HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Meccan surat are, according to the timing and contextual background of supposed revelation (''
asbāb al-nuzūl Occasions or circumstances of revelation ( ''al-nuzūl'', ) names the historical context in which Quranic verses were revealed from the perspective of traditional Islam. Though of some use in reconstructing the Qur'an's historicity, ''asbāb'' is ...
''), the chronologically earlier chapters (''
suwar A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah (''Al-Ka ...
'', singular ''
sūrah A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah (''Al-Ka ...
'') of the
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
. The traditional chronological order attributed to
Ibn Abbas ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās ( ar, عَبْد ٱللَّٰه ٱبْن عَبَّاس; c. 619 – 687 CE), also known as Ibn ʿAbbās, was one of the cousins of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is considered to be the greatest mufassir of the Qur'an ...
became widely accepted following its adoption by the 1924 Egyptian standard edition. The Meccan chapters are believed to have been revealed anytime before the migration of the Islamic prophet
Muhammed Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...
and his followers from
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
to
Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
(''
Hijra Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to: Islam * Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE * Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...
''). The
Medinan surah The Madni Surahs (Surah Madaniyah) or Madani chapters of the Quran are the latest 28 Surahs that, according to Islamic tradition, were revealed at Medina after Muhammad's hijrat from Mecca. The community was larger and more developed, as opposed t ...
s are those supposed revelations that occurred after the move. Meccan surahs are typically shorter than Medinan surahs, with relatively short verses ('' āyāt''), and mostly come near the end of the Qur'an. (As a general rule, the chapters of the Qur'an are ordered from longest to shortest.) Most of the chapters containing Muqatta'at are Meccan. The division of chapters into 'Meccan' and 'Medinan' is primarily a consequence of stylistic and thematic considerations. Classification of the chapters into these periods is based upon factors such as the length of the verse and the presence or absence of certain key concepts or words (e.g., '' al-Rahman'' as the name of God).


Characteristics of Meccan surahs

Following are some characteristics of Meccan verses, No 7 and 8 are stylistic characteristics, and the last 4 are content and subject characteristics: * Any chapter that has a verse that commands to prostrate to Allah (آيات السجدة) is Meccan, except chapters 13 and 22. * Any chapter that contains the word kalla كلا (never) is Meccan, and are found only in the second half of the Qur'an. * Any chapter that has the phrase ياأيها الناس ''Of individual'', but does not have the phrase يأيها اللذين آمنوا O you who believe is Meccan except chapter 22. * Any chapter that start with initial letters muqattaat are Meccan, except chapters 2,3 and 13. * Any chapter that relates the story of
Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
and Iblis (i.e.,
Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
) is Meccan, except chapter 2. * Any chapter that relates the stories of previous prophets and their people is Meccan, except
chapter 2 Chapter Two, Chapter 2, or Chapter II may refer to: Film, television, and theatre * ''Chapter Two'' (play), a 1977 play by Neil Simon * ''Chapter Two'' (film), a 1979 adaptation of Neil Simon's play Television episodes * "Chapter 2" (''American H ...
. * Short verses, and strong rhetorical style and rhythmic sound. * Repeated use of emphasis, exhortation, analogies and oath. * Emphasis on the belief in Allah, the
Day of Judgement The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
and description of
Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
and Heaven (
paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...
), except Chapter 2. * Call for adherence to good moral and universal characters like truthfulness, kindness to relatives, old and neighbour, etc. * Argument with the
polytheists Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religious sects and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism. Within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the b ...
and refutation of their associating partners with
Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
. * Warning the polytheists through stories of previous messengers when punishment came to their people when they rejected their message.


