Assalaamu Alaikum I am a new revert to Islam (around six months). I am currently reading the English version of Al-Quran and I find this very fascinating to learn. However, I am struggling to understand why certain subject matters within the chapters appear at different parts of Al- Qur’an. Please explain how the Qur’an was collated in the order in which it currently appears and the wisdom behind it?

Abdullah Patterson Leeds

Answer

First and foremost congratulations brother Abdullah Patterson for reverting to Islam; indeed, my supplications and the supplications of all the readers of the Islamic Times are with you!

Let’s begin with a verse of the Holy Qur’an: "Alif Laam Raa. A book which we have revealed to you (Muhammad) so that you may lead the people from out of the darkness’s into the light by their Lord's leave to the path of the All-Mighty, the Praiseworthy." (Holy Qur'an: 14:1)

The Holy Prophet, Hadhrat Muhammad-ur Rasullullaah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) received the revelations in fragments. It is but natural that the revealed text should have referred to the problems of the day. It may be that one of His companion died; the revelation would have promulgate (spread) the law of inheritance; it could not be that penal law regarding theft, murder, or wine drinking for instance, should have been revealed at that moment. The revelation continued during the whole missionary life of the Holy Prophet, Hadhrat Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), 13 years in Makkah and 10 years in Madinah. A revelation consisted sometimes of a whole chapter, short or long and sometimes of only a few verses. The nature of the revelations made it necessary for the Holy Prophet, Hadhrat Muhammad-ur Rasullullaah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) to repeat them constantly to His companions and revise continually the form which the collections of fragments had to take.

Going back to the part of your question about how the Holy Qur’an was collated, well, the Holy Prophet, Hadhrat Muhammad-ur Rasullullaah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) would order His Companions to observe the order of the Qur'anic Surahs. Hadhrat Uthman Ibn `Affaan (Radi Allah Anho) narrates:

"Sometimes, several Surahs were revealed to the Holy Prophet, Hadhrat Muhammadur Rasullullaah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and when anything was revealed to Him, He would call on one of His scribes and say: 'Insert this into the Surahs where there is such and such.' When some verses were revealed, He would say: 'Insert these verses into the Surahs in which there is such and such.' When a single verse was revealed, He would say: 'Insert this verse into the Surahs in which there is such and such.’ “(Reported by Ahmad, Abu Dawood, and At-Tirmidhi)

The wisdom behind this simply is the fact that the Holy Prophet, Hadhrat Muhammad-ur Rasullullaah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) would recite the Holy Qur'an before His honourable Companions in this very order and for this reason the Ulama have unanimously agreed on that the arrangement of every verse in the Holy Qur'an is tawqifi (i.e. it has come to us from Allah Taa’la through Divine revelation) and is not left to humans or even The Holy Prophet, Hadhrat Muhammad-ur Rasullullaah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) to decide. Consequently, the Companions committed it to their hearts in this order.

Historically speaking, Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radi Allah Anho) was the one who actually collected all the Surahs of the Holy Qur'an into one Mus-haf (book compiling all the scripts of the various Surahs of the Holy Qur'an). Afterwards, Hadhrat Uthman Ibn `Affaan (Radi Allah Anho) made more than one copy of what has been collected by Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radi Allah Anho) and sent them all over the Arabian Peninsula. Thus, arranging the Holy Qur'an has been done during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet, Hadhrat Muhammad-ur Rasullullaah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and during the Rightlyguided Caliphs' eras while thousands of Companions were still alive and witnessing the whole issue (nothing was reported to indicate the rejection of anyone of them to the issue).

Lastly, I would like to make a point here before I conclude for those who (Allah Taa’la forbid) doubt the Holy Qur’an by arguing that the Holy Prophet, Hadhrat Muhammad-ur Rasullullaah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) was the author of the Holy Qur'an; this claim is highly unreasonable because it is logical to believe that the Holy Prophet, Hadhrat Muhammad-ur Rasullullaah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), by all accounts was ‘unlettered’ (i.e. had NO person as a teacher) and was known as ALAMEEN (the trustworthy) in His society and who is still admired by the non-Muslim scholars for His honesty and integrity, came forth with a false claim and on that falsehood could train thousands of men of character, integrity and honesty, who were able to establish the best human society on the surface of the earth?

Surely, any sincere and unbiased searcher of truth will come to believe that the Qur'an was not authored by any human.

(VERILY, ALLAH TAA’LA IS ALL-KNOWING!)