted is He: ‘(Al Quran 56:75–77) Nay, I swear by the setting places of the stars! — And that is indeed a tremendous oath, if you but knew — This is indeed a noble Quran’. The Quran did not come down in one month or two, nor in a year or two; the time between the first revelation and the last was twenty years, or as [many] as God willed.”[5]

Shaikh Abdul Qadir Gilani (r.a) elaborates in his work Al Ghunya al Talibeen on the description given by Ibn Abbas (r.a), how revelation began and completed within 23 year period on this same night of Qadr (Laylatul Qadr - night of power) in the same month of Ramadaan: “Allah ﷻ sent it down from the Well-Kept Tablet [al law al mahfuz] to the heaven of this lower world—to the Scribes [as-Safara], they being the clerks or secretaries among the angels. It would thus come down on that particular night, from the Tablet, to the extent that Archangel Gabriel (a.s) was to reveal it—with the permission of Allah ﷻ —to the Prophet ﷺ in the course of the whole year. The same procedure would then be applied in each subsequent year, until the entire Quran had come down, on the Night of Power [Lailat al-Qadr] in the month of Ramadaan, to the heaven of this lower world.”[6] Hence a portion of the Quran would be brought down from the highest heaven to the lowest, every year in Ramadaan in the night of Qadr (power/destiny), and that portion would subsequently be revealed throughout the year till the next night of Qadr, till completion of the Quran. 

References:

[1] Al Quran 2:185

[2] Al Quran 44:3-4

[3] Al Quran 97:1

[4] Al Quran 56:75–80

[5] Al-Tustari, Sahl bin Abdullah. 2011. Tafsir al-Tustari. Amman: Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought - (Al-Tustari 2011)

[6] Jilani, Sayyid Abd al-Qadir. n.d. "Seventh Discourse ." In Ghunya al-Talibeen, by Sayyid Abd al-Qadir Jilani. As-Sunnah Foundation of America - (Jilani n.d.)

[Courtesy of  Zaid Shah | Rizqan Kareem | Most Excellent Sustenance]