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𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐐𝐮𝐫’𝐚𝐧

Mohamad Mostafa Nassar
Twitter:@NassarMohamadMR

The chronological order of suras (i.e., the order in which quran suras are revealed to the holy prophet) is specified in several reliable sources, most of which are based on the narrations received from the great prophet’s companion, Ibn Abbas.

The traditional order of revelation is provided in the table below. The detailed information is extracted from “The History of the Quran” by Allamah Abu Abd Allah al-Zanjani ¹⁾²⁾. Professor Noldeke in his famous work “Geschichte des Korans”³⁾ has provided an ordering which is slightly different from the traditional order in the following two items:

• Sura 110 (An-Nasr) is the last in the traditional order, but Noldeke has placed it between 59 and 24.
• Sura 62 (Al-Jumu’a) is after 64 and 61 in the traditional order, but Noldeke has placed it before 64 and 61.

Note that the order of a sura is specified based on the revelation of the first ayas of the sura, not the revelation of the whole sura.

Revelation Order of the Qur’an

The Qur’an was sometimes revealed to respond to various events and incidents. Sometimes it was revealed to support the Prophet (saws) who was faced with many questions, whether by Muslims or non-Muslims, and hardships. Other times was revealed for legislation and for putting rules to govern the social, economical, and political life of Muslims.

The first verses to be revealed, according to the most correct opinion of scholars, are the first five verses of Surat Al-`Alaq, which happens to be Chapter 96 of the 114 chapters of the Qur’an.

Order of Verses

Muslim scholars agree that the order of the verses in every chapter was done or commanded by the Prophet (saws) himself following the commands of Almighty Allah.

The Prophet (saws) once told his Companions after he had received a certain revelation that the arch-angel Gabriel had specified for him the particular order of verses (Ahmad).

There are also many incidents narrated in the books of Sunnah regarding the Prophet’s (saws) recitation during prayer. The Companions used to pray every day behind the Prophet (saws) and he used to recite the Qur’an in the order given to him by Allah, and they used to learn and memorize from his recitation.

There have never been any incident in which any of the Companions reciting in any order that violated the order of the verses showed to us by the Prophet (saws).

Order of Surahs

As for the order of the surahs (chapters), the most accepted view is that it was also applied following an instruction given by Almighty Allah. It has been recorded that the Prophet (saws) reviewed the Qur’an with the arch-angel Gabriel 24 times all within his life.

Every year, he used to review it once during the month of Ramadan with Gabriel. During the final year of the Prophet’s life, Gabriel revised the Qur’an twice with the Prophet (saws) as a way of confirming it. The Prophet (saws), in turn, used to follow this order in teaching his Companions and communicating the message to them.

Significance of Order

The question of why a surah like Surat Al-`Alaq, which was revealed first not put first in the mushaf (a physical copy of the Qur’an), this will require us to search more in the Qur’an and explore some of its secrets. A deeper look into the whole matter will show us that the order of the Qur’an has a purpose and the revelation of the Qur’an also has a purpose.

For instance, the revelation of the Qur’an responding to specific problems or incidents carries the purpose of solving these problems or providing guidance in these incidents.

During the first 13 years of Islam, the main task of the Prophet (saws) was to call people to Islam based on the Qur’anic revelations that focused on the Oneness of Allah and righteous conduct.

When Muslims migrated to Madinah and an Islamic community started to be well-established and new challenges emerged, the main focus of the revelation was to regulate the life of Muslims through detailing the rulings pertaining to different acts of worship and setting punishments for crimes and so on.  

This shows us that the revelation in each of the two stages has a purpose. When the revelation stage was completed, the whole Qur’an was there and the whole message was put in the order that was intended for it to stay till the Day of Judgment.

Explanation of Order

Such an order serves in delivering the message the Qur’an is put for, as it has got another purpose.

If you look at the first surah of the Qur’an, namely Al-Fatihah, you can perceive that it acts as a summary for the structure and the message of the Book (Qur’an) ahead of every reader.

Being Umm Al-Qur’an (the Mother of the Qur’an), it carries all its themes; it summarizes them. It tells us who Allah is: the source of all love and mercy. Therefore, knowing who He is, we should be thankful to Him and worship Him alone. We should seek His help, and He has all the power to give us whatever we need. It makes it clear that Allah is the only One Who can really guide. It speaks about life after death and the consequences of human action and behavior.

