Revelation: How the Quran Was Revealed

Muhammad Taqi Usmani's approach to the Quranic sciences begins, appropriately, with the phenomenon of revelation itself — the divine act by which the Quran was communicated from Allah to the Prophet Muhammad through the Angel Jibril. This chapter examines the nature of revelation (wahy), its modes, its physical and spiritual dimensions as described in the hadith literature, and its theological implications for the understanding of the Quran as divine speech.

The Arabic word wahy carries a range of meanings, all centering on the idea of rapid, secret communication. In the Quranic context, it refers specifically to divine communication to the prophets. The Quran itself describes wahy as one of three modes by which Allah communicates with human beings: direct speech (as when Allah spoke to Moses), revelation through a messenger (Jibril), or from behind a veil (42:51). The Quran's revelation to Muhammad fell primarily into the second category — mediated through the Archangel Jibril.

The hadith literature preserves the Prophet's descriptions of the physical experience of revelation. He described two primary modes: the most difficult, compared to the ringing of a bell, after which he would retain the revelation fully; and the easier mode, in which Jibril came in human form and the Prophet received the words more naturally. The first mode was apparently associated with the divine communication being particularly weighty or profound, while the second was used for longer passages of guidance and narrative.

Usmani examines the theological status of the Quran's language. Is the Quran the word of Allah in its literal Arabic form, or is it a translation of divine meanings into human language? The classical Sunni position, which Usmani presents and defends, is that the Quran is literally the speech of Allah — both in its meanings and in its specific Arabic words. This position contrasts with the Mu'tazilite view that the Quran is created, and with the view that only the meanings are divine while Jibril expressed them in Arabic. The orthodox position is that the actual Arabic words of the Quran, in their precise formulation, constitute divine speech.

The chapter also treats the distinction between the Quran and hadith qudsi — reports in which the Prophet conveys something attributed to Allah directly (as opposed to ordinary hadiths which convey the Prophet's own words). Usmani explains the classical understanding: hadith qudsi conveys divine meanings expressed in prophetic words, while the Quran consists of divine meanings in divine words. This distinction has important implications for how the two are treated in worship: the Quran is recited in salah and is the subject of rules about purity and handling that do not apply to hadith qudsi.

Reveal also had a temporal dimension: the Quran was revealed gradually over twenty-three years rather than all at once, a feature the Quran itself addresses: 'And those who disbelieve say, "Why was the Quran not revealed to him all at once?" Thus [it is] that We may strengthen thereby your heart. And We have spaced it distinctly' (25:32). Usmani explores the wisdom of gradual revelation — its role in fortifying the Prophet and community, its facilitation of memorization, and its correspondence to specific situations requiring guidance.