Sab' Tiwal
Tiwal or Sabʿ al-Ṭiwāl (Arabic: السبع الطوال, meaning the seven Lengthy suras) is a title for seven long suras at the beginning of the Qur'an, which are according to a hadith, named by the Prophet (s). These seven suras which are all Madani except al-An'am and al-A'raf are: al-Baqara, Al 'Imran, al-Nisa', al-Ma'ida, al-An'am, al-A'raf and al-Tawba.
Some have considered Sura Yunus instead of al-Tawba and some others have considered suras al-Anfal and al-Tawba together as one of the seven Tiwal suras.
Contents
Meaning
"Tiwal" is an arabic word meaning "long"[1]. It seems that the cause of naming these seven suras as "Tiwal suras" is because of their great lengths in comparison to other suras of the Qur'an[2]
Naming
According to a hadith, naming these seven suras as Tiwal was made by the Prophet (s),
- "I am given Tiwal suras instead of the Torah, and Sunan suras instead of the Gospel, Mathani suras instead of the Psalms and I am prioritized over them by Mufassal suras which are 68 ones; and the Qur'an is superior to other books of past prophets"[3].
Tiwal Suras
The seven suras at the beginning of the Qur'an (after Sura al-Fatiha) which are known as Tiwal suras are: al-Baqara, Al Imran, al-Nisa', al-Ma'ida, al-An'am, al-A'raf and al-Tawba. Some scholars have counted Sura Yunus instead of Sura al-Tawba; and some others have considered Sura al-Anfal and Sura al-Tawba together as one of sab' al-tiwal[4].
- Sura al-Baqara, the second sura of the Qur'an which has 286 verses. This sura is Madani and is the longest sura of the Qur'an.
- Sura Al 'Imran is the second sura among Tiwal suras which is Madani and has 200 verses.
- Sura al-Nisa' is the third sura among Tiwal suras which is Madani and has 176 verses.
- Sura al-Ma'ida is the fourth sura among Tiwal suras which is Madani and has 120 verses.
- Sura al-An'am is the first Makki sura and the fifth among Tiwal suras which has 165 verses.
- Sura al-A'raf the same as Sura al-An'am is a Makki sura which is considered among Tiwal suras due to its volume and has 206 verses.
- Sura al-Tawba which is the seventh sura among Tiwal suras is a Madani sura and has 129 verses.
Some have considered Sura Yunus instead of al-Tawba and some others have considered Suras al-Anfal and al-Tawba together as one of the seven Tiwal suras.
Notes
- ↑ Ṭurayḥī, Majmaʿ al-baḥrayn, vol. 5, p. 414.
- ↑ Farhangnama-yi ulum-i Qur'an (the article Suwar-i sab'-i tiwal).
- ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 601.
- ↑ Maʿrifat, ʿUlūm-i Qurʾāni, p. 114.
References
- Ḥusaynī, Tihrānī. Mihr-i tābān. Mashhad: Nūr-i Malakūt-i Qurʾān, 1426 AH.
- Jurjāni, Ḥusayn b. Ḥasan. Jalāʾ al-adhhān wa jalāʾ al-aḥzān. Tehran: Intishārat-i Dānishgāh-i Tehran, 1377 Sh.
- Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1407 AH.
- Maʿrifat, Muḥammad Hādī. ʿUlūm-i Qurʾāni. Qom: Muʾassisa Farhangi Tamhīd, 1387 Sh.
- Suyūṭī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Abī Bakr al-. Al-Durr al-manthūr fī tafsīr al-maʾthūr. Qom: Maktabaṭ Āyat Allāh al-Marʿashī, 1404 AH.
- Ṭurayḥī, Fakhr al-Dīn b. Muḥammad al-. Majmaʿ al-baḥrayn. Edited by Sayyid Aḥmad Ḥusaynī. Tehran: al-Maktaba al-Murtaḍawīyya, 1375 Sh.
