History of Quran Revelation

Prophet Muhammad was living a quiet and peaceful life after marrying Khadijah who was a business woman at that time. The people at that time were worshipping idols in the city of Mecca, where Muhammad began to search in his mind for the true and pure religion which was traditionally from Abraham which means worshipping one and only God.

At the head of a sandy valley, not far from Mecca, there's the high cone-shaped mountain. In the old days, it was called Mount Hira where Muhammad went to seek peacefulness there. From the top of the Mountain, he can view the entire city of Mecca and there is a cave entrance where he always go for quiet retreat, sometimes even with his wife Khadijah to escape from the city that's worshipping idols.

One day, it was in the month of Ramadan, and Muhammad had gone into the cave of Mount Hira, to devote his time to prayer and fasting. Suddenly, he saw a vision that approached him, the Archangel Gabriel came nearer and nearer until he reached quite close to Muhammad, holding out a scroll, the Angel commanded him, "Read!" Muhammad then said "But I cannot read" Three times the Angel cried "Read!" and then as Gabriel read, Muhammad recited the words that first came down from God.

The first verse was Al-Alaq (The Clot) which reads as below:

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

¹ Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created-

² Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:

³ Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,-

⁴ He Who taught (the use of) the pen,-

⁵ Taught man that which he knew not.

⁶ Nay, but man doth transgress all bounds,

⁷ In that he looketh upon himself as self-sufficient.

⁸ Verily, to thy Lord is the return (of all).

⁹ Seest thou one who forbids-

¹⁰ A votary when he (turns) to pray?

¹¹ Seest thou if he is on (the road of) Guidance?-

¹² Or enjoins Righteousness?

¹³ Seest thou if he denies (Truth) and turns away?

¹⁴ Knoweth he not that God doth see?

¹⁵ Let him beware! If he desist not, We will drag him by the forelock,-

¹⁶ A lying, sinful forelock!

¹⁷ Then, let him call (for help) to his council (of comrades):

¹⁸ We will call on the angels of punishment (to deal with him)!

¹⁹ Nay, heed him not: But bow down in adoration, and bring thyself the closer (to God)!

After the encounter, Prophet Muhammad hurried down back to his home where he was trembling, his wife Khadija hugged him to calm him down and he told the entire story to her. Few weeks had passed and Muhammad was unsure what was the reason of the encounter, he asked many questions and one day he prayed to God asking him what was the true reason that encounter was and was it the real message. And on that night, Angel Gabriel appeared again and continues to reveal the message from God until the entire 114 Suras (Chapters) of the Quran.

Below is the Chronological order of the Quran from Chapter 1 where Gabriel reveals to mankind to Read! until the end of Chapter 114. Each chapter name can be clicked to view the verse in detailed.