The same holds true for Surat Al-Baqarah. The first verses speak about the fact that this Book is above all doubts and it is beyond the abilities of doubters to try to challenge its validity. Then it gives a hint on its main theme — guiding the righteous — and then goes on to speak about the beginning of creation and the story of Adam to establish the theme that humankind is here on earth as a vicegerent of the Creator and should use the Book as a manual to carry out the mission in the right way.

All these themes and messages cannot be carried except through this logical order in which Allah commanded for the Qur’an to be put. If a surah like Al-`Alaq was to be put at the beginning instead of Al-Fatihah, it could have given a significance of course and give a message, but not the exact fully wonderful message that we can get from the order of the Qur’an as it is now.

Why Al-`Alaq in the Current Order?

As for why Surat Al-`Alaq is mentioned in this specific order in the Qur’an, scholars hold the view that in the previous surah of At-Tin, Allah says what means that He has created humans in the best make (At-Tin 95:4). The details of that creation are cited in Surat Al-`Alaq:

*{Read in the name of your Lord Who created. Created humans, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood.}* (Al-`Alaq 96:1-2)

Chronological Order of Suras

Order	Sura Name	Number	Type	Note
1	Al-Alaq	96	Meccan
2	Al-Qalam	68	Meccan	Except 17-33 and 48-50, from Medina
3	Al-Muzzammil	73	Meccan	Except 10, 11 and 20, from Medina
4	Al-Muddaththir	74	Meccan
5	Al-Faatiha	1	Meccan
6	Al-Masad	111	Meccan
7	At-Takwir	81	Meccan
8	Al-A’laa	87	Meccan
9	Al-Lail	92	Meccan
10	Al-Fajr	89	Meccan
11	Ad-Dhuhaa	93	Meccan
12	Ash-Sharh	94	Meccan
13	Al-Asr	103	Meccan
14	Al-Aadiyaat	100	Meccan
15	Al-Kawthar	108	Meccan
16	At-Takaathur	102	Meccan
17	Al-Maa’un	107	Meccan	Only 1-3 from Mecca; the rest from Medina
18	Al-Kaafiroon	109	Meccan
19	Al-Fil	105	Meccan
20	Al-Falaq	113	Meccan
21	An-Naas	114	Meccan
22	Al-Ikhlaas	112	Meccan
23	An-Najm	53	Meccan	Except 32, from Medina
24	Abasa	80	Meccan
25	Al-Qadr	97	Meccan
26	Ash-Shams	91	Meccan
27	Al-Burooj	85	Meccan
28	At-Tin	95	Meccan
29	Quraish	106	Meccan
30	Al-Qaari’a	101	Meccan
31	Al-Qiyaama	75	Meccan
32	Al-Humaza	104	Meccan
33	Al-Mursalaat	77	Meccan	Except 48, from Medina
34	Qaaf	50	Meccan	Except 38, from Medina
35	Al-Balad	90	Meccan
36	At-Taariq	86	Meccan
37	Al-Qamar	54	Meccan	Except 44-46, from Medina
38	Saad	38	Meccan
39	Al-A’raaf	7	Meccan	Except 163-170, from Medina
40	Al-Jinn	72	Meccan
41	Yaseen	36	Meccan	Except 45, from Medina
42	Al-Furqaan	25	Meccan	Except 68-70, from Medina
43	Faatir	35	Meccan
44	Maryam	19	Meccan	Except 58 and 71, from Medina
45	Taa-Haa	20	Meccan	Except 130 and 131, from Medina
46	Al-Waaqia	56	Meccan	Except 81 and 82, from Medina
47	Ash-Shu’araa	26	Meccan	Except 197 and 224-227, from Medina
48	An-Naml	27	Meccan
