There are ample examples of biblical prophets, including Moses who received revelation in answer to specific incidents, whether having to do with the prophet's own personal life or concerning the community at large. There are even situations in the Hebrew Bible where the solution to a situation is deferred until God reveals the answer Lev24:12. According to Jewish tradition, the entire Torah was given to Moses in 2 parts; the first during the year after the exodus, then followed a 38 years hiatus after which the rest was revealed.
Muhammad went through the same process for 23 years, just like Jeremiah was inspired with warnings and glad tidings to his people for 23 years Jer25:3. This was objected to by the Quraysh, and, ironically, by the People of the Book themselves, just as missionaries do today, in ignorance of their prophetic history
4:153,25:32"Why has not the Quran been revealed to him all at once?".Yet had the request been granted, it would still not prevent the rebellion and disbelief of those that requested it in the first place, since the demand did not stem from sincere hearts seeking to confirm their belief and intuition, rather it was a mocking challenge and an excuse to justify their rejection 6:7.
This created in the prophet the yearning to receive the whole of the Quran as soon as possible. But he was told to show patience through prayer and remembrance of God, and to wait for the decree of the Almighty, not worry about the opposition and idle talk of people. God will deal with these people and He is sufficient to do this 76:23-6. This is because the prophet never asked to be the recipient of revelation, so that it is his responsibility to prove the truths and premises it presents. His authority rests exclusively in delivering the message, not in deciding its timing or contents.
As a side note, studies have been made of the prophet's speech patterns by regrouping all sayings attributed to him, authentic or not, and it has been shown that the Quran, a book revealed over a period of 23 years, uses patterns not only different to the messenger but also that were unknown to the masters of eloquence of the time all the while retaining deep, intricate meanings.
A passage even came down quoting the angels themselves, the carriers of revelation, justifying their silence by the fact that they act in obedience to a Higher, all encompassing Authority
19:64-5"And we do not descend but by the command of your Lord; to Him belongs whatever is before us and whatever is behind us and whatever is between these, and your Lord is not forgetful. The Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, so serve Him and be patient in His service. Do you know any one equal to Him?"Neither the prophet nor even the angels are free to decide the timing of revelation; there can be a break in the process whenever Allah deems it fit, and a continuation whenever He wills it. Although that process would sometimes put him in difficulty opposite his detractors, it in fact supported his credibility that the revelation was not his invention and he had no control over it.
The prophet is thus assured that the stiff opposition he faced, the little following and meagre resources he had and the interruption of revelation did not mean that his Lord had abandoned him or was displeased with him: these circumstances are a trial and test to train and instruct him in order to fully prepare him to bear his responsibilities.
Just as night and day are necessary phases this material life needs going through to develop, so to is our spirituality bound to pass through bright and dark moments in order for it to be trained and purified
93:1-3"By the morning brightness And (by) the night when it darkens, Your Lord has not bidden you farewell, nor has He become displeased".An interesting linguistic observation testimony once more to the Quran's surgical use of words is that, just after illustrating the fact that revelation, through its phases of interruptions and descent, obeys to an established pattern very similar to the natural and transient phenomena of daylight and darkness of night, the Quran then eloquently consoles its messenger. It does so by negating any thought in his mind that such interruptions, even if long, indicate complete cessation or displeasure by God
93:3"Your Lord has not bidden you farewell, nor has He become displeased".One does not "bid farewell" to a hated but to a loved person and so the verse uses the particle ka/you in order to establish a link with the prophet
"bidden YOU farewell".This connection is broken in the second part of the verse with qalaa/displeased, because it implies a situation of conflict between enemies or hated people. The Arabic text makes the distinction more obvious. The sura goes on reminding him of what the revelation brought him in the past and what it was about to bring to him soon for it could not be that the Prophet to whom the Quran was revealed, should remain unsuccessful in bringing about the transformation for which it was revealed 20:1. He should therefore remain patient, and his burdens will be removed 94:1-8, steadfast on the right path along with his followers.
Like the prophets of old, who despite the pressure to alter the divine messages and make them more appealing he answered
2:120,10:15,13:37,17:75,68:9,69:44-7,40:66"Say: I am forbidden to serve those whom you call upon besides Allah when clear arguments have come to me from my Lord, and I am commanded that I should submit to the Lord of the worlds".As reflected is sura qalam, which is among the earliest Meccan suras, pressure was already being imposed on the prophet at the onset of his mission to change and compromise his message. It is to be noted, when the Noble Book unapologeticaly warns its messenger in the context of temptation to yield to his opponents, these frequently seen conditional statements do not mean that the prophet was actually tempted in doing so.
There are many implicit meanings to these warnings, including that regarding the obligation to abide by the divine law/sharia, there is no difference between a prophet and a regular believer.