Chronological Order	Chapter Name	Number of Verses	Location of Revelation	Traditional Order
1	Al-Alaq	19	Mecca	96
2	Al-Qalam	52	Mecca	68
3	Al-Muzzammil	20	Mecca	73
4	Al-Muddathir	56	Mecca	74
5	Al-Fatiha	7	Mecca	1
6	Al-Masadd	5	Mecca	111
7	At-Takwir	29	Mecca	81
8	Al-Ala	19	Mecca	87
9	Al-Lail	21	Mecca	92
10	Al-Fajr	30	Mecca	89
11	Ad-Dhuha	11	Mecca	93
12	Al-Inshirah	8	Mecca	94
13	Al-Asr	3	Mecca	103
14	Al-Adiyat	11	Mecca	100
15	Al-Kauther	3	Mecca	108
16	At-Takathur	8	Mecca	102
17	Al-Maun	7	Mecca	107
18	Al-Kafiroon	6	Mecca	109
19	Al-Fil	5	Mecca	105
20	Al-Falaq	5	Mecca	113
21	An-Nas	6	Mecca	114
22	Al-Ikhlas	4	Mecca	112
23	An-Najm	62	Mecca	53
24	Abasa	42	Mecca	80
25	Al-Qadr	5	Mecca	97
26	Ash-Shams	15	Mecca	91
27	Al-Burooj	22	Mecca	85
28	At-Tin	8	Mecca	95
29	Quraish	4	Mecca	106
30	Al-Qaria	11	Mecca	101
31	Al-Qiyama	40	Mecca	75
32	Al-Humaza	9	Mecca	104
33	Al-Mursalat	50	Mecca	77
34	Qaf	45	Mecca	50
35	Al-Balad	20	Mecca	90
36	At-Tariq	17	Mecca	86
37	Al-Qamar	55	Mecca	54
38	Sad	88	Mecca	38
39	Al-Araf	206	Mecca	7
40	Al-Jinn	28	Mecca	72
41	Ya-Sin	83	Mecca	36
42	Al-Furqan	77	Mecca	25
43	Fatir	45	Mecca	35
44	Maryam	98	Mecca	19
45	Taha	135	Mecca	20
46	Al-Waqia	96	Mecca	56
47	Ash-Shuara	227	Mecca	26
48	An-Naml	93	Mecca	27
49	Al-Qasas	88	Mecca	28
50	Al-Isra	111	Mecca	17
51	Yunus	109	Mecca	10
52	Hud	123	Mecca	11
53	Yusuf	111	Mecca	12
54	Al-Hijr	99	Mecca	15
55	Al-Anaam	165	Mecca	6
56	As-Saaffat	182	Mecca	37
57	Luqman	34	Mecca	31
58	Saba	54	Mecca	34
59	Az-Zumar	75	Mecca	39
60	Al-Ghafir	85	Mecca	40
61	Fussilat	54	Mecca	41
62	Ash-Shura	53	Mecca	42
63	Az-Zukhruf	89	Mecca	43
64	Ad-Dukhan	59	Mecca	44
65	Al-Jathiya	37	Mecca	45
66	Al-Ahqaf	35	Mecca	46
67	Adh-Dhariyat	60	Mecca	51
68	Al-Ghashiya	26	Mecca	88
69	Al-Kahf	110	Mecca	18
70	An-Nahl	128	Mecca	16
71	Nooh	28	Mecca	71
72	Ibrahim	52	Mecca	14
73	Al-Ambiya	112	Mecca	21
74	Al-Mumenoon	118	Mecca	23
75	As-Sajda	30	Mecca	32
76	At-Tur	49	Mecca	52
77	Al-Mulk	30	Mecca	67
78	Al-Haaqqa	52	Mecca	69
79	Al-Maarij	44	Mecca	70
80	An-Naba	40	Mecca	78
81	An-Naziat	46	Mecca	79
82	Al-Infitar	19	Mecca	82
83	Al-Inshiqaq	25	Mecca	84
84	Ar-Room	60	Mecca	30
85	Al-Ankaboot	69	Mecca	29
86	Al-Mutaffifin	36	Mecca	83
87	Al-Baqara	286	Medina	2
88	Al-Anfal	75	Medina	8
89	Al-i-Imran	200	Medina	3
90	Al-Ahzab	73	Medina	33
91	Al-Mumtahina	13	Medina	60
92	An-Nisa	176	Medina	4
93	Al-Zalzala	8	Medina	99
94	Al-Hadid	29	Medina	57
95	Muhammad	38	Medina	47
96	Ar-Rad	43	Medina	13
97	Al-Rahman	78	Medina	55
98	Al-Insan	31	Medina	76
99	At-Talaq	12	Medina	65
100	Al-Bayyina	8	Medina	98
101	Al-Hashr	24	Medina	59
102	An-Noor	64	Medina	24
103	Al-Hajj	78	Medina	22
104	Al-Munafiqoon	11	Medina	63
105	Al-Mujadila	22	Medina	58
106	Al-Hujraat	18	Medina	49
107	At-Tahrim	12	Medina	66
108	At-Taghabun	18	Medina	64
109	As-Saff	14	Medina	61
110	Al-Jumua	11	Medina	62
111	Al-Fath	29	Medina	48
112	Al-Maeda	120	Medina	5
113	At-Taubah	129	Medina	9
114	An-Nasr	3	Medina	110

The verse highlighted in blue were the verses that were revealed when Prophet Muhammad was in Mecca, but as he revealed the message to the people there, the ruler and political people did not agree and thought that worshipping One God will cost their business and income from worshipping idols where people purchased idols and offering donation to them. That is when Prophet Muhammad and the group of believers decided to flee to Madinah where the verses highlighted in yellow was revealed to mankind.

During the 69th time the revelation came down from God to Muhammad and mankind was the time a group of people wanted to know the proof if Muhammad was the real prophet chosen by God, they met a Jewish Rabbi at Madinah. The Jewish Rabbi said, asked him these 3 questions below, if he can answer them, indeed he's the true Prophet from God.

