Ayat dalam Al-Qur'an dinamakan "āyah", yang secara harfiah bermakna tanda atau lambang yang dengannya seseorang atau sesuatu dikenali,¹ dan bab dalam Al-Qur'an dinamakan "sūrah", yang secara harfiah bermakna pagar atau dinding.2

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

Susunan ayat-ayat dalam setiap surah telah ditetapkan oleh Nabi (ﷺ) sendiri, sebagaimana ditunjukkan dalam sejumlah hadis (sabda atau perbuatan yang direkodkan daripada Nabi [ﷺ]). Sebagai contoh, ‘Uthmaan bin Abee al-‘Aas berkata, “Pada suatu ketika semasa aku duduk bersama Rasulullah (ﷺ), baginda menjeling ke atas dengan pandangan tajam, kemudian selepas seketika baginda menundukkan pandangannya dan bersabda,

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,

Nabi (ﷺ) juga merujuk kepada ayat-ayat tertentu pada kedudukan tertentu dalam surah-surah.

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

Sebagai contoh, Abu ad-Dardaa’ meriwayatkan bahawa Nabi (ﷺ) bersabda,

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

"Sesiapa yang menghafal sepuluh ayat pertama Surah al-Kahfi akan dilindungi daripada Ad-Dajjal (Antikristus)."4

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

Umar ibn al-Khattab menyebut dalam satu khutbah bahawa dia pernah keliru tentang satu masalah faraid berkaitan seseorang yang meninggal dunia tanpa ibu bapa atau anak untuk mewarisi hartanya. Dia terus bertanya kepada Nabi ﷺ mengenainya, sehingga baginda menjadi jengkel, lalu baginda mencucuk dadanya dan bersabda,

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,

Jika susunan ayat-ayat tidak ditetapkan, hadis-hadis ini, dan yang seumpamanya, yang mengaitkan kelebihan khusus dengan ayat-ayat tertentu, tidak akan memiliki makna. Terdapat juga banyak riwayat sahih yang menyebutkan bahawa Nabi ﷺ membaca surah-surah dengan ayat-ayatnya mengikut susunan ketika solat, khutbah Jumaat, dan sebagainya.

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.

Semasa penyalinan kedua al-Qur'an, Khalifah 'Uthman sendiri memeriksa kedudukan setiap ayat dalam setiap surah, memastikan bahawa setiap satunya berada di tempatnya, walaupun ayat-ayat tersebut telah dimansukhkan. Ibn az-Zubayr meriwayatkan bahawa dia berkata kepada Khalifah 'Uthman, "Ayat: 'Dan orang-orang yang mati di antara kamu dengan meninggalkan isteri-isteri...'6 telah dibatalkan oleh ayat yang lain, maka mengapa engkau menyuruh ia ditulis [atau mengapa engkau membenarkan ia kekal tertulis]?" Dia menjawab, "Wahai anak saudaraku, aku tidak akan mengeluarkan apa-apa pun dari tempat asalnya."7

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

Begitu juga, susunan surah-surah telah ditetapkan oleh Nabi (ﷺ) sendiri, walaupun direkodkan bahawa ‘Alee ibn Abee Taalib telah menyusun satu teks di mana surah-surah disusun mengikut masa pewahyuannya. Iaitu, ia bermula dengan Surah al-‘Alaq, kemudian al-Mudath-thir, dan kemudian Noon. Juga direkodkan bahawa Ibn Mas‘ood mempunyai satu teks yang bermula dengan Surah al-Baqarah, kemudian an-Nisaa’, dan kemudian Aal ‘Imraan; manakala Ubayy mempunyai satu yang bermula dengan Surah al-Faatihah, kemudian al-Baqarah, an-Nisaa’, dan Aal ‘Imraan.8 Namun, tiada seorang pun daripada sahabat besar Nabi (ﷺ) ini yang membantah susunan yang disahkan oleh Khalifah ‘Uthmaan dan jawatankuasa sahabat yang menyalin dan mengedarkan salinan al-Qur’aan ke pelbagai pusat negara Islam. Malah, mereka dan sahabat lain membakar salinan mereka bagi mengelakkan sebarang kekeliruan.9 Semua ini tidak akan berlaku sekiranya susunan surah-surah tidak ditetapkan. Perlu juga diambil perhatian bahawa Jibreel menyemak al-Qur’aan sekali setiap Ramadan sepanjang hayat Nabi (ﷺ), kecuali pada tahun terakhir, di mana baginda membacakannya kepada Nabi (ﷺ) dua kali.10 Agar semakan sedemikian mempunyai sebarang nilai, susunan yang tetap mesti sudah wujud, terutamanya memandangkan sebahagian sahabat biasa mendengar Nabi (ﷺ) ketika membacakannya kepada Jibreel.

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.