The Descent of the Qur'an

According to Suyuti' [al Itqan fi ulum al quran, Beirut, 1973, Vol. I pp. 39-40] on the basis of three reports from 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas, in Hakim, Baihaqi and Nasa'i, the Qur'an descended in two stages:

• From the lauh al-mahfuz, the 'well-preserved tablet', to the lowest of the heavens (bait al-'izza) of the world, all together, in the laila al-qadr.
• From the heavens to earth in stages throughout the twenty-three years of Muhammad's prophethood, and first in the laila al-qadr of Ramadan, through the Angel Gabriel.

This second descent from the heaven to the heart of the Prophet is referred to in Sura al-isra' (17) and Sura al-furqan (25).