DIVINE REVELATION:
A STUDY OF THE QUR’ANIC
SCIENCES
Lecture 4
February 10
2013
Qur'anic Sciences - DKI
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MAKKAN AND MADINAN
REVELATIONS
Chapters
5.1-5.2
TIMES AND LOCATIONS
OF REVELATION
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MAKKI AND MADANI REVELATIONS
 The Surahs in the Qur’an are labeled as “Makki” or
“Madani”
 Many misinterpret this to mean that the Surah/Ayah
was revealed in the city of Makkah or Madinah
 That is not the case
 Makki = Revealed before Hijrah
 Madani = Revealed after Hijrah
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MAKKI AND MADANI REVELATIONS
 The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬himself is not known to have
classified the Surahs as Makkan or Madinan
 This classification came from the Sahabah and their followers
 Some Surahs or Ayahs were not classified by the
Sahabah, but the Scholars were able to classify them
based on consistent patterns found in Makkan or
Madinan revelations
 We will cover shortly
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MAKKI AND MADANI REVELATIONS
 Some Surahs are entirely Makkan
 Ex. Surah Al-Muddathir
 Some Surahs are entirely Madinan
 Ex. Surah Al-Imran
 Some Surahs are Makkan as a whole, but contain one or more
Madinan verses
 Ex. Surah Al-A’raf
 Some Surahs are Madinan as a whole, but contain one or more
Makkan verses
 Ex. Surah Al-Hajj
 Classification of a Surah is based on the majority of its verses
 But in some cases a Surah is classified based on when its initial
verses were revealed (before or after Hijrah)
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CHARACTERISTICS OF MAKKAN VERSES
CONSISTENT
 Any Surah that contains the word
 Contains an Ayah of Sajdah
“‫”كال‬
 According to the Hanafis; Shaf’is consider one Madinan verse to be an Ayah of
Sajdah (Surah Al-Hajj)
FREQUENT
 Mention the stor y of Adam and Iblis
 Except Surah Al-Baqarah




Contain ‫( يا ايِّ ها الناس‬Oh People!)
Surahs are shor t in length
Mushrikin (idol-worshipper s) are addressed
Complex, elegant language
T hemes: Tawhid, prophethood, af terlife, resurrection, stories of previous
prophets, comfor t and encouragement of patience
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CHARACTERISTICS OF MADINAN VERSES
CONSISTENT
 Mention of the munafiqun (hypocrites)
 There were no hypocrites in Makkah
 Any Surah mentioning jihad
FREQUENT




Contains ‫( يا ايِّ ها الذين آمنوا‬Oh you who believe!)
Long in length
People of the Book are addressed
Straight-forward language
 The language is simpler because majority of these verses discuss Law,
which must be clear and unambiguous
Themes: Family and societal law, jihad, obligations ( fara’id),
penalties (hudud)
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TIMES AND LOCATIONS OF REVELATION
“By the One besides Whom there is no Lord, there is no chapter
revealed in the Book of Allah except that I am the most
knowledgeable one regarding where it was revealed. There is no
verse from the Book of Allah that has been revealed except that
I am the most knowledgeable one regarding the circumstances
of its revelation.”
(Bukhārī , Muslim)
~ Abdullāh ibn Mas’ūd (R)
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CLASSIFICATIONS
 Hadri – Verses revealed when the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬was staying at
home and not travelling
 Majority of verses fall in this category
 Safri – Revealed during travel
 Ex.
َّ َّ‫إ ِن‬
۟ ‫ٱَّلل َ َي أ ْ ُم ُر ُك ْم أ َن تُؤَ ُّد‬
ِ ‫وا ْٱْل َ َٰ َم َٰ َن‬
‫ت إ ِل َ َٰ ٰٓ أ َ ْه ل ِ َه ا‬
 Nahari – Revealed during the daytime
 Most verses are in this category
 Layla – Revealed at night
َٰ ِ ‫ٱخ ت‬
َّ
َ
َّ
ْ ‫ض َو‬
ِ
ِ ‫س َٰ َم َٰ َو‬
 Ex. ِ ‫ار ل َ َء ا َٰ َي ٍۢت ِّْل ُ ۟و ل ِ ٰٓ ْٱْل َلْ َٰ َب‬
‫ه‬
‫ن‬
‫ٱل‬
‫و‬
‫ل‬
‫ي‬
‫ل‬
‫ٱ‬
‫ف‬
‫ل‬
ِ ‫ت َو ْٱْل َ ْر‬
َ
َ
ْ
َّ ‫ق ٱل‬
ِ
ِ ْ‫إ ِنَّ ف ِ ٰٓ َخ ل‬
ِ
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CLASSIFICATIONS
 Sayfi – Revealed during the summer
َٰ
َّ ‫س َت ْفتُ و َن َك ق ُ ِل‬
َ
َ
َ ْ‫ٱَّلل ُ يُ ْفتِي ُك ْم ف ِ ٰٓ ٱل‬
 Ex. ِ‫ك ل ل ة‬
ْ ‫َي‬
 Shitaa’i – Revealed during the winter
 Ex. The ayaat from Surah Al-Nur which condemn the slanderers of
Sayyidah ‘Ayesha (RA)
 Firashi – Revealed to the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬while he was lying in
his bed
 Ex.
