الآية رقم (3) - نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَأَنزَلَ التَّوْرَاةَ وَالإِنجِيلَ

(3) - (He has sent down upon you the Book in truth, confirming what was before it. And He revealed the Torah and the Gospel.)

( نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ ) (He has sent down upon you the Book in truth ): The Quran, as (swt) say states, has been sent down to you, Muhammad, in truth:

{ وَبِالْحَقِّ أَنزَلْنَاهُ وَبِالْحَقِّ نَزَلَ}

(And with the truth We have sent the Qur’an down, and with the truth it has descended.) (Al-Israa: 105)

Truth, as well, is the constant unchanging thing.

( مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ ) (…confirming what was before it ): Meaning the books before it. The Holy Quran confirm what’s there in the Torah and Gospel with respect to faith, the afterlife, fundamentals of the religion, the oneness of Allah (swt), paradise, hell, … etc.

( وَأَنزَلَ التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنجِيلَ ) (…And He revealed the Torah and the Gospel): There is a difference between ‘sent down’ and ‘revealed.’ When the Almighty speaks about the Holy Quran, He says: (has sent down upon you,) but when He talks about the Torah and the Gospel, He says: (And He revealed). Nonetheless, there are some verses about the Quran in which ‘revealed’ is used like:

{إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ}

(Indeed, We sent the Qur’an down during the Night of Decree..) (Al-Qadr: 1)

The difference is that the Holy Quran was sent down to the Prophet (saws) in parts. However, when we say ‘revealed’ it means that it was sent down at once like the Torah and the Gospel. As for the Quran, it was sent down throughout 23 years. As for:

{ إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ}

(Indeed, We sent the Qur’an down during the Night of Decree..) (Al-Qadr: 1)

It means that it went down from the Preserved Slate in heaven to the lowest sky at once, then, it was sent down to Prophet Muhammad (saws). So, ‘revealed’ is used in the context of talking about the first revelation from the Preserved Slate to the lowest sky. As for, ‘sent down,’ it’s used to mean sent in parts. The first revelation in the Cave of Hira was:

{ اقْرَأْ}

(Read.) (Al-Alaq: 1)

However, we believe in all the heavenly Books, and this is what’s reiterated in the concluding verses of the Sura of (Al-Baqara).