Occasion of Revelation

Hamiduddin Farahi

It is commonly held that the sha'n-i-nuzul (occasion of revelation) is in fact the narration of a particular incident or incidents, which spurred the revelation of a verse or set of verses. I am afraid this is not correct. The sha'n-i-nuzul of a revelation in fact refers to the circumstances encompassing the revelation's addressees at the time when it is revealed. The Holy Qur'an actually discusses certain matters, or a set of matters, as central themes within the surahs. Each revealed address revolves around that matter or a set of matters. Therefore, the best way to ascertain the sha'n-i-nuzul is to deliberate upon the contents of the surahs themselves, because surahs are always revealed while keeping contextual circumstances in view. Just as a pharmacist identifies a patient's ailment by simply analyzing the medicines mentioned in the prescription, it is possible to identify the sha'n-i-nuzul of the Qur'anic text by examining the central theme of any particular surah. In a meaningful discourse, the discourse's content and its theme must possess mutual affinity and be interrelated, just as a well-fitted dress is in accordance with the shape of a body. It goes without saying that the components of a meaningful discourse are closely tied. When a narrative instructs us that a certain verse was revealed with regard to a particular incident, it indicates the circumstances of the addressees at the time of that particular revelation. Thus we come to know of the immediate reasons for the revelation of a surah. Suyuti writes:

و قال الزركشي في البرهان: قد عرف من عادة الصحابة والتابعين أن أحدهم إذا قال: نزلت هذه الآية في كذا, فإنه يريد بذلك أنها تتضمن هذا الحكم, لا أن هذا كان السبب في نزولها, فهو من جنس الاستدلال على الحكم بالآية, لا من جنس النقل لما وقع. قلت : والذي يتحرر في سبب النزول أنه: ما نزلت اللآية أيام وقوعه

Zarkashiwrites in Burhan: When the Companions (rta) say that such and such a verse was revealed about such and such an incident, they mean that the verse embodies a ruling about that incident. It doesn't mean that the verse was primarily prompted by that incident. The narratives are not narrated just in order to report that incident. We in fact deduce a decree from the verse and argue that the verse is giving a directive similar to the one narrated in the respective sha'n-i-nuzul narratives. I believe that it is very important to appreciate that it is not necessary that a verse should have been revealed at the time when the incident took place.1

The above quoted saying of Zarkashi solves the problem Razifacedwhile interpreting '…وَ اِذَا جَاءَكَ الَّذيْنَ يُؤمِنُوْنَ بِاياتِنَا'(6:54) Imam Razi has written:

و لي ها هنا إشكال, و هو: أن الناس اتفقوا أَن هذه السورة نزلت دفعة واحدة, و إذا كان الأمر كذالك, فكيف يمكن أن يقال في كل واحدة من آيات السورة ان سبب نزولها هو الأمر الفلانى بعينه.

I am quite mystified here. The scholars are unanimous that the whole surah was revealed at one time. Then how could one say that such and such verse is prompted by such and such incident?2

Therefore, in my opinion, as is obvious from the above discussion, all the surahs were revealed to explain matters which needed an explanation, being careful that the surahs' text is coherent and unambiguous. This is similar to when an expert orator delivers a speech regarding the conditions and requirements around him in such a way that he mentions nothing specific yet his speech covers all the pertinent issues. Likewise, sometimes he mentions a particular person or incident, but his address is all embracing and universal in nature. The same holds true for the revelation of the Qur'an, as is obvious from the Holy Qur'an itself:

وَ إِنْ تَسْئَلُوْا عَنْهَا حِيْنَ يُنَزَّلُ الْقُرْآنُ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ

If you ask about them when the Qur'an is being revealed they will be made plain to you. (5:101)

This verse testifies to the fact that the Holy Qur'an during the time of its revelation would answer queries that arose in the minds of its addressees without disturbing the flow of its discourse. So when a surah would be completed to meet the objectives of the discourse, it would not be insufficient regarding the clarification of a matter, nor would it contain any excess material.

