Usool At-tafseer by Shu‘bah ibn al-Hajjaaj, Sufyaan ibn ‘Uyaynah and it was translated by Dr. M. Abdul Haq Ansari

verse of the Qur’aan is called an “ aayah,” which literally means a sign or token by which a person or thing is known,1 and a chapter is referred to as a “ soorah,” which literally means enclosure or wall.2

The order of the aayahs in each soorah was set by the Prophet (ﷺ) himself, as is indicated in a number of hadeeths (recorded sayings or actions of the Prophet [ﷺ]). For example, ‘Uthmaan ibn Abee al-‘Aas said, “Once while I was sitting with Allaah’s Messenger (ﷺ), he rolled his eyes upwards in a stare, then after a while he lowered them and said,

The Prophet (ﷺ) also made reference to aayahs in particular positions in soorahs.

For example, Aboo ad-Dardaa’ reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said,

“Whoever memorizes the first ten verses of Soorah al-Kahf will be protected from Ad-Dajjaal (the Anti-Christ).”4

Also, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab mentioned during a sermon that he had been confused about a problem of inheritance related to a person who dies without parents or children to inherit from him. He kept asking the Prophet (ﷺ) about it, until he became annoyed, prodded him in the chest and said,

If the order of the verses was not fixed, these hadeeths, and others like them, which attach special benefits for particular verses would be meaningless. There are also numerous authentic reports in which the Prophet (r) recited soorahs with the verses in order during salaah (prayer), Jumu‘ah sermons, etc.

During the second copying of the Qur’aan, Caliph ‘Uthmaan personally checked the position of each aayah in every soorah, making sure that every one was in place, even if they were abrogated verses. Ibn az-Zubayr reported that he said to Caliph ‘Uthmaan, “The verse: ‘And those of you who die, leaving wives behind...’6 has been canceled by the other aayah, so why are you having it written[or why are you allowing it to stay written]?” He replied, “O my nephew, I will not remove anything from its original place.”7

Similarly, the order of the soorahs was fixed by the Prophet (r) himself, although it is recorded that ‘Alee ibn Abee Taalib had compiled a text in which the soorahs were ordered according to the time of their revelation. That is, it began with Soorah al-‘Alaq, then al-Mudath-thir, and then Noon. It has also been recorded that Ibn Mas‘ood had a text which began with Soorah al-Baqarah, then an-Nisaa’, and then Aal‘Imraan; while Ubayy had one which began with Soorah al-Faatihah, then al-Baqarah, an-Nisaa’, and Aal ‘Imraan.8 However, none of these great companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) argued with the order confirmed by Caliph ‘Uthmaan and the committee of sahaabah that copied and distributed copies of the Qur’aan to the various centers of the Muslim state. In fact, these and other companions burned their copies in order to avoid any confu-sion.9 None of this would have taken place if the order of the soorahs was not fixed. It should also be noted that Jibreel reviewed the Qur’aan once during every Ramadaan of the Prophet’s life except during the final year, in which he recited it to him twice.10 For such a review to be of any value, a fixed order had to have been there, especially considering the fact that some of the sahaabah used to listen to the Prophet (ﷺ) as he recited it to Jibreel.