# Tanzil

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tanzil
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Tanzil.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanzil
> Source revision: 1332394294
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{short description|Descent of God's message to Muhammad in Islam}}
{{Quran}}
{{Sufism}}
'''''Tanzīl''''' ({{langx|ar|تنزيل|| sending down}}), '''''inzāl''''' ({{langx|ar|إنزال||bringing down|label=none}}), and '''''nuzūl''''' ({{langx|ar|نزول||descending|label=none}}), and other words based on the Arabic [triconsonantal root](/source/triconsonantal_root) {{Transliteration|Ar|n-z-l}}<ref name="wehr-1122">{{cite book |last1=Wehr |first1=Hans |last2=Cowan |first2=J. Milton |title=Arabic-English Dictionary The Hans Wehr Dictionary Of Modern Written Arabic. |page=1122 |edition=4th |url=https://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=1135,ll=2850,ls=49,la=4313,sg=1111,ha=755,br=938,pr=152,vi=364,mgf=799,mr=700,mn=1374,aan=647,kz=2579,uqq=384,ulq=1635,uqa=409,uqw=1601,umr=1051,ums=886,umj=819,bdw=861,amr=620,asb=958,auh=1571,dhq=550,mht=878,msb=232,tla=94,amj=804,ens=458,mis=2189 |access-date=30 March 2019}}</ref> ({{lang|ar|ن ز ل}}, 'downward movement'),<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Campo |first=Juan E. |url=https://hostnezt.com/cssfiles/islamiat/Encyclopedia%20of%20Islam.pdf |title=Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Islam |date=2009 |publisher=Facts On File, Incorporated |others=Founder/Director J. Gordon Melton |isbn=978-0-8160-5454-1 |edition=1 |location=New York |format=PDF |access-date=2025-03-11}}</ref> refers to the Islamic belief in the descent of God's message from heaven to Earth as speech, and sometimes visual, revelations to the Islamic prophet [Muhammad](/source/Muhammad) with [Gabriel](/source/Gabriel_in_Islam) as the conveyor, and occasionally God Himself.<ref name=":0" />

In the [Quran](/source/Quran) forms of these words are found in verse [Q 17](/source/Al-Isra):105:  
*"And with the truth We have sent it [i.e., the Qur’ān] down, and with the truth it has descended." ({{lang|ar|وَبِالْحَقِّ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ وَبِالْحَقِّ نَزَلَ}} {{transliteration|ar|wa-bil-ḥaqq-i anzalnāh-u wa-bil-ḥaqq-i nazal}}).<ref>{{qref|17|105|b=y}}</ref>

==Process==
The Quran refers to its original source as the “mother of the book” ({{transliteration|ar|umm al-kitāb}}) which is located in the presence of Allah (God).<ref>{{qref|13|39|b=y}}</ref><ref>{{qref|43|4|b=y}}</ref> The Quran itself also calls this a “well-guarded tablet” ({{transliteration|ar|lawḥ mahfūz}})<ref>{{qref|85|22|b=y}}</ref> a “concealed book” ({{transliteration|ar|kitāb maknūn}}).<ref>{{qref|56|78|b=y}}</ref><ref name="RARDtQ2017:63">{{Cite journal |last=Abdul-Rahim |first=Roslan |date=2017-01-01 |title=Demythologizing the Qur’an Rethinking Revelation Through Naskh al-Qur’an |url=https://www.academia.edu/103416355/Demythologizing_the_Qur_an_Rethinking_Revelation_Through_Naskh_al_Qur_an |journal=Global Journal Al Thaqafah}}</ref> It describes the revelation to Muhammad as being dictated by the angel [Jabril](/source/Gabriel), not by Allah himself, and Muhammad as a messenger of Allah.<ref>See
*Corbin (1993), p.12
*Wild (1996), pp. 137, 138, 141 and 147
*{{qref|2|97|b=y}}
*{{qref|17|105|b=y}}</ref>   While the Quran descends, in the Quran Allah himself is never described as coming down, but is sometimes mentioned in ''[ḥadīth](/source/%E1%B8%A5ad%C4%ABth)'' as going from higher to lower heavens.<ref name="wild-141">{{cite book |last1=Wild |first1=Stephen |title=The Quʼran as Text |date=1996 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9004103449 |page=141 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SsKzcNCoWvcC&dq=God+is+never+the+subject+of+coming+down+tanzil+in+islam&pg=PA141 |access-date=1 April 2019}}</ref>