Sometimes the need for instruction on a particular matter was not fully met in one surah, which necessitated the revelation of another surah. The 'occasion of revelation' would be the same but the style would be different, hence avoiding monotony and dullness. That's why the surahs revealed in the beginning deal with subjects like resurrection, monotheism, belief in the Messenger of Allah and many other issues, which were similar in nature, but whose style of revelation often differed at different points. Sometimes it was felt that a particular element of a surah needed a further explanation so an explanatory verse would be revealed and placed there. This was in accordance with the promise Allah made in Surah Qiyamah:

ثُمه َإِنَّ عَلَيْنَا بَيَانَهُ

Then upon Us is its explanation. (75:19)

In such cases, the gathered discourse would follow the context of the surah rather than its period of revelation. Usually such clarifying verses would be followed by a revealed statement making it clear that that part was revealed in order to clarify a matter. Therefore, verses similar to the following would be placed at the end of the clarifying directive:

كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ آيَاتِهِ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ

Allah explains his verses to make people understand so that they may be fearful. (2:187)

If we want to be utterly clear regarding the explanation of a certain part of the Qur'an, we should notlet go of the context of the verses lest we become like a desert traveler who gets to a cross-roadin the dark of night and doesn't know where to go. Thus the sha'n-i-nuzul of a surah should be determined from within the surah. Only those narratives should be considered worthwhile in this regard which are in harmony with the context of the surah rather than those which disrupt its coherence. Therefore, the best conclusion regarding the utility of a sha'n-i-nuzul is that which is derived from the Qur'anic context. One should hold tight to it. When a general decree is revealed on a certain occasion this (occasion and condition) alludes to the reason and wisdom behind that decree. For instance the Holy Qur'an mentions both monogamy and polygamy. If we consider the sha'n-i-nuzul by reflecting on the context, it becomes clear that the first decree is related to justice with orphans and the second with wives. The two directives themselves are based on the underlying principle of justice with the weak. Circumstances will tell which one is applicable in a particular situation.

(Translated by Tariq Hashmi)

Relationship between the Qur’an and the Previous Scriptures regarding Divine Injunctions

Hameed Uddin Farahi

A traveller does not need to turn to stars for direction in broad daylight. Similarly, after the revelation of the Holy Qur'an Muslims abandoned seeking guidance from the previous scriptures since they are an amalgam of truth and falsehood. However, the previous scriptures rival the Holy Qur'an in that the latter is one of God's revelations and the prophet who brought it is also a member of the community of the prophets and messengers of God. All Muslims, from Adam to us, in spite of the great number of the prophets sent in different times and regions, are one ummah following a single religion. This makes it imperative for us to know the teachings of the earlier books. A study of these books can afford us a great variety of benefits. It will help us appreciate the excellence of the Qur'an over the previous scriptures which in turn will lead us to thank God for blessing us with the unparalleled Book. It will also help us discern the points lost upon commentators of the later generations which in turn made it impossible for them to get to the true purport of certain Qur'anic passages. This will also avail us with sound proofs to establish arguments against the People of the Book. This last point alone is a great benefit.

With the earlier scriptures already present, the Holy Qur'an was revealed to serve two basic purposes.

First, parts of religion which were not yet revealed in those books were revealed.

Second, it clarified the matters which were forgotten by the earlier communities. Many matters were disputed among them and the Holy Qur'an decided these differences. Some of the matters did not remain clear to them and they lost the right course. The Qur'an revealed the true nature of such matters. Most importantly, they had manipulated and adulterated many parts of the divine revelation. The Holy Qur'an corrected such things. The Almighty says:

فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ الْكِتَابَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَـذَا مِنْ عِندِ اللّهِ لِيَشْتَرُواْ بِهِ ثَمَناً قَلِيلاً

Then woe be to those who write the book with their own hands and then claim that it is from God in order to earn some trivial benefit!(2:79)

These are the basic reasons which called for a fresh divine revelation. Besides fulfilling these purposes, the Holy Qur'an helps us remember God, propagate His teachings and disseminate His message which are characteristics common to all the divine revelations.