49	Al-Qasas	28	Meccan	Except 52-55 from Medina and 85 from Juhfa at the time of the Hijra
50	Al-Israa	17	Meccan	Except 26, 32, 33, 57, 73-80, from Medina
51	Yunus	10	Meccan	Except 40, 94, 95, 96, from Medina
52	Hud	11	Meccan	Except 12, 17, 114, from Medina
53	Yusuf	12	Meccan	Except 1, 2, 3, 7, from Medina
54	Al-Hijr	15	Meccan	Except 87, from Medina
55	Al-An’aam	6	Meccan	Except 20, 23, 91, 93, 114, 151, 152, 153, from Medina
56	As-Saaffaat	37	Meccan
57	Luqman	31	Meccan	Except 27-29, from Medina
58	Saba	34	Meccan
59	Az-Zumar	39	Meccan
60	Al-Ghaafir	40	Meccan	Except 56, 57, from Medina
61	Fussilat	41	Meccan
62	Ash-Shura	42	Meccan	Except 23, 24, 25, 27, from Medina
63	Az-Zukhruf	43	Meccan	Except 54, from Medina
64	Ad-Dukhaan	44	Meccan
65	Al-Jaathiya	45	Meccan	Except 14, from Medina
66	Al-Ahqaf	46	Meccan	Except 10, 15, 35, from Medina
67	Adh-Dhaariyat	51	Meccan
68	Al-Ghaashiya	88	Meccan
69	Al-Kahf	18	Meccan	Except 28, 83-101, from Medina
70	An-Nahl	16	Meccan	Except the last three verses from Medina
71	Nooh	71	Meccan
72	Ibrahim	14	Meccan	Except 28, 29, from Medina
73	Al-Anbiyaa	21	Meccan
74	Al-Muminoon	23	Meccan
75	As-Sajda	32	Meccan	Except 16-20, from Medina
76	At-Tur	52	Meccan
77	Al-Mulk	67	Meccan
78	Al-Haaqqa	69	Meccan
79	Al-Ma’aarij	70	Meccan
80	An-Naba	78	Meccan
81	An-Naazi’aat	79	Meccan
82	Al-Infitaar	82	Meccan
83	Al-Inshiqaaq	84	Meccan
84	Ar-Room	30	Meccan	Except 17, from Medina
85	Al-Ankaboot	29	Meccan	Except 1-11, from Medina
86	Al-Mutaffifin	83	Meccan
87	Al-Baqara	2	Medinan	Except 281 from Mina at the time of the Last Hajj
88	Al-Anfaal	8	Medinan	Except 30-36 from Mecca
89	Aal-i-Imraan	3	Medinan
90	Al-Ahzaab	33	Medinan
91	Al-Mumtahana	60	Medinan
92	An-Nisaa	4	Medinan
93	Az-Zalzala	99	Medinan
94	Al-Hadid	57	Medinan
95	Muhammad	47	Medinan	Except 13, revealed during the Prophet’s Hijrah
96	Ar-Ra’d	13	Medinan
97	Ar-Rahmaan	55	Medinan
98	Al-Insaan	76	Medinan
99	At-Talaaq	65	Medinan
100	Al-Bayyina	98	Medinan
101	Al-Hashr	59	Medinan
102	An-Noor	24	Medinan
103	Al-Hajj	22	Medinan	Except 52-55, revealed between Mecca and Medina
104	Al-Munaafiqoon	63	Medinan
105	Al-Mujaadila	58	Medinan
106	Al-Hujuraat	49	Medinan
107	At-Tahrim	66	Medinan
108	At-Taghaabun	64	Medinan
109	As-Saff	61	Medinan
110	Al-Jumu’a	62	Medinan
111	Al-Fath	48	Medinan	Revealed while returning from Hudaybiyya
112	Al-Maaida	5	Medinan	Except 3, revealed at Arafat on Last Hajj
113	At-Tawba	9	Medinan	Except last two verses from Mecca
114	An-Nasr	110	Medinan	Revealed at Mina on Last Hajj, but regarded as Medinan sura

Allah Knows Best.

References:

The Chronological Analysis of the Quran

Consistency between the Quran and modern science

References

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¹⁾The History of the Quran by Abu Abd Allah al-Zanjani (pdf book, English translation).²⁾Chronological Order of Quranic Surahs, rendered by Kevin P. Edgecomb.³⁾Geschichte des Korans by Theodor Noldeke (pdf book, Arabic translation).