It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: We used to learn the Qur'an in this mosque, that is, the mosque of Basrah, and we used to sit in circles. It is as if I am looking at him (the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him) between two white garments, and it was from him that I took this surah: "Read in the name of your Lord who created." He said: This was the first surah that was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that the very first surah that was revealed was "Read in the name of your Lord who created" [Surah al-Alaq: 1] .

It is narrated from the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that the very first thing of the Qur'an that was revealed was "Read in the name of your Lord who created" [Surah al-Alaq: 1] .

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he asked Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him): With what in mind did you people take Surah al-Anfal, which is one of the Mathani (the surahs with fewer than a hundred verses), and Surah Bara'ah, which is one of the Mi'in (the surahs with a hundred or more verses), and join the two together without even writing the line 'Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim' between them, and moreover place them among the seven long surahs? Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: A period would pass over the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in which surahs with many verses would be revealed to him. Whenever something was revealed, he would call a scribe of the revelation and say: "Place these verses in the surah in which such-and-such things are mentioned." Likewise, when a verse was revealed, he would say: "Place it in the surah in which such-and-such is mentioned." Now Surah al-Anfal was among the early surahs revealed in Madinah, while Surah Bara'ah (al-Tawbah) was, in terms of revelation, from the last part of the Qur'an, but the subject matter of the two closely resembled each other. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away and had not made clear to us that it was part of it, so we (on account of the similarity of subject matter) presumed that it was part of it. For this reason I placed the two together and did not write the line 'Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim' between them. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that on the day of the Battle of Badr the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever kills an enemy will receive such-and-such a reward." On that occasion the elderly men stood firm beneath the banners, while the young men hastened to kill the enemy and to acquire spoils. Then the elders said to the young men: Make us partners with you (in the spoils), for we were a support behind you, and had any harm befallen you, you would have fallen back to us. The young men refused, so they brought their dispute to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The narrator says that on this occasion this verse was revealed: "They ask you about the spoils of war" [Surah al-Anfal: 1] . So the spoils were divided equally among all of them. This hadith has an authentic chain (sahih al-isnad), but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Allah Almighty sent down the Noble Qur'an (all at once) to the lowest heaven on the Night of Decree (Laylat al-Qadr). Then whenever Allah Almighty wished to reveal anything of it, He revealed it, or when He wished to bring about some new event on earth, He brought it about. This hadith has an authentic chain (sahih al-isnad), but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that concerning the saying of Allah Almighty, "Indeed, We sent it down on the Night of Decree" [Surah al-Qadr: 1] , he said: The Noble Qur'an was sent down complete, all at once, on the Night of Decree to the lowest heaven, and it was arranged in the manner of the positions of the stars. Then Allah Almighty kept sending down parts of it to His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), one after another, as needed. The narrator says: The disbelievers said: "Why was the Qur'an not sent down to him all at once? Thus (it is), that We may strengthen your heart thereby, and We have revealed it in stages" [Surah al-Furqan: 32] . This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Allah Almighty sent down the Noble Qur'an complete, all at once, to the lowest heaven on the Night of Decree; then after that it was sent down (gradually) over a period of twenty years: "And they do not bring you any example except that We bring you the truth and the best explanation" [Surah al-Furqan: 33] ; and He also said: "And (it is) a Qur'an which We have divided (into parts) so that you may recite it to the people at intervals, and We have sent it down progressively" [Surah al-Isra: 106] . This hadith has an authentic chain (sahih al-isnad), but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that when revelation came down upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), none of us could bring himself to raise his gaze towards him (peace and blessings be upon him) until the revelation had ended. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Noble Qur'an was separated from the Dhikr (the Preserved Tablet) and placed in the House of Honour (Bayt al-Izzah) in the lowest heaven. Then Jibril (peace be upon him) kept sending it down upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in stages and in measured order. This hadith has an authentic chain (sahih al-isnad), but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.