The second kind of revelation is that the Holy Qur'an came down in portions...

The second kind of revelation is that the Holy Qur'an came down in portions, gradually, during the entire period of the Call which was twenty three years. Some have also said that the beginning revelation of the Qur'an began on the Night of Honour; not the whole Book.

But, the idea does not fit with the apparent meaning of the verse which says: "Surely We sent it (the Qur'an) down on the Night of Honour.” It is noteworthy that in some verses the descent of the Qur'an is used with the word /inzal/ and in some others, with the word /tanzil/. The difference between these two Arabic terms is that /inzal / has a broad meaning and here it implies 'bringing down all at once', while /tanzil/ implies 'bringing down gradually'.

This difference, which is seen in the verses of Qur'an, can be taken as an indication to the above two kinds of descent. In the next verses, referring to the greatness of the Night of Honour it says: "And what makes you know what the Night of Honour is?" “The Night of Honour is better than a thousand months". This sense shows that the importance of this night is so much so that even the holy Prophet (S), with his vast knowledge, did not know it before the revelation of these verses.

We know that a 'thousand months' is equal to more than eighty years. Truly, what a great night it is which values as much as the length of a fairly long blessed life.

It is cited in some commentaries that the holy Prophet (S) has said: "One of the members of the Israelites had spent one thousand months having his fighting dress on and being always prepared for the Holy War on the path of Allah.” The companions of the Prophet (S) became surprised and wished that there might have been that sort of virtue and honour for them, too. Then, the above verse came down and said.

“The Night of Honour is better than a thousand months.” [^5] Another tradition denotes to what the holy Prophet (S) had said about the four Israelites who had worshipped God for eighty years without offending His Limits and then his companions wished they would have had such a success, and the above verse was revealed in this connection.