And a Quran We have divided (17:106)

"And a Quran" (wa qur’ānan) is in the accusative case due to an implied verb indicated by His saying, "We have divided it" (faraqnāhu). It is thus a case of ishtighāl (preoccupation). The accusative case is preferred over the nominative here due to the connection to the verbal sentence. If it were nominative as an initial subject (ibtida’), it would be permissible outside of the Quran, though one would have to account for a justifier (musawwigh) for those who do not consider the mere attainment of benefit sufficient for the validity of starting with an indefinite noun. Al-Ḥūfī based his interpretation on this.

Ibn ‘Aṭiyyah said: "This is the school of Sībawayh." Al-Farrā’ said: "It is in the accusative because of [an implied] 'We sent you,' meaning: 'We have not sent you except as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner,' and [We have sent] a Quran, just as you would say 'as a mercy' (raḥmatan), because the Quran is a mercy." It is not hidden that this is a contrived parsing that hardly any person of excellence would utter. Among the things that evoke wonder is what Ibn ‘Aṭiyyah permitted: that it is in the accusative as a conjunction to the kāf (the object pronoun) in "We sent you" (arsalnāka).

Abū al-Baqā’ said: "This is lower than the first [view] and above all others: that it is in the accusative by an implied verb indicated by the preceding 'We have given you' (ātaynāka) or 'We have sent you' (arsalnāka), and the sentence 'We have divided it' is in the position of an adjective for it. That is: 'We have given you a Quran [which] We have divided'—meaning We sent it down in segments/portions (munajjaman), or We distinguished in it between truth and falsehood. He omitted the preposition, and the noun governed by it became accusative as a direct object through expansion, as in the saying: 'And a day we witnessed it, sound and flourishing.'" This is narrated from al-Ḥasan and from Ibn ‘Abbās as meaning: "We have clarified its lawful and unlawful matters." Al-Farrā’ said: "We have made it precise and detailed, as in His saying, 'In it every matter of wisdom is distinguished' (yufraq)."

‘Alī (may God ennoble his countenance), Ibn ‘Abbās, Ubayy, ‘Abd Allāh, Abū Rajā’, Qatādah, al-Sha‘bī, Ḥumayd, ‘Umar ibn Qā’id, Zayd ibn ‘Alī, ‘Amr ibn Dharr, ‘Ikrimah, and al-Ḥasan (with a conflicting report) recited it as farraqnāhu with a shaddah on the rā’. Its meaning is like the lightened form, i.e., "We sent it down divided into portions." However, the doubling (tashdīd) denotes intensity in the action, which is the act of separating. It is said that faraqa (lightened) indicates a close separation, while farraqa (doubled) indicates a distant separation. The first view is more evident. Since His upcoming saying, "by intervals" (‘alā mukthin), indicates the multitude of its segments, the two recitations are equivalent in meaning. It is said its meaning is: "We have divided its verses between command and prohibition, judgment and rulings, admonitions, parables, stories, reports, and matters of the unseen that have come and will come." The majority hold the first view.

Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Ibn al-Anbārī, and others recorded from Ibn ‘Abbās that he said: "The Quran was sent down all at once from God Almighty from the Preserved Tablet to the Noble Scribes [Angels] in the Lowest Heaven. Then the Scribes would deliver it in segments to Gabriel (peace be upon him) over twenty nights, and Gabriel would deliver it in segments to the Prophet (peace be upon him) over twenty years." In one report, it was sent down on the Night of Decree in Ramadan and placed in the House of Honor in the Lowest Heaven, then sent down in segments over twenty, or in another version twenty-three, or in another twenty-five years. This disagreement, according to al-Baḥr, is based on the disagreement regarding the age of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Ibn al-Ḍurays recorded from the path of Qatādah from al-Ḥasan that he used to say: "God sent down the Quran to the Prophet of God (peace be upon him) in eighteen years; eight years in Mecca and ten after he migrated." Ibn ‘Aṭiyyah refuted this, stating it is a flawed statement that is not authentic from al-Ḥasan. A group relied on the fact that between its beginning and end there were twenty-three years, and that Gabriel (peace be upon him) used to bring it down—as is said—five verses by five verses. Al-Bayhaqī recorded in al-Shu‘ab from ‘Umar (may God be pleased with him) that he said: "Learn the Quran five verses by five verses, for Gabriel (peace be upon him) used to descend with it five by five." Ibn ‘Asākir recorded from the path of Abū Maḍrah that he said: "Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī used to teach us the Quran five verses in the morning and five verses in the evening, and he would report that Gabriel (peace be upon him) descended with it five verses by five verses." This generally refers to the standard case, for it is established that he descended with more than that and with less.

Ubayy and ‘Abd Allāh recited farraqnāhu ‘alayka (We divided it upon you) li-taqra’ahu ‘alā al-nās ‘alā mukthin (so that you may recite it to the people by intervals). ‘Alā mukthin means: with deliberation and patience, for that is easier for memorization and more helpful for understanding; this is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās (may God be pleased with them both). It is also said it means: over a long duration, fulfilling it bit by bit. The apparent meaning is that "so that you may recite it" (li-taqra’ahu) is linked to "We have divided it" (faraqnāhu), and "to the people" (‘alā al-nās) is linked to "recite it," as is "by intervals" (‘alā mukthin), even though this involves two prepositional phrases linked to a single referent. It was answered that the second is linked after the first is already considered linked to it, so the referent differs. In al-Baḥr, it is said that one does not mind these two particles being linked to what was mentioned because of the difference in their meanings; the first is in the position of the direct object and the second is in the position of a state (ḥāl), meaning: "slowly and leisurely." Because of the debate regarding this, some chose to link it to faraqnāhu. Al-Khafājī permitted linking it to an implied word, meaning: "a division" or "a separation by intervals," or "a recitation by intervals from you, like the interval of its sending down." Abū al-Baqā’ placed it in the position of a state (ḥāl) from the accusative pronoun in faraqnāhu, meaning: "while being deliberate." It is strange that al-Ḥūfī said it is a substitute (badal) for "to the people." Abū Ḥayyān refuted this, saying it is not valid because "by intervals" is among the attributes of the reader or the read, not the attributes of the people, so it cannot be a substitute for them. Mukth (interval) is pronounced with the mīm in three ways (damma, fatha, kasra), though it was only recited with damma and fatha; it was not recited with kasra, which is a rare dialect. Ibn ‘Aṭiyyah claimed a consensus among the reciters on the damma.

"And We sent it down in segments" (wa nazzalnāhu tanzīlan): according to events and interests. Mentioning this after His saying, "We have divided it," is beneficial, for the first indicates its gradual nature according to necessity.