Al-Qur'an telah diturunkan kepada Nabi ﷺ secara beransur-ansur selama dua puluh tiga tahun. Penurunannya berlaku dalam pelbagai cara: kadangkala secara berturut-turut dengan cepat dan kadangkala selepas tempoh masa tertentu. Al-Qur'an diturunkan secara beransur-ansur dan tidak sekaligus, kerana suatu hikmah yang disebut oleh Allah (SWT) dalam Al-Qur'an yang mulia.

The Qur'ān was revealed to the Prophet PBUH in parts over a period of twenty-three years. Its revelation occured in various ways: at times in (quick) succession and at times after a period of time. The Qur’ān was revealed gradually and not all at once due to a wisdom Allah  mentioned in the noble Qur’ān,

iaitu, demikianlah ia diturunkan secara berperingkat agar Kami meneguhkan hatimu dengannya, dan Kami membahagikannya begitu rupa agar engkau dapat memahaminya dengan sepenuhnya dan menghafalnya. Dan Dia berfirman:

i.e, thus it has been revealed in parts so that We may strengthen your heart, by its division, so that you may understand it fully and memorise it. And He  said:

Yakni, ia adalah Al-Qur’an yang Dia turunkan secara berperingkat, sedikit demi sedikit, dalam beberapa bahagian, iaitu perlahan-lahan, tanpa tergesa-gesa dan dengan penjelasan. Dia menurunkannya secara berperingkat mengikut peristiwa-peristiwa. Maka, bagi meneguhkan hati Rasulullah ﷺ dan agar dibacakan kepada manusia secara perlahan-lahan tanpa tergesa-gesa, serta agar ia diturunkan mengikut peristiwa dan sebagai jawapan kepada persoalan-persoalan, Al-Qur’an diturunkan secara berperingkat dan dalam beberapa bahagian selama dua puluh tiga tahun.

i.e, it is a Qur’ān which he  revealed in parts, gradually, at intervals, that is, slowly, without haste and with demonstration; He  revealed it in stages, i.e according to incidents. So, in order to strengthen the heart of the Messenger PBUH and so as to recite it to the people slowly without haste, and also in order to reveal it according to the incidents and with answers to the questions, the Qur’ān was revealed gradually and in parts over twenty-three years.

Al-Qur'an akan diturunkan kepada Rasulullah ﷺ, dan baginda kemudian memerintahkan orang ramai untuk menghafaznya dan menuliskannya pada kepingan kulit, atau pada helaian lembaran atau papirus. Baginda juga menulis pada tulang bahu (scapula), pelepah tamar (palm), lukhaf (batu putih nipis dan lebar) iaitu pada tulang belikat, tangkai daun pohon tamar dan batu-batu yang lembut. Apabila ayat-ayat diturunkan, baginda memberi arahan supaya ia diletakkan di tempat yang sewajarnya dalam surah-surah. Oleh itu, baginda biasa berkata: letakkan ayat ini dalam surah sekian selepas ayat sekian. Maka mereka pun meletakkannya di tempat yang sewajarnya dalam surah. Telah diriwayatkan daripada 'Uthman bahawa:

The Qur’ān would be revealed to the Messenger of Allah PBUH and he  would then instruct the people to memorise it, write it down on pieces of leather or a sheet or papyrus, he would also write on the scapula bone, the palm risp or the lukhaf (a thin broad white stone) i.e on the shoulder blades, leaf stalks of date palm and soft stones. When the ayāt would be revealed he would give the order that they be placed in their proper place in the Sura’s. Thus, he used to say, put this ayah in such and such sura after such and such ayah. So they used to put them in their proper place in the Sura. It has been narrated by 'Uthman  that:

Ia dilakukan dengan cara ini sehingga seluruh Al-Qur’an diwahyukan, dan Allah mencabut nyawa baginda setelah wahyu Al-Qur’an sempurna. Oleh itu, susunan ayat-ayat bagi setiap surah dalam bentuk sebagaimana yang terdapat sekarang dalam mushaf adalah sebagaimana yang ditetapkan oleh wahyu, daripada Nabi ﷺ, yang disampaikan kepada baginda oleh Jibril daripada Allah. Dan menurut susunan inilah umat menyampaikan Al-Qur’an daripada Nabi mereka ﷺ, dan tidak ada perselisihan (ikhtilaf) mengenainya. Susunan ayat-ayat dalam surah-surah yang kita lihat hari ini ialah bentuk yang sama sebagaimana yang diperintahkan oleh Rasulullah ﷺ. Ia juga bentuk yang sama sebagaimana yang telah ditulis pada tulang bahu (haiwan), pelepah kurma dan lukhaf (batu putih nipis dan lebar), serta dipelihara dalam hati manusia. Oleh itu, susunan ayat dalam surah-surah adalah pasti kerana ia ditetapkan oleh wahyu kepada Rasulullah ﷺ, daripada Jibril, daripada Allah. Adapun susunan surah-surah, sebahagian surah telah dihimpunkan bersama mengikut ijtihad para Sahabat. Ahmad dan penyusun kitab-kitab Sunan telah meriwayatkan sebuah hadis daripada Ibnu ʿAbbas yang telah diisytiharkan sahih oleh Ibnu Hibban dan al-Hakim, mereka meriwayatkan:

