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] Sometimes, internal evidence such as references to external events helps with the relative dating. Alongside literary style, internal evidence such as references to external events helps with the relative dating, and documenting the changing relationship between Muhammad, his Community and the Unbelievers, such as Mark Durie (2018)[2] and David Marshall (1999).[3] 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 between versions of the same repeated stories.[4]

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.[5][6] 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.

Traditional chronological order table

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

Mecca-Medina Split

Sinai (2017) notes the Meccan-Medinan divide has evidence from the Qur'an itself (and not just tradition).

Most of the other surahs are plausibly taken to have been proclaimed before the emigration of the Messenger and his adherents to al-madīnah, that is, in a situation of increasingly tense cohabitation between the Qur’anic community and the Associators. Such prior cohabitation is implied not only by reminders of the Messenger’s expulsion but also by the statement at Q 8: 33 that the Messenger once dwelt ‘among’ the Unbelievers. Since, as argued in Chapter 2, it can be inferred that the site of this cohabitation was identical to the sanctuary later conquered by the Believers, the pre-Medinan surahs are justifiably labelled ‘Meccan’. It may be added that the general divide between two distinct portions of the Qur’an that has just been outlined would be tenable even if one were to doubt that Qur’anic references to ‘the town’ (al-madīnah) can be equated with present-day Medina and that the Qur’anic sanctuary is identical with present-day Mecca (although somebody beholden to such doubts may of course prefer to call the non-Medinan surahs by a different label than ‘Meccan’).
Sinai, Nicolai. Qur'an: A Historical-Critical Introduction (The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys) (pp. 198-199). Edinburgh University Press. Kindle Edition.

There are features that separate the later Medinan Surahs and verses from the earlier Meccan ones.

Sinai (2017) notes that there are typically higher mean verse length and formulaic density in the later Medinan surahs than Meccan ones.

Stylistically, the compositions in question are characterised by a high or very high mean verse length and high formulaic density. This is illustrated by the fact that of the fourteen surahs with the highest mean verse length, thirteen are considered to be Medinan by Weil and Nöldeke, who mostly rely on references to some aspect of the Medinan constellation in dating a Qur’anic surah or passage after the hijrah.
Sinai, Nicolai. Qur'an: A Historical-Critical Introduction (The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys) (p. 196). Edinburgh University Press. Kindle Edition.

The Qur'an begins to directly criticize key doctrines of the Jews and Christians.

...they betray an explicit demarcation of the Qur’anic community from Judaism and Christianity and harshly criticise Jewish and Christian beliefs (for example, Q 5: 12–19, 5: 41–86, and 5: 116–118).38 This forms a contrast to surahs that do not allude to the Medinan constellation. To be sure, non-Medinan texts do occasionally feature critical references to disunity among the post-Mosaic Israelites and to schisms among the followers of Jesus,39 casually accuse some of them of ‘wrongdoing’ (Q 29: 46), and insist that Jesus is not God’s ‘child’ but only His ‘servant’ (Q 19: 34–40 and 43: 57–65).40 Nonetheless, texts lacking references to the Medinan constellation are generally devoid of explicit, targeted, and sustained anti-Jewish and anti-Christian polemics. Instead, their polemical attention is squarely focused on the pagan Associators, against whom the ‘Israelites’ or earlier recipients of ‘the Scripture’ are occasionally invoked as witnesses who would confirm the truth of Muhammad’s revelations (for example, Q 6: 20.114, 10: 94, 17: 101, and 26: 197). Indeed, it is only in surahs that form core texts of the Medinan subcorpus (Q 2–5, 9, and 22) that we even come across the Qur’anic expressions for ‘Christians’ (al-naārā, ‘Nazoraeans’) and ‘Jews’ (alladhīna hādū, al-yahūd).41
Sinai, Nicolai. Qur'an: A Historical-Critical Introduction (The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys) (pp. 196-197). Edinburgh University Press. Kindle Edition.

