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servant to Paradise, of My mercy, for I am the most Merciful of those that have mercy.’”’ (Q.) ‘What was the origin of the use of the formula?’ (A.) ‘When God revealed the Koran, they wrote, “In Thy name, O my God!”; when He revealed the words, “Say, pray ye to God or pray ye to the Compassionate, what days ye pray, for to Him [belong] the most fair names,”[1] they wrote, “In the name of God, the Compassionate;” and when He revealed the words, “Your God is one God, there is no god but He, the Compassionate, the Merciful,”[2] they wrote, “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!”’ (Q.) ‘Did God reveal the Koran all at once or at intervals?’ (A.) ‘Gabriel the Faithful [Spirit] (on whom be peace) descended with it from the Lord of the Worlds upon His Prophet Mohammed, Prince of the Apostles and seal[3] of the Prophets, by detached verses, containing commandment and prohibition, promise and menace, anecdotes and similitudes, as the occasion called for it, in the course of twenty years.’ (Q.) ‘Which chapter was first revealed?’ (A.) ‘According to Ibn Abbas, that of the Clot of Blood,[4] and according to Jabir ben Abdallah,[5] that of the Covered [with a cloak].’[6] (Q.) ‘Which verse was the last revealed?’ (A.) ‘That of Usury,[7] and it is said [also], the verse, “When there cometh God’s succour and victory.”’[8] Night ccccxlviii (Q.) ‘Tell me the names of the Companions who collected the Koran, in the lifetime of the Apostle of God.’ (A.) ‘They were four in number, to wit, Ubaï ibn Kaab, Zeid ibn Thabit, Abou Ubeideh Aamir ben Jerrah and Othman ben Affan,[9] may God accept of them all!’ (Q.) ‘Who are the readers, from whom the [accepted] reading of the Koran is taken?’ (A.)
