Details of the First Revelation

↗ Revelation in Stages

The main task of the Prophet in Makka was to call people to Islam and so the Makkan suras are primarily based on the Oneness of Allah and righteous conduct.
God says in the Qur’an that had He sent the Qur’an upon a mountain it would have come apart (59.21). So, had it been revealed as a whole to Muhammad (pbuh) it would have been too heavy for him to carry the burden.
God was taking care of the Prophet (pbuh) and his followers by revealing it in parts, as it was sent to strengthen hearts (25.32), which could be done due to the partial revelations.
God also sent it in this way to allow the Prophet (pbuh) and the early Muslims to ponder over its meanings and have time to implement the teachings in their lives.
- E.g: Prohibition of alcohol.
It was also sent in parts in response to the needs of different situations and times.
- e.g: Surah Al Kawthar

The Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet over a period of 23 years. The first revelation came in the year 610, in Cave Hira. The revelations were stopped for a period, after first revelation, which caused the Prophet to worry. Once they started again they came strongly and frequently.
There were different ways in which the verses were revealed to the Prophet.
1. Angel Jibril would come in the form of a man, which the Companions witnessed when Jibril came to confirm the tenets of belief (e.g: hadith Jibril, Daya Kalbi).
2. The Prophet saw the Angel in his original form, e.g. on the night journey (e.g: Sura Najm), and at the time of the first revelation.
3. He also received revelation in the form of dreams, and he would wake up and remember them.
4. The most difficult was when they came as the ringing of a bell and this would weigh down on him, so much so that his camel could not withstand the weight.
  - They would cause him to sweat even in the winter and shiver in the summer, as it is also reported by Aisha (RA) that she witnessed sweat dropping from his forehead on a very cold day.
  - The pressure that it put on Zayd’s thigh when he was sitting next to the Prophet during one of the revelations.
5. The Prophet (SAW) also received revelation directly from God during Isra' and Mi'raj.

The revelations were not within his control (sura 75:16–19), he had no idea when they were coming, and they were safeguarded by God.

Do not rush your tongue trying to memorize ˹a revelation of˺ the Quran. It is certainly upon Us to ˹make you˺ memorize and recite it. So once We have recited a revelation ˹through Gabriel˺, follow its recitation ˹closely˺. Then it is surely upon Us to make it clear ˹to you˺. (75:16-19)
As elaboration, candidates can also narrate how some revelations were responses to specific events, e.g.
- The revelation during the migration when Abu Bakr was worried (9:40)
  
  ˹It does not matter˺ if you ˹believers˺ do not support him, for Allah did in fact support him when the disbelievers drove him out ˹of Mecca˺ and he was only one of two. While they both were in the cave, he reassured his companion, “Do not worry; Allah is certainly with us.” So Allah sent down His serenity upon the Prophet, supported him with forces you ˹believers˺ did not see, and made the word of the disbelievers lowest, while the Word of Allah is supreme. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise. (Surah at-Tawbah, 9:40)
- Surah Dhuha and Kauthar was revealed to console the Prophet.

Candidates should be careful not to give statements, but try to qualify their answers with some reasoning.

Candidates could say that the Arabs at the time had an oral tradition and it was in keeping with that.
As people committed things to memory it was a more reliable way of ensuring the Qur’an’s preservation. Had it been delivered in a book, it would have been harder to check if any changes had been made.
If the Prophet had been given it in written form, he would not have been able to read or write it, and because of this the oral revelation allowed the message to be memorised by him and committed to heart, again ensuring there were no errors.