Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The revelation ceased for the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) on two occasions: once at the beginning of the revelation, after which Soorat al-Muddaththir was revealed, then after a number of soorahs had been revealed, after which period, Soorat ad-Duha was revealed.
It was narrated from Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: “Then the Revelation …show more content…
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The words “then revelations came one after another” mean, after that period during which the revelation had ceased. The correct view is that the first thing to be revealed was “Iqra’” (Read – i.e., Soorat al-‘Alaq), and the first thing to be revealed after the period during which the revelation had ceased was “O you (Muhammad) enveloped in garments! (i.e., Soorat al-Muddaththir)”. End …show more content…
The latter lasted for many days, whereas the latter only lasted for one or two nights.
End quote from Fath al-Baari (8/710)
Ibn ‘Ashoor (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The cessation of revelation to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) happened on two occasions:
The first one was before the revelation of Soorat al-Muddaththir or al-Muzzammil. That was when the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) feared that the revelation had ceased (completely), and that is the period after which he saw Jibreel seated on a throne between heaven and earth.
The second occasion was after approximately eight soorahs had been revealed, i.e., those that were revealed after the first period (of cessation of revelation), so it came after ten soorahs (in total) had been revealed.
End quote from at-Tahreer wa’t-Tanweer (30/396).
Secondly:
The scholars differed as to how long the first period of cessation of revelation lasted. It was said that it was three years, or approximately two years, or two and a half years, or twelve days, or fifteen days, or forty days, and so