It was done in this manner until the whole Qur’ān was revealed and Allah  took his  soul after the revelation of the Qur’ān was complete. That is why the arrangement of the verses of every Sura in the form as it is now in the present script (mushaf) was as determined by the revelation, from the Prophet , transmitted to him  by Jibreel  from Allah . And according to this arrangement the Ummah transmitted the Qur’ān from her Prophet  and there is no difference (ikhtilaf) about this. The order of the ayat in the Sura’s that we observe today is the very form the Messenger of Allah  ordered. And it is the same form as that was written on the shoulder blades (of animals), palm risps & the lukhaf’s (a thin broad white stone) and preserved in the hearts of men. Consequently, the arrangement of verses within the Sura’s is definite that it is determined by the revelation to the Messenger of Allah , from Jibreel , from Allah . As for the arrangement of the Sura’s, certain chapters (Sura’s) were put together according to the Ijtihād of Sahabah . Ahmad and the Sunan compilers have reported a hadīth by Ibn 'Abbas which has been declared sound by Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim, they narrated:

Saya (Ibn 'Abbas) bertanya kepada 'Uthman: "Apakah yang mendorong tuan menggabungkan Surah al-Anfal, yang termasuk dalam al-mathani (surah-surah yang kurang daripada seratus ayat), dengan Surah al-Baraa'ah, yang termasuk dalam al-mi'un (surah yang kira-kira seratus ayatnya)? Tuan telah menyatukan keduanya, tetapi tuan tidak menulis di antara keduanya baris 'bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim', dan tuan meletakkannya di antara tujuh surah panjang (at-tiwal)." Maka 'Uthman berkata:

'I (Ibn 'Abbas) said to 'Uthman 'What induced you to position together Sura al-Anfal which is from the mathani (suras with less than 100 ayāt), and Sura al-Baraa'ah when it is from the mi'un (consisting of about 100 ayāt). You have put them together and you did not write between them the line 'bismillah ar-rahman a-rahim' and you have placed them among the seven long (tiwal) Suras. So 'Uthman said:

Telah diriwayatkan daripada Sa'id bin Jubair, daripada Ibnu 'Abbas (ra), bahawa beliau berkata:

It has been narrated by Sa'id ibn Jubayr from Ibn 'Abbas (ra) who said that:

Dan dalam riwayat lain:

And In another narration:

Ini menunjukkan bahawa susunan ayat dalam setiap surah ditentukan melalui wahyu. Dan oleh kerana Nabi ﷺ tidak menjelaskan persoalan surah Baraa'ah, 'Uthman (semoga Allah meredainya) telah memasukkannya ke dalam al-Anfal berdasarkan ijtihadnya sendiri. Penulis al-Iqna' meriwayatkan bahawa Basmala (singkatan bagi bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim) untuk Baraa'ah terdapat dalam mushaf Ibn Mas'ud. Telah diriwayatkan bahawa para Sahabat biasa menyimpan salinan yang susunan suratnya berbeza, walaupun tiada perbezaan dalam susunan ayat. Maka mushaf Ibn Mas'ud disusun dengan cara yang berbeza daripada mushaf 'Uthman dari segi susunan surah. Ia bermula dengan al-Fatihah, kemudian al-Baqarah, al-Nisa dan Aali 'Imran, berbeza dengan mushaf 'Uthmani yang susunannya ialah al-Fatihah, al-Baqarah, Aali 'Imran dan kemudian al-Nisa. Tiada satu pun daripadanya disusun mengikut urutan wahyu. Dikatakan bahawa mushaf 'Ali (ra) disusun mengikut urutan wahyu, bermula dengan iqra', kemudian al-Muddaththir, Nun wal Qalam, al-Muzzammil, Tabbat, al-Takweer, Sabbih, dan terus begitu sehingga akhir surah-surah Makkiyah, kemudian surah-surah Madaniyah. Semua ini menunjukkan bahawa susunan surah bagi sebahagian surah disusun berdasarkan ijtihad para Sahabat. Oleh itu, mengekalkan susunan surah dalam bacaan tidak diwajibkan, sama ada dalam membaca al-Qur'an (tilawah), dalam solat, dalam pengajian atau pengajaran. Ini dibuktikan dengan fakta bahawa Nabi ﷺ membaca surah al-Nisa sebelum Aali 'Imran dalam solat malamnya. Adapun apa yang diriwayatkan tentang larangan membaca al-Qur'an secara terbalik, yang dimaksudkan ialah ayat dalam satu surah tidak boleh dibaca secara terbalik, bukan bacaan surah-surah dalam susunan terbalik.

