Surah Al-Isra 17:105

The Revelation of the Qur'an in Stages

Allah tells us that His Book, the Glorious Qur'an, has been sent with truth, i.e., it contains the truth, as Allah says:

لَّـكِنِ اللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ إِلَيْكَ أَنزَلَهُ بِعِلْمِهِ وَالْمَلَـئِكَةُ يَشْهَدُونَ

(But Allah bears witness to that which He has sent down unto you; He has sent it down with His knowledge, and the angels bear witness) 4:166 meaning, it contains the knowledge which Allah wanted to teach to you, with His rulings, commands and prohibitions.

وَبِالْحَقِّ نَزَلَ

(and with truth it has descended.) means, "It has been sent down to you, O Muhammad, preserved and protected, not contaminated or mixed with anything else, with nothing added or taken away. It has come to you with the truth, brought down by one mighty in power, trustworthy and strong, one who is obeyed by the higher group (angels).'

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَاكَ

(And We have sent you) O Muhammad

إِلاَّ مُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا

(as nothing but a bearer of glad tidings and a warner). a bearer of glad tidings for the believers who obey you and a warner to the disbelievers who disobey you.

وَقُرْءانًا فَرَقْنَاهُ

(And (it is) a Qur'an which We have divided), The word translated here as "We have divided" may be read in two ways. If it is read as "Faraqnahu", with no Shaddah, the meaning is: `We have made it depart from Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz to Bayt Al-`Izzah in the lowest heaven, then it was revealed in stages to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, according to events, over a period of twenty-three years.' This was narrated by `Ikrimah from Ibn `Abbas. It was also narrated that Ibn `Abbas read it as "Farraqnahu", with a Shaddah, meaning, `We revealed it Ayah by Ayah , and have explained it and made it clear.' Hence Allah says:

لِتَقْرَأَهُ عَلَى النَّاسِ

(in order that you might recite it to men), meaning, convey it to the people and recite it to them,

عَلَى مُكْثٍ

(at intervals.) meaning slowly.

وَنَزَّلْنَـهُ تَنْزِيلاً

(And We have revealed it by stages.) means, little by little.

Dalam ayat ini Allah swt menegaskan kepada Rasul saw bahwa Allah benar-benar telah menurunkan Al-Qur'an dari sisi-Nya. Maka manusia tidak boleh meragukan dan berpaling darinya.

Dalam ayat yang lain Allah swt berfirman:

Tetapi Allah menjadi saksi atas (Al-Qur'an) yang diturunkan-Nya kepadamu (Muhammad). Dia menurunkannya dengan ilmu-Nya, dan para malaikat pun menyaksikan. Dan cukuplah Allah yang menjadi saksi. (an-Nisa'/4: 166)

Al-Qur'an membawa berbagai ajaran yang benar yang mendatangkan ketertiban dan kesejahteraan bagi umat manusia. Di dalamnya terdapat ajaran tentang moral, akidah ketuhanan, peraturan-peraturan, hukum, sejarah, dan ilmu pengetahuan. Segala isinya senantiasa terpelihara, baik lafal maupun maknanya tidak akan ternoda dengan penambahan atau pengurangan yang menyebabkan kekacauan dan kesimpangsiuran, sebagaimana dijelaskan Allah dalam firman-Nya:

Sesungguhnya Kamilah yang menurunkan Al-Qur'an, dan pasti Kami (pula) yang memeliharanya. (al-hijr/15: 9)

Firman-Nya lagi:

(Yang) tidak akan didatangi oleh kebatilan baik dari depan maupun dari belakang (pada masa lalu dan yang akan datang), yang diturunkan dari Tuhan Yang Mahabijaksana, Maha Terpuji. (Fushshilat/41: 42)

Demikianlah Allah menerangkan sifat-sifat Al-Qur'an dengan segala jaminan akan kesuciannya dari tangan-tangan manusia yang berusaha mengotorinya. Dia diturunkan kepada Nabi Muhammad saw yang diutus kepada umat manusia untuk memberikan kabar gembira tentang pahala dan surga bagi orang-orang yang beriman dan taat kepada ajaran agama, dan memberikan peringatan tentang azab dan neraka bagi yang kafir dan berbuat dosa.