َّ
َّ
َ
ِ‫ص‬
‫اس‬
‫ن‬
‫ٱل‬
‫م‬
‫ك‬
‫م‬
‫ع‬
‫ي‬
‫ٱَّلل‬
َ‫ِن‬
ُ
ْ
َ
ُ ‫َو‬
ِ
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CLASSIFICATIONS
 Nawmi – Revealed while the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬was sleeping
 Sayyidina Anas: “The Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬was once sitting among us
when he suddenly got a wink of sleep, and thereafter he raised his
head, smiled, and said that a Surah has just been revealed to him,
and then he recited Surah Al-Kauthar.”
 This was not actual sleep, but a state particular to the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬
when Wahy was sent to him
 Samaawi – Revealed during the Mi’raj of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬
 The last verses of Surah Al-Baqarah near Sidrat-ul Muntaha
 Fidaai – Not revealed on earth nor in the sky, but somewhere
in the atmosphere – Ibn Arabi
 3 verses of Surah As-Saffat and 1 verse of Surah Az-Zukhruf
 Imam Suyuti could not find Qur'anic
any authentic
proof for this
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GRADUAL DESCENT OF QUR’AN
Mentioned earlier – Qur’an was revealed bit by bit
 Sometimes Jibril (AS) came with a single verse or a portion of
a verse
 Smallest portion of Qur’an to be revealed: ‫( غير أول ٰٓ الضرر‬portion of
Surah Nisa)
 Largest revelation: Surah Al-An’am
 Reasons for why not revealed all at once:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Difficult for Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬because he was unlettered
Entire Qur’an would become obligatory all at once
Brought peace to the heart of the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬during difficulty
Many verses refer to specific incidents (Asbab al-Nuzul)
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ASBAB AL-NUZUL:
CAUSES OF REVELATION
 Many verses in the Qur’an were revealed by Allah SW T in
reference to specific incidents and contexts in the Prophet’s
‫ ﷺ‬life that caused revelation to descend . These incidents
are referred to as the Causes of Revelation, or Asbab al-Nuzul
 Knowledge of the causes of revelation is an essential
component of tafsir and understanding of the Qur’an
 To understand why a command was given
۟ ُ‫وا ََل َت ْق َر ب‬
۟ ُ‫َٰ َي أ َ ُّي َه ا ٱل َّ ِذ ينَ َء ا َم ن‬
َٰٰ ‫س َٰ َك َر‬
ُ ‫ص ل َ َٰو ةَ َو أ َنتُ ْم‬
َّ ‫وا ٱل‬
 To understand the true meaning of a verse
َّ َّ‫ٱَّلل ِ ۚ إ ِن‬
َّ ‫وا فَ َث َّم َو ْج ُه‬
۟ ُّ ‫ق َو ٱلْ َم ْغ ِر ُ ۚ فَأ َ ْي َن َم ا تُ َو ل‬
ْ ‫َو ِ ََّّلل ِ ٱلْ َم‬
ُ ‫ش ِر‬
ِ ‫ٱَّلل َ َٰ َو‬
‫س ٌع َع ل ِي ٌم‬
 Many more reasons are listed by the Scholars
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CAUSES OF REVELATION:
GENERAL AND SPECIFIC COMMANDS
 The verses of Quran revealed regarding a specific incident are
of four kinds in relation to their general or specific
application:
1. If the verse addresses a person by name, the ḥukm is
specific to that person (e.g. Ṣūrat al-Lahab)
2. If the exact name is not mentioned, but other evidence
determines that it is about a specific person, the ḥukm is
specific to him (e.g. Ṣūrat al-Layl) ٰٓ ‫وسيجنّ بها اْلتق‬
3. If the words of the verse are specific, but Hadith shows that
the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬applied it generally, it’s ḥukm is general
(e.g. verses of inheritance were revealed specifically, but
Hadith shows that Prophet applied them generally )
4. If words of the verse are general, but Hadith show that they
were revealed for a specific incident, the ḥukm is general
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CHRONOLOGICAL VS. COMPILED ORDER
 The Qur’an is not compiled in order of when the Surahs/Ayahs
were revealed
 The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬instructed the Sahabah where to put the Ayahs in
the Surahs when they were revealed to him
 There is a difference of opinion regarding the order of the Surahs
1. The order of Surahs was also dictated by Wahy
2. The order of Surahs was determined by the Sahabah
 The stronger opinion is the order of Surahs is from Wahy
 The chronological order of the entire Qur’an cannot be
mapped with certainty
 The Sahabah did not put much importance in this, other than for
understanding the Asbab al-Nuzul
 Many non-Muslim scholars have attempted to put the Qur’an in
chronological order, because they feel it is currently “out of order”
 The Qur’an is exactly in the order in which Allah SWT has willed
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ASSIGNMENTS & QUESTIONS
 Review Chapters 5.1-5.2 in Course Manual
 Read ahead to Chapter 5.3-5.5
 Recommended supplementary reading:
An Approach to the Qur’anic Sciences
By Mufti Muhammad Taqi Uthmani
 Questions?
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