106وَقُرآنًا فَرَقناهُ لِتَقرَأَهُ عَلَى النّاسِ عَلىٰ مُكثٍ وَنَزَّلناهُ تَنزيلًاMuhammad Asad[bearing] a discourse which We have gradually unfolded,1 so that thou might read it out to mankind by stages, seeing that We have bestowed it from on high step by step, as [one] revelation.2Lit., "which We have divided into [consecutive] parts" or, according to some authorities (quoted by Razi), "set forth with clarity". The rendering adopted by me allows for both these meanings.The above verse alludes both to the historical fact that the process of the revelation of the Qur'an was gradual, extending over the twenty-three years of the Prophet's ministry, and to the fact that it is nevertheless one integral whole and can, therefore, be properly understood only if it is considered in its entirety - that is to say, if each of its passages is read in the light of all the other passages which it contains. (See also 20:114 and the corresponding note 101.)