This indicates that the order of the ayat in every Sura was determined by revelation. And since the Prophet  did not elucidate the issue of Sura baraa'ah 'Uthman  added it to al-Anfal according to his own Ijtihād (may Allah be pleased with him). The author of al-Iqna' reported that the Basmala (abbr. for bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim) for Baraa'ah is present in the mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud . It has been reported that the Sahabah  used to keep copies whose arrangement of Sura’s was different though there were no differences in the verse arrangement. So the mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud  was compiled in a manner different to the mushaf of 'Uthman  in terms of the arrangement of the Sura’s. It began with al-fatiha, then al-baqarah, al-nisa and Aali 'Imran, contrary to the 'Uthmani mushaf whose arrangement is al-fatiha, al-baqarah, Aali 'Imran and then al-nisa. None of them were compiled according to the order of revelation. It is said that the mushaf of 'Ali (ra) was according to the order of revelation, it began with iqra', then al-muddaththir, nun wal qalam, al-muzzammil, tabbat, al-takweer, sabbih, it went on in this manner to the end of the Makkan suras and then to the Medinan Suras. All of this indicates that the Sura arrangement in relation to some Sura’s was arranged according to the Ijtihād of the Sahabah. That is why maintaining the arrangement of Sura’s in recitation in not obligatory whether in reciting the Qur’ān (tilaawah), in the salah, in a lesson or teaching. As evidenced by the fact that the Prophet  read Sura al-Nisa before Aali 'Imran in his night prayer. As for what has been reported about the prohibition of reciting the Qur’ān in reverse order, what was intended was that an ayah in one Sura should not be read in reverse and not the recitation of Sura’s in reverse order.

Telah diriwayatkan daripada Abu Hurairah (ra) bahawa beliau berkata:

It has been narrated about Abu Hurairah (ra) that he said:

Pembentangan Al-Qur'ān oleh Jibrīl kepada Rasulullah ﷺ setiap tahun bermaksud beliau membentangkan susunan ayat-ayat dalam hubungannya dengan ayat-ayat lain dan susunan ayat-ayat dalam surah masing-masing, kerana membentangkan kitab itu bermakna membentangkan ayat-ayatnya, kalimah-kalimahnya dan susunannya. Beliau membentangkannya kepada baginda ﷺ dua kali dalam tahun baginda ﷺ wafat. Ini bermakna susunan ayat-ayat dalam hubungan antara satu sama lain telah dibentangkan, begitu juga susunan ayat-ayat dalam surah-surah masing-masing. Begitu juga, hadith tersebut boleh difahami bermaksud bahawa susunan surah dalam hubungan antara satu sama lain telah dibentangkan. Namun, terdapat hadith-hadith lain yang secara jelas menyebut susunan ayat-ayat. Hadith-hadith tersebut menyatakan susunan ayat-ayat dalam hubungan antara satu sama lain dan susunan ayat-ayat dalam surah-surah masing-masing.

Jibreel's presentation of the Qur’ān to the Messenger  every year means that he presented the arrangment of its verses in relation to other verses and the arrangement of its verses in their respective chapters because presenting the book means to present its sentences, words and arrangement. He presented it to him twice in the year in which the Messenger  died. This means that the arrangement of the verses in relation to each other was presented and as well as the arrangment of verses in their respective Sura’s. Similarly, it is possible to understand the hadīth to mean that the Sura arrangment in relation to each other was presented. However, ther are other ahadīth which explicitly mention the arrangment of the verses. They state the arrangment of the verses in relation to each other and the arrangment of verses in their respective chapters:

Dan

And

Setiap kali satu surah berakhir, surah lain akan dimulakan, sebagaimana diperintahkan oleh Allah melalui Jibril. Diriwayatkan bahawa Ibn 'Abbas berkata:

