Bahagian-bahagian al-Qur'an diturunkan secara berterusan kepada Nabi Muhammad ﷺ bermula dari permulaan kenabian baginda pada tahun 609 M sehingga tidak lama sebelum kewafatannya (623 M), satu tempoh lebih kurang dua puluh tiga tahun. Pelbagai bahagian al-Qur'an pada umumnya diturunkan untuk menyelesaikan masalah yang dihadapi oleh Nabi ﷺ dan para pengikut baginda, sama ada di Makkah mahupun di Madinah. Sejumlah ayat al-Qur'an merupakan jawapan langsung kepada soalan-soalan yang dikemukakan oleh orang Islam dan juga orang bukan Islam pada zaman kenabian. Kebanyakan ayat tersebut sebenarnya bermula dengan frasa "Mereka bertanya kepadamu tentang". Sebagai contoh,

Sections of the Qur’aan were continuously revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (s.w.) from the beginning of his prohethood in the year 609 CE until shortly before his death (623 CE), a period of approximately twenty-three years. The various sections of the Qur’aan were generally revealed to solve the problems which confronted the Prophet (SW.) and his followers in both Makkah and Madeenah. A number of Qur’anic verses are direct answers to questions raised by Muslims as well as non-Muslims during the era of prophet hood. Many of these verses actually begin with the phrase “They ask you about.” For example,

Sejumlah ayat lain juga diturunkan kerana peristiwa-peristiwa tertentu yang berlaku pada zaman Nabi ﷺ.

A number of other verses were revealed due to particular incidents, which took place during the era of the Prophet (s.w.).

Contoh dapat dilihat dalam kisah Hilaal bin Umayyah yang datang kepada Nabi ﷺ dan menuduh isterinya berzina dengan salah seorang sahabat Nabi. Nabi ﷺ bersabda, "Sama ada engkau mendatangkan saksi, atau engkau akan menerima hukuman had (lapan puluh sebatan) di belakangmu." Hilaal berkata, "Wahai Rasulullah! Jika salah seorang daripada kami melihat seorang lelaki berada di atas isterinya, adakah dia harus pergi mencari saksi?" Namun, Nabi ﷺ mengulangi tuntutannya untuk bukti. Kemudian Jibril datang dan menurunkan kepada Nabi ﷺ ayat berikut:16

An example can be found in the case of Hilaal ibn Umayyah who came before the Prophet (s.w.) and accused his wife of adultery with another of the Prophet’s companions. The Prophet (s.w.) said, “Either you will receive the fixed punishment (of eighty lashes) on your back.” Hilaal said, “Oh Messenger of Allaah! If any of us saw a man on top of his wife, would he go looking for witnesses?” However, the Prophet (s.w.) repeated his demand for proof. Then angel Gabriel came and revealed to the Prophet (s.w.) the verse:16

Perkara yang sama berlaku bagi perundangan Islam yang terdapat dalam Sunnah, yang sebahagian besarnya lahir daripada jawapan kepada soalan-soalan atau daripada ketetapan yang dibuat ketika sesuatu peristiwa berlaku. Sebagai contoh, pada suatu ketika, salah seorang sahabat Nabi ﷺ bertanya kepadanya, "Wahai Rasulullah! Kami belayar di laut, dan jika kami berwuduk dengan air tawar yang kami bawa, kami akan kehausan. Bolehkah kami berwuduk dengan air laut?" Baginda ﷺ menjawab, "Airnya suci, dan bangkainya (haiwan laut) adalah halal untuk dimakan."18 Sebab kaedah perundangan sebegini adalah untuk mencapai peringkat-peringkat dalam penggubalan hukum, kerana pendekatan ini lebih mudah diterima oleh orang Arab yang biasa dengan kebebasan yang mutlak. Ia juga memudahkan mereka mempelajari dan memahami hukum-hukum tersebut kerana sebab dan konteks perundangan itu akan diketahui oleh mereka. Kaedah perundangan secara beransur-ansur ini bukan sahaja terhad kepada hukum-hukum secara keseluruhan, malah turut berlaku semasa penggubalan sejumlah hukum individu. Perundangan solat (sembahyang fardu) ialah contoh yang baik bagi penggubalan hukum individu secara beransur-ansur. Pada peringkat awal zaman Makkah, solat pada mulanya dilakukan dua kali sehari, sekali pada waktu pagi dan sekali pada waktu malam.19 Tidak lama sebelum hijrah ke Madinah, solat lima kali sehari diwajibkan ke atas orang-orang beriman. Namun, solat pada ketika itu hanya terdiri daripada dua rakaat setiap solat, kecuali solat Maghrib (waktu matahari terbenam) yang berjumlah tiga rakaat. Setelah orang-orang Islam awal menjadi biasa dengan solat yang tetap, bilangan rakaat ditambah kepada empat bagi mereka yang bermukim, kecuali solat Subuh (fajar) dan solat Maghrib.20

The same was the case of Islamic legislation found in the Sunnah, much of which was either the result of answers to questions, or were pronouncements made at the time that incidents took place. For example, on one occasion, one of the Prophet’s companions asked him, “Oh Messenger of Allaah! We sail the seas and if we make Wudoo (ablutions) with our fresh water we will go thirsty. Can we make Wudoo with sea water?” He replied, “Its water is pure and its dead (sea creatures) are Halaal (permissible to eat).”18 The reason for this method of legislation was to achieve gradation in the enactment of laws, as this approach was more easily acceptable by Arabs who were used to complete freedom. It also made it easier for them to learn and understand the laws since the reasons and context of the legislation would b e known to them. This method of gradual legislation was not limited to the laws as a whole, but it also took place during the enactment of a number of individual laws. The legislation of Salaah (formal prayers) is a good example of gradation in the enactment of individual laws. In the early Makkah period, Salaah was initially twice per day, once in the morning and once at night.19 Shortly before the migration to Madeenah, five times daily Salaah was enjoined on the believers. However, Salaah at that time consisted of only two units per prayers, with the exception of Maghrib (sunset) prayers, which were three units. After the early Muslims had become accustomed to regular prayer, the number of units were increased to four for residents, except for Fajr (early morning) prayer and that of Maghrib.20