The second thing is that, seeing that the prophet is warned, how much more should they be careful of their responsibilities in upholding the principles of this revelation.
And finally, seeing and hearing that the messenger is in no position to change anything in Allah's ordinances, the enemies should know that it would be fruitless to even think of approaching him with such objective.
When the prophet Micaiah the son of Imlah was under the same kind of pressure, he answered, knowing the dangerous repercussions of refusing to yield to the rejecters
1Kings22:14"As the Lord lives, for what the Lord will say to me, that will I speak".The prophet Isaiah was equally warned not to yield to the disbelievers' requests Isa8:11 who, unhappy with his strong warnings and admonitions, would openly demand that he should forsake the straight path, the true God and give them false prophecies
Isa30:10-11"You shall not prophesy for us true things. Speak to us with smooth talk; prophesy mockery".The prophet's opponents practiced deception upon him, and tempted him with greed, held out threats, and raised a storm of false propaganda against him, and persecuted him and applied economic pressure and social boycott against him. Yet the prophet did not compromise an iota of what was revealed to him, even in the direst Meccan period. Although he did experience fear at the consequences, never did he withhold a word that needed to be uttered in the face of his opponents, so as to soften their stance. Even when his uncle and protector Abu Talib was pressured by a Meccan delegation to withdraw his tribal protection of Muhammad and the Muslims, he firmly replied:
"0 my uncle, if they placed the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand to cause me to renounce my task, verily I would not desist therefrom until Allah made manifest His cause or I perished in the attempt".
"Say whatever you please; for by the Lord I shall not desert you ever".It is to be stressed that the prophet took this stance when his uncle, his last resort, seemed on the verge of letting him down. This attitude, besides the established reputation he had as a man of great integrity by his friends and foes, before and after the revelation, confirm the testimony of God Himself about His chosen one
68:4"And indeed, you are of a great moral character".
11:12"give up part of what is revealed to you"showing how he wasnt acting according to his whims
2:120"If you (Muhammad) give in to their whims and desires despite the knowledge that has reached you, you will have no protector or helper against Allah".
In the second part of the verse 25:32, God outlines some of the major benefits of this gradual process of revelation
"Thus that We may strengthen thereby your heart; and We have recited it in (clear) reciting".
This concise statement implies a deep impression on the minds, causing a smooth acceptance of its Laws. It would not be possible if all the Commandments and the whole system of life had been sent down all at once. The process of diverting a people from the social norms which they are accustomed to and which have nurtured their ideas and ideals, to make them question and acknowledge the errors of the systems which they grew up believing in, emulating generations of their ancestors, to make them assimilate the laws and wisdom of the Book which was going against their ancient practices, the process had to be gradual
17:106"And it is a Quran which We have revealed in portions so that you may read it to the people by slow degrees, and We have revealed it, revealing in portions"
28:51"We have caused this word [of Ours] to reach mankind step by step, so that they might [learn to] keep it in mind".
Since the beginning, the prophet, despite his fear and reluctance is assured that he will be led and guided every step of the way, in his words and deeds, when the time is appropriate until his momentous mission is complete.
This wasnt an issue from the side of his wives but rather from some male visitors. Although the prophet, in his usual pattern of leniency and unsuspiciousness towards his people, did not deem it necessary at that point to instate an etiquette of behavior and appearance in those circumstances, the fact is that the situation became such that, regardless of what the prophet judged was appropriate or not, the potential for harm required a change in the rules. Umar, contrary to the prophet, and who was of more suspicious mentality had perceived the potential evil of the situation and would urge the prophet to do something about it by veiling his wives
"O Messenger of Allah, the righteous and the sinful enter your house, so why don’t you tell the Mothers of the Believers to [remain behind] a veil?"
Umar did not request a revelation but a personal command from the prophet yet he rejected Umar's wishes and would not change anything to the situation. He could have instructed the visitors right there and then, in line with Umar's advise, without having to wait for any revelation. This is an important nuance often missed by the critics of Islam. Having more foresight than Umar, the prophet knew that this situation required divine revelation to create a change. But as stated in the Quran, the prophet had no control over the timing of revelation.
None knows his creation better than the Creator and the best manner in which behavioral guidance can be implemented is by issuing it when the situation obviously requires it, enough people are prepared for it (Umar being one of those) and the need for a solution/guidance becomes evident. It is in this manner that Allah confirmed Umar's wisdom and knowledge of the religion
"My Lord agreed with me in three things".
