Menurut firman Allah dalam Kitab-Nya, terdapat dua peristiwa penurunan Al-Qur'an yang berbeda. Penting untuk memahami kedua penurunan ini agar dapat menjelaskan kerancuan yang tampak dalam berbagai istilah yang digunakan dalam Al-Qur'an dan Sunnah untuk menggambarkan penurunan Al-Qur'an. Di satu sisi, Al-Qur'an disebut diturunkan secara keseluruhan pada bulan Ramadhan atau pada Lailatul-Qadr, Malam Ketetapan; sedangkan di sisi lain, Al-Qur'an disebut diturunkan secara berkesinambungan dalam bagian-bagian hingga menjelang wafatnya Nabi (ﷺ).

According to Allaah’s statements in His Book, there were two distinct revelations of the Qur’aan which took place. It is important that these two revelations be understood in order to clear up the apparent contradictions in the various terms used in the Qur’aan and Sunnah to describe the Qur’aan’s revelation. On one hand, the Qur’aan is referred to as having been revealed in its totality in Ramadaan or on Laylatul-Qadr, the Night of Decree; while on the other hand, it is referred to as having been continuously revealed in segments up until just before the death of the Prophet (ﷺ).