Chronological order of Meccan surahs

One chronological order proposed by
Abu al-Qasim `Umar ibn Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Kafi Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan * Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria * Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...
and considered the "traditional order" consists of 86 chapters, as follows: : 96, 68, 73, 74, 1, 111, 81, 87, 92, 89, :93, 94, 103, 100, 108, 102, 107, 109, 105, 113, :114, 112, 53, 80, 97, 91, 85, 95, 106, 101, :75, 104, 77, 50, 90, 86, 54, 38, 7, 72, :36, 25, 35, 19, 20, 56, 26, 27, 28, 17, :10, 11, 12, 15, 6, 37, 31, 34, 39, 40, :41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 51, 88, 18, 16, :71, 14, 21, 23, 32, 52, 67, 69, 70, 78, :79, 82, 84, 30, 29, 83
Theodor Nöldeke Theodor Nöldeke (; born 2 March 1836 – 25 December 1930) was a German orientalist and scholar. His research interests ranged over Old Testament studies, Semitic languages and Arabic, Persian and Syriac literature. Nöldeke translated several ...
(later known as the Nöldeke-Schwally chronology) proposed a different chronological order, consisting of 90 chapters, as follows: *from the first to the fifth year of Mohammed's mission :96, 74, 111, 106, 108, 104, 107, 102, 105, 92, :90, 94, 93, 97, 86, 91, 80, 68, 87, 95, :103, 85, 73, 101, 99, 82, 81, 53, 84, 100, :79, 77, 78, 88, 89, 75, 83, 69, 51, 52, :56, 70, 55, 112, 109, 113, 114, 1 *the fifth and sixth year of his mission: :54, 37, 71, 76, 44, 50, 20, 26, 15, 19, :38, 36, 43, 72, 67, 23, 21, 25, 17, 27, 18 *from the seventh year to
Hijra Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to: Islam * Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE * Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...
: :32, 41, 45, 16, 30, 11, 14, 12, 40, 28, :39, 29, 31, 42, 10, 34, 35, 7, 46, 6, 13


First Meccan surahs

The First
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
n period refers to the first period in which Muhammad started receiving revelations. The First Meccan
surah A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...
s are chapters that have been revealed throughout that period. They reflect the public setting in which they seem to have been shared and due to their structure and length, they seem to be presented in a manner that would be very easy to memorize and pass along orally, not to mention that many of the surahs seem to be used during early liturgies. They are relatively shorter than other chapters in the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
but are more diverse in terms of structure. Compared to other later surahs, the surahs of the First Meccan Period employ more rhymes despite their shorter length.How to Read the Quran by Ernst, page 76 They rank from being very short, a paragraph of less than five verses (for example surah 97, 103, 105, 108 and 111) to being organized in clusters of two (surahs 81, 91), three (surahs 82, 84, 86, 90, 92) or four verses (surahs 85, 89). Some of these surahs also take on a balanced tripartite structure that begin and conclude with. The major theme of these surahs revolves around presenting to humanity how obvious the existence of
God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
is through the use of
oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to ...
formulas involving the power of nature in an emphatic tone. We especially see the surahs reference destroyed civilizations, declaring their destruction to be the will of God. A stress is put on God being the creator of
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
and
Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
and everything that lies in between and also His unreachable generosity. In addition, certain surahs generally talk about ethics and values human beings should have, especially the fact that human beings should be humbled by God's power, they should not pursue an extravagant life, be loving and sharing, most particularly with the poorer. Last but not least these surahs contain
eschatological Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negati ...
prophecies. Although not elaborated as in later surahs, these prophecies appear with a threatening tone to make people generally know about the existence of the
Day of Judgement The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
and all that it encompasses (surah 103, 68, etc.), but also, they contain some of the more visual explanations of Heaven.