This does not mean that Umar was the only person whose higher principles would be corroborated by Quranic revelation. Besides the hijab ordinance, Umar cited as examples of Allah confirming his judgement with the direction of prayer, which not only he but other Muslims including the prophet longed for, as well as his advise to the prophet's wives that they should stop taking advantage of his gentle character and leniency. The Quran's revelation being gradual, and many times circumstancial, contains passages that answer specific queries, even the desires of groups of people or individuals, if they are appropriate and beneficial. Some Muslims longed for the command to fight to be issued until revelation came 4:77, others wanted clarifications to practical matters and were answered
5:101"O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you. But if you ask about them while the Qur'an is being revealed, they will be shown to you".
A woman became known as "the one whose complaints were heard in the seventh heaven" due to the revelation of 58:1-4 answering her concerns.
It is to be noted the recipient of the Revelation does not automatically become a prophet. Moses' mother received wahi/revelation 20:38-9,28:7 and Mary, the mother of Jesus as well. Some close companions of a prophet, including those of Jesus or Muhammad were divinely inspired 5:111,58:22. The hadith for example describe how the adhan, the call to prayer, was first instituted, when 2 companions were simultaneously divinely inspired in their dream.
Angels 8:12 and even animals such as the bees 16:69 may receive inspiration from Allah. The phenomenon extends also to inanimate objects, including the earth 99:5 or the heavens 41:12. There are therefore different kinds of wahy; for the bee its instinctive behaviour related in the verse has been hardwired in its nature through wahy/inspiration. To the non-prophets it can be the inspiration with an idea or the correct manner in conducting an affair. In this sense, humans can inspire others 19:11. For the prophets, their wahy is the expression of Divine will for the guidance of men.
As far a the Quranic wording closely resembling Umar's intuition, it firstly is important to note the Quran isnt God's autobiography for it to be cast wholly in the form of 'I' and 'me'. It quotes many different speakers, past, contemporaries to it, or future, like prophets, angels, regular believers or close companions of Muhammad, jinn, Iblis and more. It reports in Arabic the communications in different languages, and by different entities, belonging to both realms of the unseen and the seen. It even sometimes quotes inanimate entities made to speak for a specific purpose. These quotes, including those made by entities unable to emit sounds are obviously not, in most cases, the verbatim statements, rather the meaning into Arabic of their particular type of communication. Hence sometimes the variations in wording when the Quran translates their communication in different places throughout the book. An Arabic word chosen in one narration of a story conveys one aspect of the original communication, while another closely related word used instead in a retelling of the same story may convey an additional shade of meaning that was present in the original communication.
All this is achieved while actively interacting with the reader or audience, sometimes involving it in the flow of the discourse. It remains in all cases God's word, whoever it quotes.
Etiquettes of behavior when entering people's houses is by no means allocated to the prophet's house exclusively, but to all members of the community 24:27. Reform of gender interaction, which included in pre islamic Arabia, promiscuity, prostitution, and sexual harassment of women, did not initiate with 33:53 but much before. This verse came as a culmination of the previous mental preparation of the believers against what was normal behavior to their society. Some people, as already pointed, were mentally ready ahead of others and felt great discomfort at Muslim women, more particularly those of their beloved prophet, being victim of malicious intent. The prophet however did not wait for, or restrict himself to revelation to instill basic social manners
"The Messenger of Allah said, "Permission is to be sought thrice. If it is accorded, you may enter; otherwise, go back".
There is nothing special about the odd number 3 but it is commonly understood even nowadays that knocking once, twice or 4 times isnt a proper way of announcing oneself at someone else's home. This instruction also teaches to not remain too long outside a person's home since that person might have his own reasons for not opening the door or answering back.
Besides this gradual educative purpose of the piecemeal system of revelation, the "strengthening of the hearts" also refers to the constant good tidings to the obedient servants in the midst of daily persecution and obstacles. The numerous prophecies and promises of success in both lives to the patient served this purpose. They were assured of ultimate success time and again to fill them with hope to carry on their mission
16:102"that it may establish those who believe and as a guidance and good news for those who submit".
This mission was to create a movement of faith and righteousness to combat disbelief and sin. The piecemeal revelation guided that movement in all its stages to suit its requirements on different occasions. It did so for example by elaborating on certain previous concise statements, either by a longer revelation in a different place or by addition of relevant information within the same previously revealed verse. We have classical examples reported in the hadith books, like 2:187 and 4:95 where the scribe present, who was being dictated the concise then more elaborate revelation, describes how the event occurred supernaturally.
It is a Quranic principle that one should not ask about things that if answered would render a simple directive complicated. But one may ask while revelation is descending and will be answered 5:101 as documented regarding ibn Um Maktum's concern upon hearing verse 4:95. The difference between the 2 attitudes is that of sincerity. The first one hears a directive, reflects on it and comes back after a while with conjecture, as if he is trying to avoid it. On the other hand the one expressing a concern directly when hearing a command does so out of genuine concern for a condition preventing him from immediately implementing the directive.
