Suwar

The Meccan surah generally deal with faith and scenes of the Hereafter while the Medinan surah are more concerned with organizing the social life of the nascent Muslim community and leading Muslims to the ultimate goal of attaining dar al-Islam by showing strength towards the unbelievers. Except for surah "At-Tawbah", all suwar commence with "In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful" (Arabic: بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ, romanized: bi-smi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm). This formula is known as the basmalah (Arabic: بَسْمَلَة) and denotes the boundaries between suwar. The suwar are arranged roughly in order of descending size; therefore the arrangement of the Quran is neither chronological nor thematic. Surah are recited during the standing portions (Arabic: قيام, romanized: qiyām) of Muslim prayers. "Al-Fatiha", the first surah of the Quran, is recited in every unit of prayer, and some units of prayer also involve recitation of all or part of any other surah.