Is there another aspect of the Qurʾān’s miraculousness besides the rhetorical one?

Without a doubt, the gradual revelation of the Qurʾān is itself another aspect of its miraculousness. It should be noted that the Qurʾān was not revealed all at once, but rather over a period of twenty-three years, sometimes verse by verse, according to the needs and circumstances of the time. In other words, the verses of the Qurʾān were revealed gradually: at times as an entire chapter, at other times as a few verses from a chapter, and sometimes as verses from a new chapter before the previous one had been completed. Accordingly, the placement of the verses within the various chapters of the Qurʾān was determined by the Prophet (PBUH) under divine instruction. Whenever verses were revealed, he would direct that they be placed in their proper locations. Remarkably, as the Qurʾān was revealed, the Prophet (PBUH) memorized it himself and instructed others to memorize it as well. He also summoned certain Companions, known as the scribes of revelation, and had them write down the Qurʾān. In sum, the arrangement of every verse in the Qurʾān was established by Allāh, Exalted is He. It is as though the Qurʾān existed from the outset as a complete structure whose parts were revealed gradually in response to unfolding circumstances, only to be reassembled into that original and perfectly integrated whole. In other words, once the revelation was complete, each chapter emerged as an independent unit centered on a coherent theme. Such an extraordinary mode of revelation and composition is possible only because the Qurʾān is the Word of Allāh.¹