Chronological Order of the Qur'an
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The Qur'an is not in chronological order, but arranged roughly longest surah (chapter) to the shortest. The table in this article provides the traditional chronological order as set out by medieval Islamic scholars, ostensibly reported from the Companion, Ibn 'Abbas, though such traditions date to the early 8th century CE according to Neal Robinson, which he says "would make them roughly contemporary with the early discussions about abrogation and the sῑra-maghāzī literature", leading him to suspect that they are merely the opinions of the scholars of the time rather than authentic oral traditions from Companions.[1] It is furthermore well known by Islamic scholars that the traditional reports of Asbab al-Nuzul (revelational circumstances of the Quran) are often contradictory, and are treated with considerable caution by academic scholars.[1]
The chronological sequence of the Quran, including elements within individual surahs, is an active area of research for academic scholars. Surahs identified with the Meccan phase of Muhammad's career are sometimes further sub-divided into a number of periods. Theodor Nöldeke (d. 1930), whose sequence produced with his pupil Friedrich Schwally (d. 1919) differs slightly from the traditional chronological order, divided the Meccan surahs into early, middle, and late Meccan periods.[1] An interesting example of more recent research is the work of Joseph Witztum to derive a relative chronology between certain surahs based on the differences in the versions they tell of the same repeated stories.[2]
The traditional chronological order has been passed down in slightly varying versions. The version shown here is reported in a fifteenth century work by 'Abd al-Kafi[1], and is commonly reproduced on websites today.[3][4] It is also the main source (along with the other slightly different versions) drawn upon for the very similar ordering included in the 1925 Standard Egyptian Quran.[1] In the case of many of the Meccan surahs some specific verses are traditionally attributed to the Medinan phase.
To view the traditional order of the Quran (rather than the traditional chronological order), you can sort the table by "Traditional Order"
Chronological Order | Surah Name | Number of Verses | Location of Revelation | Traditional Order |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Al-Alaq | 19 | Mecca | 96 |
2 | Al-Qalam | 52 | Mecca | 68 |
3 | Al-Muzzammil | 20 | Mecca | 73 |
4 | Al-Muddathir | 56 | Mecca | 74 |
5 | Al-Fatiha | 7 | Mecca | 1 |
6 | Al-Masadd | 5 | Mecca | 111 |
7 | At-Takwir | 29 | Mecca | 81 |
8 | Al-Ala | 19 | Mecca | 87 |
9 | Al-Lail | 21 | Mecca | 92 |
10 | Al-Fajr | 30 | Mecca | 89 |
11 | Ad-Dhuha | 11 | Mecca | 93 |
12 | Al-Inshirah | 8 | Mecca | 94 |
13 | Al-Asr | 3 | Mecca | 103 |
14 | Al-Adiyat | 11 | Mecca | 100 |
15 | Al-Kauther | 3 | Mecca | 108 |
16 | At-Takathur | 8 | Mecca | 102 |
17 | Al-Maun | 7 | Mecca | 107 |
18 | Al-Kafiroon | 6 | Mecca | 109 |
19 | Al-Fil | 5 | Mecca | 105 |
20 | Al-Falaq | 5 | Mecca | 113 |
21 | An-Nas | 6 | Mecca | 114 |
22 | Al-Ikhlas | 4 | Mecca | 112 |
23 | An-Najm | 62 | Mecca | 53 |
24 | Abasa | 42 | Mecca | 80 |
25 | Al-Qadr | 5 | Mecca | 97 |
26 | Ash-Shams | 15 | Mecca | 91 |
27 | Al-Burooj | 22 | Mecca | 85 |
28 | At-Tin | 8 | Mecca | 95 |
29 | Quraish | 4 | Mecca | 106 |
30 | Al-Qaria | 11 | Mecca | 101 |