Since the Holy Qur'an was revealed to fulfil a specific purpose, it does not but discuss teachings of the highest value. It has left out the details of narratives, dispensable explanations of divine commandments and events of micro-history. The general addressees of the Qur'an were fully aware of these things. Repeating such things would have been futile and wearisome for such an audience. Therefore, the historical narratives the Holy Qur'an discusses have been put very cogently either in order to provide precedence or a historical allusion (talmih) or to unveil any hideous cheating by the People of the Book. Similarly, it has also not dealt with the well-known religious practices the humans were obligated to carry out except for explicating those aspects which still needed completion and perfection.

The believers in the call of the Holy Prophet (sws) had either been the People of the Book or those who had intermingled with them. The latter category too was, owing to their acquaintance with the former, aware of the teachings of the earlier books. They did not find it difficult to understand the Qur'anic passages which only alluded to the things mentioned in the earlier books leaving out certain details. They noticed the gulf of difference between the Qur'anic style of expression and the earlier books in spite of the unity of purport and this raised the status of the Holy Qur'an in their eyes. Regarding such audience of the Holy Qur'an, the Almighty says:

وَإِذَا سَمِعُواْ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَى الرَّسُولِ تَرَى أَعْيُنَهُمْ تَفِيضُ مِنَ الدَّمْعِ مِمَّا عَرَفُواْ مِنَ الْحَقِّ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا آمَنَّا فَاكْتُبْنَا مَعَ الشَّاهِدِينَ

And when they listen to what has been revealed to the Prophet, you see their eyes fill with tears as they recognize its truth. They spontaneously say: "Lord! We believe. Count us among the witnesses." (5:83)

The above discussion leads to the following conclusions:

a) Errors in the earlier scriptures should be determined in the light of the Holy Qur'an. Difficulties in deciphering the meaning of their complex passages should also be explained in the light of the last revelation. The only way for the People of the Book to get to the truth is to follow the last revelation of God.

b) Since the Holy Qur'an is a completely authentic and secure word of God, it will serve as the final word where the earlier books differ with it on certain historical facts.

c) Those having full exposure to the history of divine revelation, starting from the first prophet to the last, and thus having a clear understanding of the gradual divulgence of the shari'ah of God to mankind, will certainly be able to see clearly the excellence of the Muslim ummah.

d) The contradictory isra'iliyyat,which are an amalgam of truth and falsehood, will be explained away. Those of us who have been on error because of such narratives will see the light.

e) The People of the Book will be able to learn that the Holy Qur'an does not draw upon these books rather it removes errors found in them and guides them out of the labyrinths of assumptions and conjectures to the right path.

f) Many of the Qur'anic verses which refer to the Torah but the Muslim scholars take them to be referring to the Qur'an will be correctly understood. The following two verses are examples:

مَا نَنسَخْ مِنْ آيَةٍ أَوْ نُنسِهَا نَأْتِ بِخَيْرٍ مِّنْهَا أَوْ مِثْلِهَا

Any verse which We annul or consign to oblivion We replace with a better or a similar one. (2:106) 

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ وَلَا نَبِيٍّ إِلَّا إِذَا تَمَنَّى أَلْقَى الشَّيْطَانُ فِي أُمْنِيَّتِهِ فَيَنسَخُ اللَّهُ مَا يُلْقِي الشَّيْطَانُ ثُمَّ يُحْكِمُ اللَّهُ آيَاتِهِ 

And every prophet or messenger that we sent before you, whenever desired something, Satan interpolated with his desires. But God cancels the whispers of Satan and establishes his commands firm. (22:52)

Before concluding this discussion, I want to discuss a point which the Christians usually put before Muslims in order to deceive them, dubbing it as the most manifest argument against Muslims' stance. They maintain that the Holy Qur'an at one place clearly requires from the Muslims that they believe in the Gospels. Granted this, they say, the Qur'an contradicts itself when, on any other occasion, it negates any of the evangelical statement, something it often does. This, they assume, provides them with an opportunity to invite the Muslims to have faith in whatever falsehood they have inserted in their book. In this effort, they usually present proofs from the Qur'anic verses some of which are produced below…[1]

(Translated from Farahi's Majmu'ah Tafasirby Tariq Mahmood Hashmi)