A Sura would end and another Sura would begin as commanded by Allah  through Jibreel . It has been reported that Ibn 'Abbas  said:

Semua ini jelas menunjukkan bahawa susunan ayat dalam surah-surah serta bentuk surah-surah dari segi bilangan ayat dan kedudukannya, semuanya ditentukan oleh Allah. Umat menyampaikannya dalam bentuk ini daripada Nabi-Nya ﷺ, dan itu dibuktikan dengan tawaatur (riwayat yang mutawatir). Adapun susunan surah-surah antara satu sama lain, ia dapat difahami melalui hadis-hadis yang membincangkan susunan al-Qur'an, dan ia juga dapat difahami daripada hadis-hadis lain. Diriwayatkan daripada Aisyah, ibu orang-orang beriman, bahawa seorang lelaki dari Iraq datang kepadanya dan bertanya, "Apakah jenis kain kafan yang terbaik?" Aisyah menjawab, "Semoga Allah merahmatimu! Apa bezanya?" Lelaki itu berkata, "Wahai ibu orang-orang beriman! Tunjukkanlah kepadaku (salinan) al-Qur'anmu." Aisyah bertanya, "Mengapa?" Lelaki itu berkata, "Untuk mengumpulkan dan menyusun al-Qur'an mengikut salinan itu, kerana orang ramai membacanya dengan surah-surahnya tidak mengikut susunan yang betul." Aisyah berkata, "Apa bezanya bahagian mana yang kamu baca dahulu? Ketahuilah bahawa perkara pertama yang diturunkan daripadanya ialah satu surah dari al-Mufassal, dan di dalamnya disebut tentang Syurga dan Neraka. Apabila orang ramai memeluk Islam, barulah ayat-ayat mengenai perkara halal dan haram diturunkan. Jika perkara pertama yang diturunkan ialah: 'Jangan minum minuman yang memabukkan', nescaya mereka akan berkata, 'Kami tidak sekali-kali akan meninggalkan minuman yang memabukkan', dan jika diturunkan, 'Jangan berzina', nescaya mereka akan berkata, 'Kami tidak sekali-kali akan meninggalkan zina'. Ketika aku masih seorang gadis kecil yang suka bermain, ayat berikut diturunkan di Makkah kepada Muhammad ﷺ:

All of this definitely indicates that the arrangement of ayat in their Sura’s and the form of the Suras in terms of the number of verses and their places, all of that is determined by Allah . The Ummah transmitted it in this form from her Prophet  and that is proven by tawaatur (recurrent reports). As for the arrangment of the Sura’s in relation to each other, this can be understood by the ahadith discussing the arrangment of the Qur’ān and it can be understood from other ahadith as well. Narrated by Aisha , the mother of the Believers, that a person from Iraq came to her and asked, 'What type of shroud is the best?' 'Aisha said,'May Allah be merciful to you! What does it matter?' He said, 'O mother of the believers! Show me (the copy of) your Qur’ān,' She said,'Why?” He said, “In order to compile and arrange the Qur’ān according to it, for people recite it with its sura’s not in proper order.” 'Aisha said, “What does it matter which part of it you read first? Know that the first thing that was revealed thereof was a Sura from al-Mufassal, and in it was mentioned Paradise and the Fire. When the people embraced Islam, the ayat regarding legal and illegal things were revealed. If the first thing to be revealed was: 'Do not drink alcoholic drinks.' people would have said, 'We will never leave alcoholic drinks,' and if there had been revealed, 'Do not commit illegal sexual intercourse, 'they would have said, 'We will never give up illegal sexual intercourse.' While I was a young girl of playing age, the following verse was revealed in Makkah to Muhammad:

Kemudian 'Aisyah mengeluarkan salinan al-Qur'an untuk lelaki itu dan mendiktekan kepadanya ayat-ayat surah-surah (mengikut susunan yang betul). Hadis ini menunjukkan bahawa al-Qur'an belum disusun (mengikut tertib), selain itu, susunan mushaf yang berbeza-beza di kalangan para Sahabat menunjukkan bahawa susunan surah-surah dalam hubungannya antara satu sama lain telah dilakukan dengan persetujuan di kalangan para Sahabat.

Then 'Aisha took out the copy of the Qur’ān for the man and dictated to him the verses of the Sura’s (in their proper order). This hadīth shows that the Qur’ān had not been put together (in order), in addition to this the different arrangment of mushafs of the Sahabah indicate that the arrangment of Sura’s in relation to each other was done in agreement amongst the Sahabah.