It is thought that the basic units of revelation of the Quran were short passages or verses (''[āyāt](/source/%C4%81y%C4%81t)''). Later these ayat were arranged into surahs<ref name="W.M. Watt, 1997">Watt, William Montgomery, and Richard Bell. (1997). Introduction to the Qur’an. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press.</ref><ref name="John E. Merrill, 1947, 134-148">Merrill, John E. (1947). “Dr. Bell’s Critical Analysis of the Qur’an,” The Muslim World 37, 2: 134–48.</ref><ref name="Andrew Rippin, 1992, 639-647">Rippin, Andrew. (1992). “Reading the Qur’an with Richard Bell.” J.A.O.S. 112, 4: 639-47.</ref><ref name=RARDtQ2017:64>Abdul-Rahim, "Demythologizing the Qur’an Rethinking Revelation Through Naskh al-Qur’an", ''GJAT'', 7, 2017: p.64</ref> under (Muslims believe) divine guidance.<ref>{{qref|25|32|b=y}}</ref><ref name=RARDtQ2017:64/>

In his tafsīr, Ibn Kathīr cited a hadīth from [Abd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās](/source/Ibn_Abbas):

Ibn ʿAbbās and others have said, "Allāh sent the Qurʾān down all at one time (''jumlah wāḥidah'') from the Preserved Tablet (''al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ'') to the House of Might (''[Bayt al-ʿIzzah](/source/Bayt_al-%CA%BFIzzah)''), which is in the heaven of this world. Then it came down in parts to the Messenger of Allah based upon the incidents that occurred over a period of twenty-three years."<ref>Ibn Kaṯīr, ''Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm'', vol. 8, p. 425, tafsīr surah al-Qadr:

{{rtl-para|ar|
قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ وَغَيْرُهُ: اللَّهُ الْقُرْآنَ جُمْلَةً وَاحِدَةً مِنَ اللَّوْحِ الْمَحْفُوظِ إِلَى بَيْتِ الْعِزَّةِ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا، ثُمَّ نَزَلَ مُفَصَّلًا بِحَسْبِ الْوَقَائِعِ فِي ثَلَاثٍ وَعِشْرِينَ سَنَةً عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
}}</ref>

Therefore, the Quran descended in two stages. Firstly, the Qurʾān descended (''inzāl)'' from the ''[Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ](/source/Law%E1%B8%A5_al-ma%E1%B8%A5f%C5%AB%E1%BA%93)'' (Preserved Tablet) to the ''Bayt al-ʿIzzah'' in the lowest heaven (''al-samāʾ al-dunyā).''<ref name="RARDtQ2017:63" /> It happened in the [Night of Destiny](/source/Night_of_Destiny) (''Laylat al-qadr''). Secondly, the Qurʾān descended (''tanzīl'') from ''Bayt al-ʿIzzah'' to the worldly realm to be revealed to Muhammad by [Gabriel](/source/Gabriel) piecemeal in stages (''mufarriqan'' or ''tafṣīlan'') over 23 years until the whole Quran was completely revealed.<ref>''Tafsir Muqatil'', v.1, 161</ref><ref>Jami‘ al-Bayan, v.2, 196-198</ref><ref name="RARDtQ2017:63" />

According to [Ṭabāṭabāʾī](/source/Muhammad_Husayn_Tabataba'i) ''inzāl'' is "a sudden act of sending down at once" and ''tanzīl'' is "a gradual act of sending."<ref>See Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''Tafsīr al-mīzān'', [https://almizan.org/vol/40/301-308 tafsīr sūrah al-Qadr], p. 283:

[T]he pronounce "it" refers to the Qurʾān. Apparently what is meant is the entire Qurʾān, not just some verses of it. This can be confirmed by the usage of the verb ''inzāl'' (to send down, to reveal), which implies as sudden act of sending at once as opposed to ''tanzīl'', which implies a gradual act of sending. [...]"</ref>

Muhammad's first encounter with the archangel Gabriel produced the first five verses of the ninety-sixth chapter of the present Quran, the chapter of The Clot (''Surat al-‘Alaq'')<ref>Alfred Guillaume, Sirat Ibn Ishaq, 1995: 105-6</ref><ref>''Tarikh al-Tabari'', v.2, 49</ref><ref name="RARDtQ2017:62-3">Abdul-Rahim, "Demythologizing the Qur’an Rethinking Revelation Through Naskh al-Qur’an", ''GJAT'', 7, 2017: p.62-3</ref>

One quranic verse replies to those who ask why the Quran was revealed over time and not all at once:  
{{blockquote|And those who disbelieve say, "Why was the Qur’an not revealed to him all at once?" Thus [it is] that We may strengthen thereby your heart. And We have spaced it distinctly.|{{Qref|25|32|b=y}}}}

Some commentators believe that the Quran was revealed to Muhammad twice. In addition to the gradual 23 year revelation until his death, there was an 'immediate revelation' that happened on the ''[Laylat al-Qadr](/source/Laylat_al-Qadr)''.<ref name="Allamah">{{cite web|url=http://atu.ac.ir/fa/news/All/bodyView/5574/index.html|title=Qadr night from the view point of Allamah Tabtabaei |website=Allamah Tabtabaei University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703182159/http://atu.ac.ir/fa/news/All/bodyView/5574/index.html|archive-date=3 July 2016 |last1=Staff|access-date=12 June 2016}}</ref> This is based on an understanding of [sūrah](/source/s%C5%ABrah) [Al-Qadr](/source/Al-Qadr_(sura)):1 as referring to descent of the Quran in its entirety. ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās reports that, "… descended in [Ramaḍān](/source/Ramadan_(calendar_month)), on the Laylat al-Qadr in one lay down ({{transliteration|ar|jumlah}} {{lang|ar|جملة}}), …"

==Asbab al-nuzul==
{{main|Asbāb al-nuzūl}}
According to [ḥadīth](/source/%E1%B8%A5ad%C4%ABth), the circumstances that verses were sent down in, and the study of why and how a particular verses was revealed is  known as ''[Asbāb al-nuzūl](/source/Asb%C4%81b_al-nuz%C5%ABl)'' (‘occasions of revelation’).<ref name=RARDtQ2017:65-6>Abdul-Rahim, "Demythologizing the Qur’an Rethinking Revelation Through Naskh al-Qur’an", ''GJAT'', 7, 2017: p.65-6</ref> Abu al-Hassan Alī bin Ahmad al-Wahidī an-Naisabūrī (d. 1075), has been called the father of the field of ''asbāb al-nuzūl'', he argued that understanding the reasons/circumstances for a given revelation was crucial to resolve apparent inconsistencies in the Quran.<ref>Abu al-Hassan Ali Ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi al-Naisaburi, ''Kitab Asbab nuzul al-Qur'an'' (Cairo : Dar al-Kitab al-Jadid, 1969), p. 4. cited in {{cite journal |last1=Bukay |first1=David |title=Peace or Jihad? Abrogation in Islam |journal=Middle East Quarterly |date=Fall 2007 |pages=3–11 |url=https://www.meforum.org/1754/peace-or-jihad-abrogation-in-islam#_ftn30 |access-date=4 April 2019}}</ref>