31 | Al-Qiyama | 40 | Mecca | 75 |
32 | Al-Humaza | 9 | Mecca | 104 |
33 | Al-Mursalat | 50 | Mecca | 77 |
34 | Qaf | 45 | Mecca | 50 |
35 | Al-Balad | 20 | Mecca | 90 |
36 | At-Tariq | 17 | Mecca | 86 |
37 | Al-Qamar | 55 | Mecca | 54 |
38 | Sad | 88 | Mecca | 38 |
39 | Al-Araf | 206 | Mecca | 7 |
40 | Al-Jinn | 28 | Mecca | 72 |
41 | Ya-Sin | 83 | Mecca | 36 |
42 | Al-Furqan | 77 | Mecca | 25 |
43 | Fatir | 45 | Mecca | 35 |
44 | Maryam | 98 | Mecca | 19 |
45 | Taha | 135 | Mecca | 20 |
46 | Al-Waqia | 96 | Mecca | 56 |
47 | Ash-Shuara | 227 | Mecca | 26 |
48 | An-Naml | 93 | Mecca | 27 |
49 | Al-Qasas | 88 | Mecca | 28 |
50 | Al-Isra | 111 | Mecca | 17 |
51 | Yunus | 109 | Mecca | 10 |
52 | Hud | 123 | Mecca | 11 |
53 | Yusuf | 111 | Mecca | 12 |
54 | Al-Hijr | 99 | Mecca | 15 |
55 | Al-Anaam | 165 | Mecca | 6 |
56 | As-Saaffat | 182 | Mecca | 37 |
57 | Luqman | 34 | Mecca | 31 |
58 | Saba | 54 | Mecca | 34 |
59 | Az-Zumar | 75 | Mecca | 39 |
60 | Al-Ghafir | 85 | Mecca | 40 |
61 | Fussilat | 54 | Mecca | 41 |
62 | Ash-Shura | 53 | Mecca | 42 |
63 | Az-Zukhruf | 89 | Mecca | 43 |
64 | Ad-Dukhan | 59 | Mecca | 44 |
65 | Al-Jathiya | 37 | Mecca | 45 |
66 | Al-Ahqaf | 35 | Mecca | 46 |
67 | Adh-Dhariyat | 60 | Mecca | 51 |
68 | Al-Ghashiya | 26 | Mecca | 88 |
69 | Al-Kahf | 110 | Mecca | 18 |
70 | An-Nahl | 128 | Mecca | 16 |
71 | Nooh | 28 | Mecca | 71 |
72 | Ibrahim | 52 | Mecca | 14 |
73 | Al-Ambiya | 112 | Mecca | 21 |
74 | Al-Mumenoon | 118 | Mecca | 23 |
75 | As-Sajda | 30 | Mecca | 32 |
76 | At-Tur | 49 | Mecca | 52 |
77 | Al-Mulk | 30 | Mecca | 67 |
78 | Al-Haaqqa | 52 | Mecca | 69 |
79 | Al-Maarij | 44 | Mecca | 70 |
80 | An-Naba | 40 | Mecca | 78 |
81 | An-Naziat | 46 | Mecca | 79 |
82 | Al-Infitar | 19 | Mecca | 82 |
83 | Al-Inshiqaq | 25 | Mecca | 84 |
84 | Ar-Room | 60 | Mecca | 30 |
85 | Al-Ankaboot | 69 | Mecca | 29 |
86 | Al-Mutaffifin | 36 | Mecca | 83 |
87 | Al-Baqara | 286 | Medina | 2 |
88 | Al-Anfal | 75 | Medina | 8 |
89 | Al-i-Imran | 200 | Medina | 3 |
90 | Al-Ahzab | 73 | Medina | 33 |
91 | Al-Mumtahina | 13 | Medina | 60 |
92 | An-Nisa | 176 | Medina | 4 |
93 | Al-Zalzala | 8 | Medina | 99 |
94 | Al-Hadid | 29 | Medina | 57 |
95 | Muhammad | 38 | Medina | 47 |
96 | Ar-Rad | 43 | Medina | 13 |
97 | Al-Rahman | 78 | Medina | 55 |
98 | Al-Insan | 31 | Medina | 76 |
99 | At-Talaq | 12 | Medina | 65 |
100 | Al-Bayyina | 8 | Medina | 98 |
101 | Al-Hashr | 24 | Medina | 59 |
102 | An-Noor | 64 | Medina | 24 |
103 | Al-Hajj | 78 | Medina | 22 |
104 | Al-Munafiqoon | 11 | Medina | 63 |
105 | Al-Mujadila | 22 | Medina | 58 |
106 | Al-Hujraat | 18 | Medina | 49 |
107 | At-Tahrim | 12 | Medina | 66 |
108 | At-Taghabun | 18 | Medina | 64 |
109 | As-Saff | 14 | Medina | 61 |
110 | Al-Jumua | 11 | Medina | 62 |
111 | Al-Fath | 29 | Medina | 48 |
112 | Al-Maeda | 120 | Medina | 5 |
113 | At-Taubah | 129 | Medina | 9 |
114 | An-Nasr | 3 | Medina | 110 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Neal Robinson, "Discovering the Qurʼan: A Contemporary Approach to a Veiled Text", Georgetown University Press, 2003, pp. 62-74. ISBN 1589010248
- ↑ See for example Joseph Witztum. “Thrice upon a Time: Abraham’s Guests and the Study of Intra-Quranic Parallels”. In Holger Zellentin (ed.), The Quran’s Reformation of Judaism and Christianity: Return to the Origins. London: Routledge, 2019, pp. 277–302.
- ↑ https://tanzil.net/docs/revelation_order
- ↑ http://www.qran.org/q-chrono.htm