Grand Ayatollah Shirazi: Holy Quran revealed many times, Messenger of God knew it by heart

The daily scholarly meeting of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Sadegh al-Hosseini al-Shirazi was held on Tuesday, the 9th of Sha’ban. In this session, just like the previous meetings, the Marja answered the questions of the attendees about various jurisprudential issues.

Referring to verse 114 of Surah Taha (Then, exalted is God, who is truly the ruler of the world, and you [O Messenger] do not hasten in [recitation and teaching] before the revelation reaches you in full, and always say: O Lord, increase my knowledge), Grand Ayatollah Shirazi said: The apparent meaning of this honorable verse, which is echoed in the hadiths as well, is that the Holy Qur’an was revealed to the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his family, several times.

His Eminence continued: At one stage, the entire Holy Qur’an was revealed to the Holy Prophet in its entirety, and he memorized all the verses of the Qur’an. Also gradually, in relation to special incidents and events, verses were revealed to him.

Regarding the specific context or circumstances surrounding the revelation of this honorable verse, the Supreme Marja said: At times, when Gabriel gradually revealed the verses of the Qur’an, the Prophet would recite them before the revelation as he had already heard those verses and was aware of the verses being revealed and had memorized them in advance.

Grand Ayatollah Shirazi further said: This honorable verse highlights the fact that the Holy Qur’an advised the Holy Prophet to let Gabriel recite the verses of the Qur’an first and then to recite them himself.

His Eminence emphasized that, although this honorable verse is addressed to the Holy Prophet, it is actually addressed to the public. He further explained by citing the famous hadith narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) that says: The Qur’an was revealed like the Arabic proverb which says: I am addressing you, but, O his neighbor, you listen up.

Grand Ayatullah Shirazi also emphasized: Since the principle of “Infallibility” is definite and certain, any statement that contradicts it should be reevaluated for a deeper or alternative meaning.