According to the scholar al-Suyūṭī who wrote a book on ''Asbāb al-nuzūl'', revelations came down for two basic reasons: 
#"divine initiative", i.e. because God decided to send and reveal something.<ref name="al-Suyuti, v.1, 28"/><ref name=RARDtQ2017:65-6/> Examples being the first revelation to Muhammad at Ḥirāʾ,<ref>{{Qref|96|1-5|b=y}}</ref> or the ayat calling for the Fast of Ramaḍān<ref>{{Qref|2|183|b=y}}</ref><ref name=RARDtQ2017:65-6/>
#To address some situation "directly and immediately", or to respond and answer a question someone had raised.<ref name="al-Suyuti, v.1, 28">Al-Suyuti, ‘Abd al-Rahman Jalal al-Din. (1963). ''Asbab al-Nuzul'', volume 1 of 4 vols. Cairo: Dar al-Tahrir, page28</ref><ref name=RARDtQ2017:65-6/> An example being the sūrah ‘The Spoils’ ({{transliteration|ar|al-Anfāl}}) that came down concerning the situations in the aftermath of the Battle of Badr.<ref name=RARDtQ2017:65-6/><ref>Ibn Ishaq, 321ff</ref><ref>Sahih al-Bukhari, h. 4278</ref>

According to a number of scholars the ''asbāb'' (occasion) of revelation can only properly be determined through "direct transmission from those who actually witnessed the event of revelation" (Abū al-Hassan ʿAlī bin Ahmad al-Waḥidī an-Naisabūrī), and cannot be left to independent reasoning ([ijtihād](/source/ijtih%C4%81d)), nor legal consensus ([ijmāʿ](/source/ijm%C4%81%CA%BF)) (al-Zarkashī).<ref>al-Zarkashi, 1968, 4; al-Itqan, v.1,
31)</ref>  which means in effect ḥadīth reports coming from the canons of ḥadīth or available in works of Islamic historiography, or works of tafsīr.<ref name=RARDtQ2017:65-6/> Unfortunately "very frequently" aḥādīth on asbāb contradict each other and this "calls into question the reliability of the asbāb
genre".<ref name=RARDtQ2017:7>Abdul-Rahim, "Demythologizing the Qur’an Rethinking Revelation Through Naskh al-Qur’an", ''GJAT'', 7, 2017: p.67</ref>

==See also==
*[Waḥy](/source/Wa%E1%B8%A5y)

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

=== Books, articles, etc.===
* {{cite journal |author=Roslan Abdul-Rahim |title=Demythologizing the Qur'an Rethinking Revelation Through Naskh al-Qur'an |url=http://www.gjat.my/gjat122017/GJAT122017-2.pdf |journal=Global Journal Al-Thaqafah|date=December 2017 |volume=7 |issue=2 |access-date=26 February 2019 |issn=2232-0474 |pages=51–78 |doi=10.7187/GJAT122017-2 |ref=RARDtQ2017 }}
*{{cite book|last = Corbin|first = Henry|author-link = Henry Corbin|title = History of Islamic Philosophy, Translated by Liadain Sherrard, [Philip Sherrard](/source/Philip_Sherrard)|publisher = London; Kegan Paul International in association with Islamic Publications for The Institute of Ismaili Studies |year = 1993 |orig-year=1964 |version=Translation from the original French |isbn = 0-7103-0416-1}}
* {{cite book | last = Wild | first = Stefan | title = The Quʼran as Text | publisher = Brill| year = 1996| isbn =90-04-09300-1}}
* {{cite journal |title=Peace or Jihad? Abrogation in Islam |first1=David |last1=Bukay |journal=Middle East Quarterly
|issue=Fall |year=2007 |pages=3–11 |url=https://www.meforum.org/1754/peace-or-jihad-abrogation-in-islam |access-date=1 April 2019 }}

{{Quranic qira'ates}}

Category:Islamic texts
Category:Quran
Category:Sufi philosophy
Category:Islamic eschatology
Category:Islamic terminology
Category:Revelation

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tanzil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanzil) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanzil?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.