Second Meccan surahs

There are 21 surahs in the second
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
n period. These surahs have, on average, ayah between twelve and twenty syllables in length. Some surahs have fewer than fifty ayah, while others, such as surah 20, “
Ta-Ha Ṭā Hā (; ar, طه) is the 20th chapter (''sūrah'') of the Qur'an with 135 verses ('' āyāt''). It is named "Ṭā Hā" because the chapter starts with the Arabic ''ḥurūf muqaṭṭaʿāt'' (disjoined letters): (Ṭāhā) which ...
,” have well over 100 verses.Robinson, Neal. Discovering the Qurʼan: A Contemporary Approach to a Veiled Text. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown UP, 2003. Print. These surahs do not necessarily have distinct features, as the surahs of the first and third Meccan periods do, but instead display a blend of features from both earlier and later Meccan surahs. These middle surahs keep and expand upon the tripartite structure of the verse. According to Ernst, surahs that adhere to this structure (common in pre-Islamic Arab poetry) will have shorter first and third sections that parallel each other in scope and audience. The third section will “normally conclude with a flourish.” These parts bookend a somewhat larger middle section, which is “typically a narrative of prophecy and struggle”. These surahs also tend to use fewer oaths than earlier Meccan surahs, but take a much more confrontational approach in regards to the disbelievers. Some surahs in this period adopt a form resembling a
monotheistic Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford ...
service, as is often seen in later Meccan surahs. For example, surah 20 begins with a section proclaiming the greatness of God, and then transitions immediately into a story about Moses. After the lengthy story concludes, several verses are devoted to explaining the meaning of the story, especially as it relates to the disbelievers. Due to the presence of elements from earlier and later Meccan surahs, surahs of the middle Meccan period exemplify the gradual development of the Qur'anic revelations over time, as Muhammad's community slowly grew and changed. This is manifest in the fact that surahs of the second Meccan period tend toward self-referentiality, wherein the Qur'an uses "qur'an" (recitation or the Qu'ran) and "kitaab" (book) to make mention to its own existence (surahs 54, 37, 15, et al.), noting that indeed there is a holy message coming from God. Controversy from these verses have sprung up, wherein the question of the Word's existence is debated. Some believe that the Qur'an existed/exists for all time with God, while others believe that the Qur'an was simply the Word for the Arab peoples of Muhammad from his prophecy onward.


Third Meccan surahs

This period is marked from the beginning of Muhammad's public ministry to the
Hijra Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to: Islam * Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE * Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...
, or the Abyssinian emigration. According to the Yusuf Ali translation, the Third Meccan period refers to the time period from the seventh year to the Hijra, approximately 619-622 A.D. This period is characterized by the persecution of Muhammad and the Muslims by the Quraysh as it expanded to his clan, the Hashem. To persuade the clan to relent their protection of Muhammad, the
Quraysh The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...
boycotted the Hashem."Chronological Koran Part III: Late Meccan Period: A.D. 619-622." Wolf Pangloss. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. Revelations from this period are characterized by descriptions of the resurrection, paradise, and Judgment Day. In this period, the tripartite structure is abandoned for longer and less complex structure, showing a form of collection that still remains a mystery to scholars. They contain mostly long addresses to the community of the believers (much larger by this time). Also Muhammad begins to be addressed directly by God instead of being used as merely the medium by which God's message is transmitted. surahs of this period show the ways in which believers should act even when they face opposition and difficulties. By the third Meccan period, sensuous imagery of full-bosomed, wide-eyed and virginal maidens have been replaced by references to spouses.Robinson, Neal. Discovering the Qurʼan: A Contemporary Approach to a Veiled Text. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown UP, 2003. 88-92. N78/E6o of the Third Meccan Period: 'whoever of their fathers, their spouses and offspring have acted honourably' By the Third Meccan period, Muhammad and the Muslims had gained sufficient support. In the early Meccan periods, these sensuous descriptions and temptations of voluptuous virgins were used to attract the attention of the Meccan pagans however by the Third Meccan period goals had been realigned not to attract pagans but to encourage and foster a law-abiding community centered around worshipping the Word of God. In Nassourou, Mohamadou (2013), "The Qurʾanic verses: history, computer-supported reconstruction of the order of revelation, examining the concept of abrogation", AVM - Akademische Verlagsgemeinschaft, Munich, Germany, a complete reconstruction of the verses' chronology has been discussed.


See also

*
Medinan surah The Madni Surahs (Surah Madaniyah) or Madani chapters of the Quran are the latest 28 Surahs that, according to Islamic tradition, were revealed at Medina after Muhammad's hijrat from Mecca. The community was larger and more developed, as opposed t ...
*
List of chapters in the Quran The Quran is divided into Surahs (chapters) and further divided into Ayahs (verses). The real translation of the word Ayah is actually "Sign f Allah. For a preliminary discussion about the chronological order of chapters see page Surah. Each s ...


References

{{reflist * Asbab al-nuzul Culture in Mecca dv:މައްކީ އާއި މަދަނީ ސޫރަތް