The polytheists said, "If Muhammad is truly a prophet as he claims, then why does his Lord punish him by not sending the Quran down to him all at once? Instead, He sends down to him a verse, or two verses, or a surah at a time."So Allah sent down to His Prophet the answer to what they said, "And those who disbelieve say, 'Why was the Quran not revealed to him all at once?'" until "and most astray in way" [Furqan 25:32–34].
قال المشركون: إن كان محمد كما يزعم نبيا، فلم يعذبه ربه، ألا ينزل عليه القرآن جملة واحدة، ينزل عليه الآية والآيتين والسورة؟ فأنزل الله على نبيه جواب ما قالوا: {لولا نزل عليه القرآن جملة وحدة} إلى{وأضل سبيلا}
No references are available.
Ibn Abu Hatim narrated it in his Tafsir (8/2689), and Maqdisi in al-Ahadith al-Mukhtarah (10/11-120), both by way of Ahmad bin Abdul-Rahman bin Abdullah bin Saad, who said, my father narrated to me, from his father, from Ashath bin Ishaq Qummi, from Jafar bin Abu Mughira, from Saeed bin Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas, who said, and then he related it.Its chain of transmission is hasan because of Ahmad bin Abdul-Rahman, Abdullah bin Saad, Ashath bin Ishaq, and Jafar bin Abu Mughira, for they are all hasan al-hadith.As for His saying, "those who will be gathered on their faces to Hell", this means the disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection will be gathered to Hell on their faces.