The Descent of the Qur’an to the People

“What has been sent down to us,” which includes the noble Qur’an as one of its manifestations, encompasses all forms of knowledge. Therefore, the Qur’an was not only sent down “for” the guidance of humanity but also “towards” them: “O people! A proof has come to you from your Lord, and We have sent down to you a clear light.”(496) “And We have sent down to you the Reminder that you may make clear to the people what has been sent down to them.”(497) “We have certainly sent down to you a Book in which is your mention. Then will you not reason?”(498) The common interpretation of these expressions is that the noble Qur’an was revealed to the noble Prophet, and since we are his community, it is as if it was revealed to us, though it was not actually revealed to us. However, the precise meaning of these expressions is that while the Qur’an was revealed to the noble Prophet, it was also sent down towards the people.

To explain, the wise Qur’an is a special manifestation of God, as the principle of creation is God’s manifestation: “Praise be to God who manifests Himself to His creation through His creation.”(499) The revelation of the noble Qur’an is a specific manifestation of God: “So He, glory be to Him, manifested Himself to them in His Book without them having seen Him.”(500) God’s special manifestation to the mountain is overwhelming: “And when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He rendered it level.”(501) This same tangible matter that occurred with Mount Sinai has been hypothetically stated about the descent of the Qur’an upon a mountain(502). Therefore, the Glorious God has described the noble Qur’an as “weighty discourse” (qawl thaqīl), meaning a weighty and heavy speech: “Indeed, We will cast upon you a heavy word.”(503)

Since bearing this weighty discourse and heavy, substantial revelation is not possible for ordinary individuals without intermediary, the path for the descent of this great waterfall towards humans is that it first pours onto the blessed heart of the noble Prophet so that its pressure and weight are reduced, its knowledge, truths, interpretation, and inner meanings remain there, and then its outpourings and apparent meanings reach others: “The Trustworthy Spirit has brought it down upon your heart that you may be of the warners.”(504)

If the noble Qur’an were to descend directly upon the heart of an ordinary person, it would shatter them, as it states regarding the hypothetical descent upon a mountain: “Had We sent down this Qur’an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and split asunder out of awe for God.”(505) The perfect human, who is superior to the heavens and earth, has the capacity to bear this weighty discourse without intermediary.

Based on what has been discussed, the wise Qur’an has also been sent down to the people. Therefore, the final point of Qur’anic revelation is not the blessed heart of the noble Prophet, but rather that divine message in its journey from the heart of the trustworthy messenger to his pure lips, and from there to the ears of the Islamic community, remains revelation. Thus, the Glorious God states that one who listens to the verses of the Qur’an hears the word of God: “And if any one of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the words of God.”(506) On this basis, when reciting or listening to “O you who believe” (yā ayyuhā alladhīna āmanū), it is recommended to say “At your service” (labbayk).(507) It is also narrated from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a.s.): “It is befitting for the servant when he prays to recite slowly… and when he passes by ‘O you who believe,’ he should say: ‘At Your service, our Lord.’”(508) This recommended ruling supports the idea that God is still speaking to humanity, and the divine address is current. So if God has a verbal command, it is appropriate to say this command while preserving its meaning and believing in its content, as it has been narrated from the Commander of the Faithful that when reciting “Say: We believe,” he would say: “We believe.” And if a physical command like prostration is issued, it is appropriate to comply with that very act, namely prostration, as an obligation or recommendation.(509)

Just as angels are the messengers and channels of revelation: “On honored sheets, exalted and purified, in the hands of noble and righteous scribes”(510), from the heart to the pure lips of the noble Prophet, and from there to the ears of the listeners of the verses, is also a channel of revelation, and what reaches the hearing of humans from his pure lips is a continuation of revelation: “Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed”(511). Revelation is protected throughout this path, from its source of descent to the hearing of the Islamic community, and is under the watch of guardian and vigilant angels who move before and after it to prevent devils from infiltrating it, keeping it safe and preserved from distortion and any reduction or addition and harm of defect and flaw: “Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His [knowledge of the] unseen to anyone except whom He has approved of messengers, and indeed, He sends before him and behind him observers that He may know that they have conveyed the messages of their Lord; and He has encompassed whatever is with them and has enumerated all things in number”(512).

Considering what has been discussed, the secret of why the noble Qur’an is referred to as a divine rope in the Hadith of Thaqalayn(513) becomes clear; a rope with one end in God’s hand and the other end in the hands of humans.

The result is that numerous verses indicate that the Qur’an has been sent down “to” humans, and there is no rational or traditional evidence to the contrary that would necessitate changing their apparent meaning to a non-apparent one, or considering this attribution as metaphorical, saying that being sent down to humans means being sent down “for” humans. The noble Qur’an, just as it has been sent down for humans, has also descended to them. Of course, its descent upon the noble Prophet is without intermediary, while upon the community it is with intermediary, as he, as God’s messenger, delivers God’s message to the people. The Messenger of God is one who delivers what he has received to human society without reduction or addition.

After receiving revelation, that noble personage is both a messenger and an interpreter, exegete, and elucidator of it. After God’s word is conveyed to people as a conclusive proof, their response to the revelation differs in terms of acceptance or rejection: “That those who perished [through disbelief] would perish upon evidence and those who lived [in faith] would live upon evidence”(514).

It is worth noting that in the noble verse “And We have revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them”(515), two expressions are juxtaposed: “revelation to the Prophet” and “sending down to the people”. This difference in expression may be due to one being instantaneous and the other gradual, or due to the direct reception of revelation by the noble Prophet and its indirect reception by the people.

Note: Revelation descends “towards” the community; however, it still oversees all and illuminates them, nurturing the Prophet and the community under its coverage. Therefore, the “sending down” (inzāl) which is mentioned in the verse under discussion along with the preposition “to” (ilā): “We have believed in God and what was revealed to us and what was revealed to…”, is used in another verse with “upon” (ʿalā) to indicate elevation: “We have believed in God and in what was revealed to us and what was revealed upon…”(516). For this reason, the Glorious God has described religion as “upright” (qayyim) in several instances: “That is the correct religion”(517). God’s religion is the guardian of the community, as it is self-sufficient in its teachings, beliefs, ethics, jurisprudence, and laws, needing no external completion or perfection, and can establish others. Therefore, the secret behind the expression “upon” in the aforementioned noble verse is that humans are under the guardianship of divine religion; neither above it to be able to change it, nor equal to it to be able to dispense with it and be self-sufficient.

The precedence of “what was revealed to us,” meaning the Qur’an, over “what was revealed to Abraham and…” referring to his scriptures, despite the historical precedence of those scriptures over the Qur’an, is not only due to the Qur’an’s guardianship over all previous books and scriptures, but also because through the Qur’an, which is God’s final written proof, human society is commanded to believe in past prophets like Abraham and others. This is because the Qur’an both confirms their truth and instructs belief in them.

The repetition of the word “what” (mā) in “what was revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham and…” is to highlight the difference between what was revealed to Muslims through the noble Prophet and what was revealed to Abraham and others.

To establish the independence of Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, and Jacob from what Moses and Jesus had, there were several possible approaches: one was to repeat “revelation” (inzāl), another was to repeat “giving” (ītāʾ), and a third was to differentiate, as is currently the case where “revelation” is used for Abraham and “giving” for Moses and Jesus.

“Revelation” (inzāl) is also attributed to the People of the Book, as in the verse “…and what was revealed to you from your Lord”(518), but “giving” (ītāʾ) is not ascribed to them. This may be due to the distortion of what is currently in their possession.