1. People of the Cave
2. Alexander the Great
3. The Spirit

Chronological Order	Chapter Name	Number of Verses	Location of Revelation	Traditional Order
69	Al-Kahf	110	Mecca	18

As they asked the Prophet these 3 questions, he answered them which was recorded in the Quran verse 18 as highlited in red above. (This is the 69th time Archangel Gabriel came with the message revelation and in the Quran today is verse number 18)

Prophet Muhammad who can't read or write at that time answered them below after Archangel Gabriel gave him the message.


1. People of the cave. (7 sleepers in the Bible)

The first question was about some young men who remained steadfast in their worship of one God, while the rest of their people turned to the worship of idols. No one is sure of the number of youth involved. That knowledge is Allah’s alone, although many scholars have disputed over the number. To escape persecution, the young men hid in a cave, where Allah caused them to fall asleep for about three hundred years (only Allah knows the exact length of time). They had a dog with them, and to anyone who happened to see them they would have appeared to be awake, and the person would have been filled with fear of them. When they finally awoke, it seemed to them as if only a short time had passed. It was when one of them was sent down to the town to buy food that they learned they had slept for centuries. The account of these sleepers is in the Quran, Surah 18:9-25.

9 Or dost thou reflect that the Companions of the Cave and of the Inscription were wonders among Our Sign?

¹⁰ Behold, the youths betook themselves to the Cave: they said, "Our Lord! bestow on us Mercy from Thyself, and dispose of our affair for us in the right way!"

¹¹ Then We draw (a veil) over their ears, for a number of years, in the Cave, (so that they heard not):

¹² Then We roused them, in order to test which of the two parties was best at calculating the term of years they had tarried!

¹³ We relate to thee their story in truth: they were youths who believed in their Lord, and We advanced them in guidance:

¹⁴ We gave strength to their hearts: Behold, they stood up and said: "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and of the earth: never shall we call upon any god other than Him; if we did, we should indeed have uttered an enormity!

¹⁵ "These our people have taken for worship, gods other than Him: why do they not bring forward an authority clear (and convincing) for what they do? Who doth more wrong than such as invent a falsehood against Allah?

¹⁶ "When ye turn away from them and the things they worship other than Allah, betake yourselves to the Cave: Your Lord will shower His mercies on you and disposes of your affair towards comfort and ease."

¹⁷ Thou wouldst have seen the sun, when it rose, declining to the right from their Cave, and when it set, turning away from them to the left, while they lay in the open space in the midst of the Cave. Such are among the Signs of Allah. He whom Allah, guides is rightly guided; but he whom Allah leaves to stray, for him wilt thou find no protector to lead him to the Right Way.

¹⁸ Thou wouldst have deemed them awake, whilst they were asleep, and We turned them on their right and on their left sides: their dog stretching forth his two fore-legs on the threshold: if thou hadst come up on to them, thou wouldst have certainly turned back from them in flight, and wouldst certainly have been filled with terror of them.

¹⁹ Such (being their state), we raised them up (from sleep), that they might question each other. Said one of them, "How long have ye stayed (here)?" They said, "We have stayed (perhaps) a day, or part of a day." (At length) they (all) said, "(Allah) (alone) knows best how long ye have stayed here... Now send ye then one of you with this money of yours to the town: let him find out which is the best food (to be had) and bring some to you, that (ye may) satisfy your hunger therewith: And let him behave with care and courtesy, and let him not inform any one about you.

²⁰ "For if they should come upon you, they would stone you or force you to return to their cult, and in that case ye would never attain prosperity."

²¹ Thus did We make their case known to the people, that they might know that the promise of Allah is true, and that there can be no doubt about the Hour of Judgment. Behold, they dispute among themselves as to their affair. (Some) said, "Construct a building over them": Their Lord knows best about them: those who prevailed over their affair said, "Let us surely build a place of worship over them."

²² (Some) say they were three, the dog being the fourth among them; (others) say they were five, the dog being the sixth,- doubtfully guessing at the unknown; (yet others) say they were seven, the dog being the eighth. Say thou: "My Lord knoweth best their number; It is but few that know their (real case)." Enter not, therefore, into controversies concerning them, except on a matter that is clear, nor consult any of them about (the affair of) the Sleepers.

²³ Nor say of anything, "I shall be sure to do so and so tomorrow"

²⁴ Without adding, "So please Allah." and call thy Lord to mind when thou forgettest, and say, "I hope that my Lord will guide me ever closer (even) than this to the right road."

