The Qur'an and Its Study. Adnan Zarzour

mostly of low quality.

      An authentic Hadith is reported by Imām al-Bukhārī, quoting ‘Ā’ishah: ‘The early revelation of the Qur’an was a short surah which mentioned Heaven and Hell. When people accepted Islam, permissions and prohibitions were revealed. Had the first revelation said: “Do not drink,” people would have said: “We will never stop drinking.” Had revelationstarted: “Do not commit adultery,” people would have said: “We will never abandon adultery.”’⁷²

      3.5 Perhaps one of the most important purposes of revealing the Qur’an in parts is that it confirms its inimitability and source. Over its long period of revelation and whenever some verses were revealed, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would give instructions, specifying at what point of which surah they should be placed. Some verses might even be placed towards the end of a surah before some of its opening parts had been revealed. In this way, some surahs took a very long time to complete. Yet despite all this, when its revelation was completed, the Qur’an is clearly a book of perfect coherence, with every verse and every surah given in perfect order, and delivered in powerful style and perfect construction. All this clearly points to the source of this glorious Book: it was revealed by the One Who is Wise and Worthy of Praise. God says: ‘Will they not, then, try to understand the Quran? Had it issued from any but God, they would surely have found in it many an inner contradiction!’ (4: 82). When the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave his instructions as to where certain verses should be placed, he did not know what would be revealed next or how or when a surah might be completed.

      The ‘inner contradiction’ to which the verse above refers would be due to two reasons. First, its style and mode of expression: in this the Qur’an demonstrates perfect consistency throughout. This is contrary to what we see in the writings of literary figures, no matter how great their degree of excellence is. Even when they devote themselves to completing a literary work within a short period, or over a series of intervals that could hardly stretch into a quarter of a century, their styles show clear variations. Yet the consistency of the Qur’an is evident, despite its revelation over a period of time that witnessed great events and fundamental changes of social order and structure, and despite putting later passages ahead of earlier ones.

      The second aspect relates to differences of meaning and ideas. It is hardly possible that a person never changes his ideas or views throughout his lifetime. So, should we expect consistency in the expression of these views and ideas over a very long time-period and when all his writings and expressions are put together in one or several chapters? The Prophet’s statements, which expressed in his own words ideas given to him through Divine revelation, cannot be put together in the same way as the Qur’an was put in its final form. Dr Draz writes in this respect:

      Take, if you will, the text of a number of statements made by the Prophet, or by any person of great literary talent, tackling different themes and which are known to have been made on different occasions. Then try to read them together, one after the other, in the same way as you read a single speech, without adding or omitting anything of them. We do not need too long to realise that neither their meanings nor their texts would be consistent with one another. On the contrary, they would clearly betray a degree of discrepancy and patching up that is hardly ever noticed in a single speech, of similar or greater length….⁷³

      Take any one of the many surahs of the Qur’an that tackle more than one purpose. Indeed, these are the majority. Now review it very carefully, stage by stage, and then contemplate it again, and yet again: how it begins, and how it ends. How it reflects the contrast and balance between its constituent parts. How it relates its main themes to each other. And how its premises lead to its conclusions, and the early parts lead to those that follow.

      I maintain that no one will ever find in the line of the meanings it portrays or in the construction of its verses and sentences anything to indicate whether it was revealed all on the same occasion or on several occasions. You will imagine that each one of the seven longest surahs was revealed in total on one occasion, but then you will have to acknowledge the fact that all or most of them were revealed one passage at a time.⁷⁴

      Imām al-Ghazālī referred to both these aspects of difference from which the Qur’an is free, as well as other aspects that are close to them. He was answering a question about the Qur’anic verse: ‘Will they not, then, try to understand the Qur’an? Had it issued from any but God, they would surely have found in it many an inner contradiction!’ (4: 82). He said:

      The Arabic word ikhtilāf, translated here as ‘contradiction’, has various meanings. The verse certainly does not mean that people have different views regarding the Qur’an. Rather, it negates difference and contradiction in the Qur’an itself. When people say that a certain discourse is contradictory, they mean that its beginning is unlike its end in style or construction, or that it advocates contradictory things, with parts of it urging faith and others giving priority to worldly matters, or that it adopts different constructions with parts of it in poetry and other parts in prose, or parts highly eloquent and others not so... The Qur’an, the word of God, is free of all these contradictions. It follows the same style and maintains the same degree of superior excellence. You do not find in it parts that are excellent and others not so. It is focused on a central idea, which is the call to believe in God alone.

      Such contradictions apply to the speech of humans. When poetry and fine prose are compared to the Qur’an, we find differences in construction and in the relative excellence of style, and indeed in the style itself. Human speech includes both excellent and pedestrian standards of expression. No two essays or poems are equal in excellence. Indeed, the same poem may include lines that are superb and others that are banal.

      Moreover, poems may include different themes, because poets roam through their own world. They may praise the world at one time and condemn it at another. They may applaud cowardice and describe it as self-control, or they may condemn it as weakness. They may applaud bravery, calling it courage, or they may condemn it as recklessness.

      Imām al-Ghazālī explains the reasons for such differences in people’s speech, but not in God’s book:

      No human speech is free of such variations, because they are due to differences of purpose and state. Man experiences different moods: when he is relaxed and happy, he is more eloquent, but he is less so when he is depressed and despondent. Also, man’s inclinations differ from time to time. He may love something at one point and discard it at another. All this will necessarily be reflected in his speech. No human being can maintain the same purpose and style for 23 years, the period of the revelation of the Qur’an. The Prophet was an ordinary human being. Had the Qur’an been of his composition, or written by another person, we would have seen much contradiction in it.⁷⁵

4. Other Purposes for Revelation Over a Period

      4.1 Documenting Events During the Prophet’s Lifetime and Confirming that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the Last Prophet.

      The revelation of the Qur’an in parts made it possible to include events in the Prophet’s lifetime alongside histories of earlier prophets and messengers, histories of other nations and the great events of history since the times of Adam and Noah. These historical events were concluded by the greatest of them all, namely, the mission of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the revelation of the Qur’an.

      The Prophet’s practices and conduct in different situations remain the example to follow by believers until the end of human life. The Qur’an gives these, as well as the events of the first Muslim community in Makkah and Madinah, the highest degree of certification. It does not leave the reporting of these to historians, however accurate and reliable they may be.

      Just as the Qur’an ensured that we have absolutely true reports of earlier prophets and their stories with their peoples, it crowns all this by giving us the landmarks of the life of the final of God’s messengers and prophets. Had the Qur’an been revealed all at once, this could not have been done.

      The revelation of the Qur’an in parts not only made it possible to document events during the Prophet’s lifetime with absolute accuracy, but also made these events the guide for Islamic history. These were the events of the first Muslim generation which