Tanzil

 ( Islamic Texts ) 

• Corbin (1993), p.12
• Wild (1996), pp. 137, 138, 141 and 147
• While the Quran descends, in the Quran Allah himself is never described as coming down, but is sometimes mentioned in hadith as going from higher to lower heavens.
  (1996). 9789004103443, Brill. . ISBN 9789004103443

It is thought that the basic units of revelation of the Quran were short passages or verses ( ayat). Later these ayat were arranged into surahsWatt, William Montgomery, and Richard Bell. (1997). Introduction to the Qur’an. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Merrill, John E. (1947). “Dr. Bell’s Critical Analysis of the Qur’an,” The Muslim World 37, 2: 134–48.Rippin, Andrew. (1992). “Reading the Qur’an with Richard Bell.” J.A.O.S. 112, 4: 639-47.Abdul-Rahim, "Demythologizing the Qur’an Rethinking Revelation Through Naskh al-Qur’an", GJAT, 7, 2017: p.64 under (Muslims believe) divine guidance.

In his tafsīr, Ibn Kathīr cited a hadith from Abd Allah ibn Abbas:

Ibn ʿAbbās and others have said, "Allāh sent the Qurʾān down all at one time ( jumlah wāḥidah) from the Preserved Tablet ( al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ) to the House of Might ( Bayt al-ʿIzzah), which is in the heaven of this world. Then it came down in parts to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ based upon the incidents that occurred over a period of twenty-three years."Ibn Kaṯīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, vol. 8, p. 425, tafsīr surah al-Qadr:

قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ وَغَيْرُهُ: اللَّهُ الْقُرْآنَ جُمْلَةً وَاحِدَةً مِنَ اللَّوْحِ الْمَحْفُوظِ إِلَى بَيْتِ الْعِزَّةِ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا، ثُمَّ نَزَلَ مُفَصَّلًا بِحَسْبِ الْوَقَائِعِ فِي ثَلَاثٍ وَعِشْرِينَ سَنَةً عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

Therefore, the Quran descended in two stages. Firstly, the Qurʾān descended ( inzāl) from the Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ (Preserved Tablet) to the Bayt al-ʿIzzah in the lowest heaven ( al-samāʾ al-dunyā). It happened in the Night of Destiny ( Laylat al-qadr). Secondly, the Qurʾān descended ( tanzīl) from Bayt al-ʿIzzah to the worldly realm to be revealed to Muhammad by Gabriel piecemeal in stages ( mufarriqan or tafsilan) over 23 years until the whole Quran was completely revealed. Tafsir Muqatil, v.1, 161Jami‘ al-Bayan, v.2, 196-198

According to Ṭabāṭabāʾī inzāl is "a sudden act of sending down at once" and tanzīl is "a gradual act of sending."See Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Tafsīr al-mīzān, tafsīr sūrah al-Qadr, p. 283:

The pronounce "it" refers to the Qurʾān. Apparently what is meant is the entire Qurʾān, not just some verses of it. This can be confirmed by the usage of the verb inzāl (to send down, to reveal), which implies as sudden act of sending at once as opposed to tanzīl, which implies a gradual act of sending. ..."

Muhammad's first encounter with the archangel Gabriel produced the first five verses of the ninety-sixth chapter of the present Quran, the chapter of The Clot ( Surat al-‘Alaq)Alfred Guillaume, Sirat Ibn Ishaq, 1995: 105-6 Tarikh al-Tabari, v.2, 49Abdul-Rahim, "Demythologizing the Qur’an Rethinking Revelation Through Naskh al-Qur’an", GJAT, 7, 2017: p.62-3

One quranic verse replies to those who ask why the Quran was revealed over time and not all at once:

Some commentators believe that the Quran was revealed to Muhammad twice. In addition to the gradual 23 year revelation until his death, there was an 'immediate revelation' that happened on the Laylat al-Qadr. This is based on an understanding of sura Al-Qadr:1 as referring to descent of the Quran in its entirety. `Abd Allah ibn `Abbas reports that, "… descended in Ramadan, on the Laylat al-Qadr in one lay down (jumlah, Ar. جملة), …"

According to the scholar al-Suyuti who wrote a book on Asbab al-nuzul, revelations came down for two basic reasons:

1. "divine initiative", i.e. because God decided to send and reveal something. Examples being the first revelation to Muhammad at Hira’, or the ayat calling for the Fast of Ramadan
2. To address some situation "directly and immediately", or to respond and answer a question someone had raised.Al-Suyuti, ‘Abd al-Rahman Jalal al-Din. (1963). Asbab al-Nuzul, volume 1 of 4 vols. Cairo: Dar al-Tahrir, page28 An example being the sura ‘The Spoils’ ( al-Anfal) that came down concerning the situations in the aftermath of the Battle of Badr.Ibn Ishaq, 321ffSahih al-Bukhari, h. 4278

According to a number of scholars the asbab (occasion) of revelation can only properly be determined through "direct transmission from those who actually witnessed the event of revelation" (Abu al-Hassan Ali bin Ahmad al-Wahidi an-Naisaburi), and cannot be left to independent reasoning (ijtihad), nor legal consensus (ijma‘) (al-Zarkashi).al-Zarkashi, 1968, 4; al-Itqan, v.1, 31) which means in effect hadith reports coming from the canons of hadith or available in works of Islamic historiography, or works of tafsir. Unfortunately "very frequently" ahadith on asbab contradict each other and this "calls into question the reliability of the asbab genre".Abdul-Rahim, "Demythologizing the Qur’an Rethinking Revelation Through Naskh al-Qur’an", GJAT, 7, 2017: p.67

• Wahy

• Henry Corbin (1993). 9780710304162, London; Kegan Paul International in association with Islamic Publications for The Institute of Ismaili Studies. ISBN 9780710304162
• Stefan Wild (1996). 9789004093003, Brill. ISBN 9789004093003