²⁵ So they stayed in their Cave three hundred years, and (some) add nine (more)

Here's the reference to the story of 7 Sleepers in the Bible - http://biblehub.com/library/wells/bible_stories_and_religious_classics/the_seven_sleepers.htm

From Bible reference - And when Decius was dead, and all that generation, three hundred and sixty-two years after, and the thirtieth year of Theodosius the emperor

Also noticed the accuracy of the story, Prophet Muhammad answer about 300 years and in the Bible sources mentioned 362 years highlighted in orange above.

2. Alexander the Great

The answer to the second question was about a great traveler identified as Zul-Qarnain (Alexander the Great), “the owner of two horns.” He had great power and had been given the ways and means to do all things. He traveled to the setting of the sun, which set in a murky pool. Nearby there lived a people over whom Zul-Qarnain had authority to punish or reward. He chose to punish those who did wrong and then send them back to Allah to be further punished. Those who believed in Allah and were righteous, would be rewarded. Then he journeyed to the rising of the sun, where he found a people who had been provided with no protection against the sun. Those people he left completely alone.

As part of his answer to the second question, Muhammad gave information about a third journey which Zul-Qarnain made. He traveled to a place between two mountains, where the people understood scarcely anything about Allah. They asked for his help in building a barrier between them and two beings called Yajooj and Majooj (Gog and Magog). In return for his assistance they promised to pay tribute to him. However he did not desire tribute. He replied that the power which he received from Allah was better than any tribute which they could offer him. And so he helped them erect a barrier of iron and lead, which Yajooj and Majooj (Gog and Magog) were powerless to climb over or dig through. But the Quran warns that on a day appointed by Allah, they would break out of their place of confinement and cause great destruction. This would be one of the signs that the Day of Judgment was near. The story of Zul-Qarnain can be found in the Quran 18:84-103.

⁸⁴ Verily We established his power on earth, and We gave him the ways and the means to all ends.

⁸⁵ One (such) way he followed,

⁸⁶ Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of murky water: Near it he found a People: We said: "O Zul-qarnain! (thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness."

⁸⁷ He said: "Whoever doth wrong, him shall we punish; then shall he be sent back to his Lord; and He will punish him with a punishment unheard of (before).

⁸⁸ "But whoever believes, and works righteousness, he shall have a goodly reward, and easy will be his task as We order it by our Command."

⁸⁹ Then followed he (another) way,

⁹⁰ Until, when he came to the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the sun.

⁹¹ (He left them) as they were: We completely understood what was before him.

⁹² Then followed he (another) way,

⁹³ Until, when he reached (a tract) between two mountains, he found, beneath them, a people who scarcely understood a word.

⁹⁴ They said: "O Zul-qarnain! the Gog and Magog (People) do great mischief on earth: shall we then render thee tribute in order that thou mightest erect a barrier between us and them?

⁹⁵ He said: "(The power) in which my Lord has established me is better (than tribute): Help me therefore with strength (and labour): I will erect a strong barrier between you and them:

⁹⁶ "Bring me blocks of iron." At length, when he had filled up the space between the two steep mountain-sides, He said, "Blow (with your bellows)" Then, when he had made it (red) as fire, he said: "Bring me, that I may pour over it, molten lead."

⁹⁷ Thus were they made powerless to scale it or to dig through it.

⁹⁸ He said: "This is a mercy from my Lord: But when the promise of my Lord comes to pass, He will make it into dust; and the promise of my Lord is true."

⁹⁹ On that day We shall leave them to surge like waves on one another: the trumpet will be blown, and We shall collect them all together.

¹⁰⁰ And We shall present Hell that day for Unbelievers to see, all spread out,

¹⁰¹ (Unbelievers) whose eyes had been under a veil from remembrance of Me, and who had been unable even to hear.

¹⁰² Do the Unbelievers think that they can take My servants as protectors besides Me? Verily We have prepared Hell for the Unbelievers for (their) entertainment.

¹⁰³ Say: "Shall we tell you of those who lose most in respect of their deeds?

 

3. About the Spirit

The third question, about the Spirit, had the shortest answer. The Quran (17:85) says that the Spirit comes by command of Allah, and that mankind does not have the knowledge to fully understand.

85 They ask thee concerning the Spirit (of inspiration). Say: "The Spirit (cometh) by command of my Lord: of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you, (O men!)."

Noticed the verse said "They ask" which is referring to the people asking about the spirit during that time. We will continue to discuss about when the other verses are revealed and the events that happened during the revelations in the upcoming articles.