The gradual revelation, progressive elaboration also gives the audience the feeling that it is being closely followed, listened to, attended to and corrected by its Sustainer, answering relevant questions of law or theology, questions by the believers or disbelievers alike, providing strong argument in favor of the truths it propounds or to counter false notions
25:32"And they do not bring to you an example except that We brought to you the truth and best of explanation".
Again this is not a strange phenomenon in the prophetic history, especially when it comes to the issue of further elaboration/explanation of a previous concise statement or ruling. See Jn3 for example.
17:106 also explains the important point that, despite this gradual system, the Quran is nevertheless one integral whole and can therefore, be properly understood only if it is considered in its entirety, if each of its passages is read in the light of all the other passages it contains.
As already alluded to previously, the prophet's opponents would criticize the periods during which no new verses were revealed and recited by him
7:203"And when you bring them not a revelation they say: Why do you not forge it? Say: I only follow what is revealed to me from my Lord; these are clear proofs from your Lord and a guidance and a mercy for a people who believe".
Consequently, at various places in the Quran, the Prophet is told to exercise resolve and patience 20:113-4 until the whole of the Quran is revealed to him, and he needs not worry as the arrangement of it rests on Allah 25:32 and no falsehood can approach it 41:42.
The One upon whom its establishment in the prophet's memory is entirely dependant upon, and who could therefore either take it away completely or erase chunks of it from the prophet's mind without him even noticing it 17:86-7,87:6-7 will take care of arranging it in the form of a Book with an ultimate recital structure which he and all Muslims will be bound to follow in the future. If any directive needed further explanation, it will be done so at this last recital, and in this manner this book will stand completed in every way after memorization, collection and arrangement and explanation by the Almighty Himself
75:16-19"Do not move your tongue with it to make haste with it, Surely on Us (devolves) the collecting of it and the reciting of it. Therefore when We have recited it, follow its recitation. Again on Us (devolves) the explaining of it".
This Divine arrangement gives the Quran a unique feature, it can be read a few verses at a time as anyone can see for himself. One can open it at any page and start reading, even skipping the beginning of the Book and starting in its middle, in most cases even starting at any verse on a page without going back many verses to know what it is speaking of and will still gain a lesson of wisdom.
The Divine structuring of the Quran was solidified by the promise to protect it 15:9, one of the fulfilments of this promise is to guard from extinction the Arabic language in which the Quranic message was coded. Unlike ancient Hebrew in which the HB was put to writing and the Aramaic of Jesus, which both became extinct, classical Arabic flourished and developed since the revelation of the Quran. A language that was confined to the tribes of the Arabian peninsula 1,400 years ago has since developed into the lingua franca of peoples from the extremities of Asia to the farthest corners of Africa. And another fulfilment is that besides all the scholarly scrutiny of the skeptics, no discrepancies can be found in it
4:82"Had it been from other Than God, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy".
The gradual process solidified the Quran in the believers' hearts 28:51, as a sign of Allah's pledge to secure it and preserve it. Consequently the Prophet would memorize each verse as it was revealed, recite it to the "Scribes of the Revelation" (kuttab al-wahy) who would write it down immediately, in the manner of prophets of old. Jeremiah for instance dictated his prophecies to his disciple Baruch son of Neriah, when God commanded him
Jer30:1"Write for you the words that I have spoken to you, on a scroll"
Jer36:4"And Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote from Jeremiah's mouth all the words of the Lord that He had spoken to him, on a roll of a book".
The prophet Jeremiah was literate and also wrote a scroll by himself Jer51:60.
It is stated in many traditions that whenever a portion of revelation was received by the Prophet, he told his followers to write a verse before such and such a verse and after such and such a verse, thus indicating its place and position in the Quran. The suras were memorized and recited in that order, in perfect accordance with the divine will
75:16-19"Do not move your tongue with it to make haste with it, Surely on Us (devolves) the collecting of it and the reciting of it. Therefore when We have recited it, follow its recitation. Again on Us (devolves) the explaining of it".
A final arrangement and recital occurred twice the year the Prophet died, permitting to secure it from any eventual loss or doubts. The process of memorization as well as writing down of the revelations had thus started right from the beginning of the Prophet's mission.
Also, even when the written compilation was completed, the process of memorization was not discouraged or discontinued, so that even today Muslims can count in their ranks thousands of huffaz.
No other book went through this process of memorization followed by writing in a precise manner even as far as the numbering of the verses instructed by the archangel Gabriel, they were all redacted years even centuries after the message was sent.
Further readings answering Sam Shamoun "The Incomplete Quran: Whom Did Muhammad See?"
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