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. 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.[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.

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

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. 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.
  3. https://tanzil.net/docs/revelation_order
  4. http://www.qran.org/q-chrono.htm

See Also