Enter the cinematic journeyالعربية

First version: independently reviewed, not yet reviewed by a specialist scholar. Corrections are welcome.

The Path of Revelation

The life of the Prophet ﷺ with the Quran, from “Read!” to the last verse revealed. All seven units are studied in detail, from the cave of Hira’ to his passing. Every report is shown with its grade and its source, and disputed matters are presented with the views held on them.

Jabal al-Nur, with the cave of Hira’ near its summit. An approximate drawing, not a historical image. Grade: Our inference

The years of the mission: each dot is an event, spaced to scale

Mecca 13 years Stronger view per Ibn ‘Abbas in Bukhari 3851; Anas reported ten years. Medina 10 years Sahih. Events of unknown date do not appear on the strip.

Show:
  • Definitive
  • Sahih
  • Hasan / stronger view
  • Disputed or weak
  • Sira report, no isnad
  • Our inference

Method

Every report on this site carries one of six grades. We do not grade hadith by our own judgement; we report the verdicts of the hadith scholars and name them. In exegesis we compare al-Tabari, Ibn Kathir, al-Qurtubi and Ibn ‘Ashur, and state the preferred view and who preferred it.

GradeMeaningExample
DefinitiveThe text of the Quran, mass-transmitted reports, and matters of consensusThat the Night Journey took place, by the text of the verse
SahihA hadith graded authentic by the leading hadith scholarsThe revelation of “Read!” in the cave
Hasan / stronger viewAn acceptable chain, or the view of the majorityThat the last verse revealed is al-Baqara 2:281
Disputed or weakA strong disagreement, or a chain with a defectThe date of the Night Journey; the “cranes” story
Sira report, no isnadWell known in the Sira books but not established by a chainThat the secret call lasted three years
Our inferenceA connection or analysis of our ownPlacing the rest of Surah al-‘Alaq in the public phase

The order of revelation, and verses revealed apart from their surah

  1. A surah is placed where its opening was revealed. A passage or verse shown to have come down at another time is placed at that time, with a link to its surah.
  2. A verse is moved away from its surah only when the evidence for moving it is graded hasan or higher. Anything weaker is mentioned as “it is said”.
  3. We distinguish the time a verse was revealed from the time of the event it recounts, as with the verse of the cave, which recounts the Hijra but was revealed in the year of Tabuk.
  4. No order of revelation for all the surahs is established by an authentic text. We show the well-known order and give precedence to anything established by a sahih hadith. It orders the openings of surahs, not their completion, so a surah’s rank cannot be turned into a year.

Images

The Prophet ﷺ is never depicted, nor any other prophet, angel or Companion. The emblem used is the engraving of his seal, “Muhammad, Messenger of Allah”, in three lines Sahih in Bukhari from Anas. Reading the lines from bottom to top is not in the text of the hadith Our inference.