Gateway to Quran: Revelation Order of the Qur'an

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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)

Revelation Order of the Qur'an

Revelation Order	Surah Number	Surah Name	Total Verses	Revelation Place
1	96	Alaq	19	Macca
2	68	Qalam	52	Macca
3	73	Muzammil	20	Macca
4	74	Mudathir	56	Macca
5	1	Fatehah	7	Macca
6	111	Lahab	5	Macca
7	81	Takwir	29	Macca
8	87	A'la	19	Macca
9	92	Leyl	21	Macca
10	89	Fajr	30	Macca
11	93	Duha	11	Macca
12	94	Inshira	8	Macca
13	103	Asr	3	Macca
14	100	Aadiyat	11	Macca
15	108	Kauthar	3	Macca
16	102	Takatur	8	Macca
17	107	Alma'un	7	Macca
18	109	Kafirun	6	Macca
19	105	Fil	5	Macca
20	113	Falaq	5	Macca
21	114	Nas	6	Macca
22	112	Iklas	4	Macca
23	53	Najm	62	Macca
24	80	Abasa	42	Macca
25	97	Qadr	5	Macca
26	91	Shams	15	Macca
27	85	Buruj	22	Macca
28	95	T'in	8	Macca
29	106	Qureysh	4	Macca
30	101	Qariah	11	Macca
31	75	Qiyamah	40	Macca
32	104	Humazah	9	Macca
33	77	Mursalat	50	Macca
34	50	Q'af	45	Macca
35	90	Balad	20	Macca
36	86	Tariq	17	Macca
37	54	Qamr	55	Macca
38	38	Sad	88	Macca
39	7	A'Raf	206	Macca
40	72	Jinn	28	Macca
41	36	Ya'sin	83	Macca
42	25	Furqan	77	Macca
43	35	Fatir	45	Macca
44	19	Maryam	98	Macca
45	20	Ta Ha	135	Macca
46	56	Waqiah	96	Macca
47	26	Shuara	227	Macca
48	27	Naml	93	Macca
49	28	Qasas	88	Macca
50	17	Bani Israil	111	Macca
51	10	Yunus	109	Macca
52	11	Hud	123	Macca
53	12	Yousuf	111	Macca
54	15	Hijr	99	Macca
55	6	Anam	165	Macca
56	37	Saffat	182	Macca
57	31	Luqman	34	Macca
58	34	Saba	54	Macca
59	39	Zumar	75	Macca
60	40	Mumin	85	Macca
61	41	Hamim Sajdah	54	Macca
62	42	Shura	53	Macca
63	43	Zukhruf	89	Macca
64	44	Dukhan	59	Macca
65	45	Jathiyah	37	Macca
66	46	Ahqaf	35	Macca
67	51	Dhariyat	60	Macca
68	88	Ghashiya	26	Madina
69	18	Kahf	110	Macca
70	16	Nahl	128	Macca
71	71	Noah	28	Macca
72	14	Ibrahim	52	Macca
73	21	Anbiya	112	Macca
74	23	Muminun	118	Macca
75	32	Sajdah	30	Macca
76	52	Tur	49	Macca
77	67	Mulk	30	Macca
78	69	Haqqah	52	Macca
79	70	Maarij	44	Macca
80	78	Naba	40	Macca
81	79	Naziat	46	Macca
82	82	Infitar	19	Macca
83	84	Inshiqaq	25	Macca
84	30	Rum	60	Macca
85	29	Ankabut	85	Macca
86	83	Tatfif	36	Macca
87	2	Baqarah	286	Madina
88	8	Anfal	75	Madina
89	3	Aal-e-Imran	200	Madina
90	33	Ahzab	73	Madina
91	60	Mumtahana	13	Madina
92	4	Nisa	176	Madina
93	99	Zilzal	8	Macca
94	57	Hadid	29	Madina
95	47	Muhammad	38	Madina
96	13	Ra'd	43	Madina
97	55	Rahman	78	Macca
98	76	Dahr	31	Madina
99	65	Talaq	12	Madina
100	98	Beyinnah	8	Madina
101	59	Hashr	24	Madina
102	24	Nur	64	Madina
103	22	Hajj	78	Madina
104	63	Munafiqun	11	Madina
105	58	Mujadila	22	Madina
106	49	Hujurat	18	Madina
107	66	Tahrim	12	Madina
108	64	Taghabun	18	Madina
109	61	Saff	14	Madina
110	62	Jumah	11	Madina
111	48	Fath	29	Madina
112	5	Maidah	120	Madina
113	9	Taubah	129	Madina
114	110	Nasr	3	Madina