THE REASONS FOR THE REVELATION OF THE QUR’AN AND THE SOCIETY OF PROPHETIC MISSION: CONTINUITY OR DISJUNCTION? CONTEXT AND THE CONCEPT OF “LATE ANTIQUITY”

Abstract

This study revolves around examining the various connections and disjunctions between the narratives of the “occasions of revelation” (asbāb al-nuzūl) and the society of the prophetic mission (the society of revelation) in the Arabian Peninsula during the first third of the 7th century CE. We revisit these relationships considering a proposition we offered in the conclusion of our dissertation on the “occasions of revelation” (2005), which asserts that “the relevance lies in the specific cause, not the general wording.” This proposition radically overturns a well-established principle in classical Qur’anic sciences that emphasizes “the relevance lies in the general wording, not the specific cause.” We argue that this methodological choice anchors the Qur’an more firmly within its social context—as a text formed gradually, received with either acceptance or objection by the society of the prophetic mission, and interacting dynamically with historical events and their constraints.

This study is built on the fundamental hypothesis that the meanings of a significant number of Qur’anic verses cannot be fully grasped through textual context alone but rather require connection to their broader social and historical settings. This necessitates a renewed focus on the reports of the asbāb al-nuzūl, which, at least in part, preserve the memory of the believers during the time of the prophetic mission—a memory that reflects their social and religious concerns, as well as their various responses to the new religion, ranging from full acceptance to outright rejection, and the nuanced positions in between.

Moreover, the hypothesis assumes that a portion of these reports—transmitted orally from generation to generation before being committed to writing—contains a historical core around which layers of events and interpretations were constructed over time, often obscuring the original nucleus, whether intentionally or unintentionally.