The authority and status of Muhammad is severely elevated from being simply a 'warner' to having complete authority over his community; also see Sinai (2018) on this.[7]

Another key doctrinal trait of the Medinan proclamations is their heightened emphasis on the status and far-reaching authority of the Qur’anic Messenger: whereas non-Medinan texts limit themselves to presenting him as a divinely sent ‘warner’ and ‘bringer of good tidings’ (for example, Q 17: 105, 25: 56, 51: 50–51, and 79: 45), Medinan surahs additionally cast him as a ‘prophet’ (nabiyy; for example, Q 33: 1.6.13), a title that non-Medinan texts reserve for figures from Biblical history.42 Moreover, Medinan texts over and over again enjoin their audience to obey ‘God and His Messenger’ (for example, Q 3: 32, 4: 13, and 5: 92).
Sinai, Nicolai. Qur'an: A Historical-Critical Introduction (The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys) (p. 197). Edinburgh University Press. Kindle Edition.

The previous calls in the Meccan verses of Allah destroying unbelievers who rejected Gods messengers in the 'punishment narratives' are replaced with calls of military activism to carry out the punishment themselves. As Durie (2018) notes, "...the key aspect of the marked developments traditionally associated with the contrast between “Meccan” and “Medinan” sūrahs, is a shift in eschatology from an expectation of future punishment of rejectors in this world to a “realized eschatology” (Ladd 1993, 56) of judgment in the here and now, at the hands of believers. This critical change in the Qurʾan’s message takes place in the context of an emerging crisis of confidence caused by an apparent delay in divine punishment of disbelievers, combined with growing opposition to, and persecution of believers."[8]

That the Believers’ recourse to military violence against the Associators was a turning point is openly acknowledged by the Qur’an itself. According to Q 4: 77, the members of the Qur’anic community were first instructed to ‘restrain your hands, perform prayer, and pay the alms’ and only subsequently was ‘fighting prescribed for them’. Not everyone in the community appears to have been keen to follow this command: ‘Our Lord, why have you prescribed fighting for us? Why have you not granted us a short delay?’, some of the addressees are quoted as saying.

Yet the Medinan Qur’an unwaveringly upholds the duty to combat the Associators. Henceforth it was the military victories of the Believers by means of which God was believed to exact His punishment of the Meccan Unbelievers, rather than by a natural disaster of the sort that had befallen the people of Noah, the Ād, or the Thamūd. As David Marshall has emphasised, we are here confronted with two different paradigms of divine punishment, one Meccan, the other Medinan.1

The Medinan surah’s general lack of punishment legends, pointed out in Chapter 5, is obviously linked to the replacement of one paradigm by the other.2 Interestingly, the Qur’an itself endeavours to reduce the appearance of a disjuncture between the two by integrating the new doctrine that God’s retribution is meted out via the Believers’ military victories with the earlier Meccan expectation of a direct divine intervention. Thus, surah 8 describes the Believers’ military victory at Badr in a manner that presents it as the fulfillment of the Qur’an’s earlier threats of a divine chastisement.
Sinai, Nicolai. Qur'an: A Historical-Critical Introduction (The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys) (pp. 293-294). Edinburgh University Press. Kindle Edition.

References

  1. ↑ 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
  2. ↑ Durie, Mark. 2018. Lexington Books. The Qur’an and Its Biblical Reflexes: Investigations into the Genesis of a Religion
  3. ↑ Marshall, David. God, Muhammad and the Unbelievers. 1999. ISBN 9780415759946
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ https://tanzil.net/docs/revelation_order
  6. ↑ http://www.qran.org/q-chrono.htm
  7. ↑ Sinai, Nicolai. “Muhammad as an Episcopal Figure.” Arabica, vol. 65, no. 1-2, Brill Academic Publishers, 2018, pp. 1–30. PP13. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700585-12341480
  8. ↑ Durie, Mark. The Qur’an and Its Biblical Reflexes: Investigations into the Genesis of a Religion. pp. 47-48 (Kindle Edition pp. 149). 2018. Lexington Books. See also Chapter 2: The Eschatological Crisis & 3: A Nonbiographical Qurʾanic Chronology.

See Also

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