A non-Muslim is asking Dr. Zakir Naik an interesting question and a clever one indeed. Why did not God (Allah the Almighty) send or reveal the Quran before 1400 years ago, i.e., with the creation of man and his descending from Heaven to Earth?
Indeed, this has to do with the Wisdom of Allah the Almighty Who chose the Qur’an to be revealed in this way for a number of reasons; foremost among which can be understood from the following Qur’anic ayahs which mean,
“And those who disbelieve say, Why was the Qur’an not revealed to him all at once?’ Thus [it is] that We may strengthen thereby your heart. And We have spaced it distinctly. And they do not come to you with an argument except that We bring you the truth and the best explanation.” (Al-Furqan 32-33)
Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahman as-S’adi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: That is because every time something of the Qur’an was revealed to him, it increased him in certainty and steadfastness, especially when there was cause for anxiety. The fact that the Qur’an was revealed when new developments occurred meant that it had greater impact and was more reassuring to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). And that was more effective than if it had been revealed before that, then was remembered when the new developments occurred.
“And We have revealed it to you gradually, in stages,” means We revealed it slowly and sent it gradually. All of this indicates that Allah was taking care of His Book, the Quran, and His Messenger, Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), as He sent down His Book in accordance with the situations faced by the Messenger and as needed to address unfolding issues. End quote from Tafsir as-S’adi.
And,
“And with the truth We have sent the Qur’an down, and with the truth it has descended. And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And [it is] a Qur’an which We have separated [by intervals] that you might recite it to the people over a prolonged period. And We have sent it down progressively.” (Al-Isra’ 105-106)
However, the answer to the above question by Dr. Zakir Naik came out very smoothly and spontaneously.
Join us to see how he rationally and logically answered this question.