The Angel Jibril brought the revelation of the Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad at different times and places. Give examples to show how this took place.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2015). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [10] Answers here should not give a narrative of the first revelation in the cave of Hira, though brief mention of it is fine. Candidates could mention that the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet over a period of 23 years, and not as a complete book. After the first revelation, sura al-'Alaq, revelation stopped for a period which caused the Prophet to worry. Once they started again they came strongly and frequently. More detailed answers will mention that there were different ways in which the verses were revealed to the Prophet. Sometimes the Angel Jibril would come in the form of a man, which the companions witnessed, and a few times the Prophet saw the Angel in his original form, e.g. on the night journey (sura najm). The most difficult was when they came as the ringing of a bell, and this would weigh down on him, so much so that his camel could not withstand the weight. They were not within his control (sura 75:16–19), he had no idea when they were coming and they were safeguarded by God. Candidates could also give specific examples of verses that were revealed to the Prophet in different circumstances, or narrate stories related to these revelations, such as the pressure that it put on Zayd's thigh when he was sitting next to the Prophet during one of the revelations, or that the revelations were responses to specific events, e.g. the revelation during the migration when Abu Bakr was worried (sura tawba:40). Better candidates may mention that the Prophet also received revelation directly from God during the night journey.
2. [4] Candidates should be careful not to give statements, but try to qualify their answers with some reasoning. Candidates could say that the Arabs at the time had an oral tradition and it was in keeping with that. As people committed things to memory it was a more reliable way of ensuring the Qur'an's preservation. Had it been delivered in a book, it would have been harder to check if any changes had been made. If the Prophet had been given it in written form, he would not have been able to read or write it, and because of this the oral revelation allowed the message to be memorised by him and committed to heart, again ensuring there were no errors. It is significant because the Qur'an is primarily a book of worship, in a vocative tone, rather than a legal written guide.