Aayah ya Qur’aani huitwa "aayah," ambayo kwa maana halisi ina maana ya ishara au alama ambayo kwayo mtu au kitu hutambulika,1 na sura huitwa "soorah," ambayo kwa maana halisi ina maana ya uzio au ukuta.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

Mpangilio wa aya ndani ya kila sura uliwekwa na Mtume (ﷺ) mwenyewe, kama inavyoonyeshwa katika hadithi kadhaa (maneno au matendo yaliyorekodiwa ya Mtume [ﷺ]). Kwa mfano, ‘Uthmaan ibn Abee al-‘Aas alisema, “Siku moja nilipokuwa nimekaa pamoja na Mjumbe wa Allaah (ﷺ), aliinua macho yake juu kwa kutazama, kisha baada ya muda akayashusha na kusema,

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,

Mtume (ﷺ) pia alitaja aya fulani zilizo katika nafasi maalum ndani ya sura.

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

Kwa mfano, Abu ad-Dardaa’ alisimulia kwamba Mtume ﷺ alisema,

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

"Yeyote atakayehifadhi aya kumi za kwanza za Suratul-Kahf atalindwa dhidi ya Ad-Dajjaal (Masihi wa Uongo)."4

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

Umar ibn al-Khattaab alitaja wakati wa khutba kwamba alikuwa na mkanganyiko kuhusu suala la urithi linalohusu mtu anayefariki bila wazazi wala watoto wa kurithi kutoka kwake. Aliendelea kumuuliza Mtume (ﷺ) kuhusu hilo, hadi akakasirika, akamsukuma kifuani kwa kidole na kusema,

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,

Ikiwa mpangilio wa aya haungekuwa umewekwa, hadithi hizi, na nyingine kama hizo, zinazohusisha faida maalum kwa aya fulani, zisingekuwa na maana. Pia kuna riwaya nyingi sahihi zinazoonyesha kwamba Mtume ﷺ alisoma surah pamoja na aya zake kwa mpangilio wake wakati wa swalah (sala), katika khutbah za Ijumaa, na kadhalika.

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.

Wakati wa kunakiliwa kwa pili kwa Qur'aan, Khalifa ‘Uthmaan binafsi alikagua nafasi ya kila aya katika kila sura, akihakikisha kwamba kila moja iko mahali pake, hata kama zilikuwa aya zilizofutwa hukumu zake. Ibn az-Zubayr alisimulia kwamba alimwambia Khalifa ‘Uthmaan: “Aya isemayo: ‘Na wale miongoni mwenu wanaokufa na kuacha wake...’6 imefutwa na aya nyingine, sasa kwa nini unaiandika [au kwa nini unaiacha ibaki imeandikwa]?” Akajibu: “Ee mpwa wangu, sitaondoa chochote kutoka mahali pake asilia.”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

Vivyo hivyo, mpangilio wa surah ulirekebishwa na Mtume (r) mwenyewe, ingawa imepokewa kwamba ‘Alee ibn Abee Taalib alikuwa ameandaa maandishi ambamo surah zilipangwa kulingana na wakati zilipoteremshwa. Yaani, yalianza na Surah al-‘Alaq, kisha al-Mudath-thir, kisha Noon. Pia imepokewa kwamba Ibn Mas‘ood alikuwa na maandishi yaliyoanza na Surah al-Baqarah, kisha an-Nisaa’, kisha Aal‘Imraan; huku Ubayy alikuwa na moja lililoanza na Surah al-Faatihah, kisha al-Baqarah, an-Nisaa’, na Aal ‘Imraan.8 Hata hivyo, hakuna hata mmoja wa masahaba hawa wakubwa wa Mtume (ﷺ) aliyepinga mpangilio uliothibitishwa na Khalifa ‘Uthmaan na kamati ya masahaba iliyonakili na kusambaza nakala za Qur’aan katika vituo mbalimbali vya dola ya Kiislamu. Kwa kweli, masahaba hawa na wengine walichoma nakala zao ili kuepuka mkanganyiko wowote.9 Hayo yote yasingetokea kama mpangilio wa surah haungekuwa umethibitishwa. Pia inapaswa kufahamika kwamba Jibreel alikuwa akiikagua Qur’aan mara moja kila Ramadhani ya maisha ya Mtume (ﷺ), isipokuwa mwaka wa mwisho, ambapo aliisoma kwake mara mbili.10 Ili ukaguzi kama huo uwe na thamani, mpangilio maalum ulipaswa kuwepo, hasa ikizingatiwa kwamba baadhi ya masahaba walikuwa wakimsikiliza Mtume (ﷺ) anapoisoma kwa 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.