Question
From what I know, a lot of the Qur’anic Surahs were revealed at different stages. Is it not possible that a part of Surah Al-Alaq was revealed followed by the revelation of other surahs and then Surah Al-Alaq, completed at a later stage?
This explain your following analysis
Surah Al-Alaq clearly relates to a time, when the Prophet (pbuh) and his followers had started facing strong opposition from the rejecters. This, obviously, could not have been the case prior to the revelation of the first Surah of the Qur’an.
Can we possibly therefore conclude that Surah Al-Faatihah was the first completely revealed Surah, but not the first to be revealed?
Answer
It is quite difficult to agree with the idea that Surah Al-`Alaq could have been revealed in parts, because of the strong mutual coherence of the various verses of the Surah. In my opinion, it is as difficult to agree with the idea that Surah Al-Alaq may have been revealed in parts as it would be with someone, who proposes that Surah Al-Faatihah may have been revealed in parts. Nevertheless, I do agree with the idea that Surah Al-Faatihah was the first completely revealed Surah of the Qur’an. The idea that some verses of other Surahs may have been revealed before Al-Faatihah cannot be ruled out.
Regards,
Moiz Amjad
September 23, 2001