Sura: Difference between revisions

'''Sūra''' (Arabic: {{ia|سُورَة}}), in technical usage, means a part of the [[Holy Qur'an]] that has a coherent content and has a beginning and an ending. The Qur'an has 114 suras beginning with [[Sura al-Hamd]] and ending with [[Sura al-Nas]]. Suras of the Qur'an, except for [[Sura al-Tawba]], begin with "bism Allah" (English: "In the name of [[Allah]] the All-beneficent the All-merciful") phrase. The word "sura" is used 8 times in singular form and 1 time in plural. There's a disagreement about the order of suras being "[[tawqifi]]" (specified by Allah) or "[[ijtihadi]]" (by judgment of the [[companions]]).

The word "sura" is used 8 times in singular form and 1 time in plural form (Arabic: "{{ia|سُوَر}}").

Suras of the Qur'an, except for [[Sura al-Tawba]], begin with the phrase "bism Allah" ("In the name of Allah the All-beneficent the All-merciful").

* Suras which were revealed in Mecca and its outskirts, even after the emigration, are Makki; and suras which were revealed in Medina and its outskirts, are Madani.

* [[Al-Sab' al-Tiwal]] (the seven longs): this suras are the longest suras in the Qur'an, namely: [[al-Baqara]], [[Al 'Imran]], [[al-Nisa']], [[al-Ma'ida]], [[al-An'am]], [[al-A'raf]], and [[Yunus]].

* [[Al-Mi'un]]: the suras which have more than 100 verses and are not as long as al-Sab' al-Tiwal: [[al-Anfal]], [[al-Tawba]], [[al-Nahl]], [[Hud]], [[Yusuf]], [[al-Kahf]], [[al-Isra']], [[al-Anbiya']], [[TaHa]], [[al-Mu'minun]], [[al-Shu'ara']], and [[al-Saffat]].

* [[Al-Mathani]] (oft-repeated): near 20 suras which have less than 100 verses, like: [[al-Qasas]], [[al-Naml]], [[al-'Ankabut]], [[YaSin]], and [[Sad]].

The number of suras in the existing Qur'an is 114. According to some narrations from [[Ahl al-Bayt (a)]], [[Sura al-Duha]] and [[Sura al-Sharh]] are considered as one sura, and also [[al-Fil]] and [[Quraysh]], so the count of suras would become 112. There are some historical reports about [[Mushaf]]s of some of the [[companions]] which have more or less suras but the current Qur'an, which is collected in the time of the rule of [['Uthman]], has 114 suras and is verified by [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] and other [[Imams]].

Each sura of the Qur'an is named after the beginning words, or after the content and the massage of the sura; so the name of each sura is in accordance to its content, as [[Sura al-Baqara]] (the Cow) is named after the mention of the cow which [[Banu Isra'il]] had been commanded to slay (2:67), or [[Sura al-Nisa']] (Women) is named because some rulings about women is mentioned in it.

Some suras of the Qur'an have more than one name, for example [[al-Suyuti]] has mentioned 25 names for [[Sura al-Hamd]].

[[Jawadi Amuli]] doesn't accept the names of suras being tawqifi, and in contrast considers the common names of suras as names given to them by people and then the name became prevalent. He considers the usage of the names in some [[hadith]]s of Ahl al-Bayt because of the recognition of the sura with the name. He says: it's unlikely that a sura containing great knowledge, deep wisdom, and a lot of rulings being named after a cow; or a sura which contain 40 proofs for the unity of God being named after the cattle; or a sura with deep knowledge and the stories of many of the [[Prophet]]s being named after the ants.

The Qur'an was gradually revealed to the [[Prophet (s)]], in the length of 23 years ([[gradual revelation]]).<ref>Ṭabāṭabāī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 2, p. 15.</ref> According to the historical records, [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] was the first one to collect the Qur'an after the demise of the Prophet (s). The suras in the collected Qur'an ([[Mushaf of Imam 'Ali (a)]]) was ordered according to the order of [[revelation]]. After the completion of the work, he loaded it on a camel (due to its bulk) and brought it to the [[companions]], but they didn't accept it and said that they didn't need it,<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 89, p. 52.</ref> so Imam 'Ali (a) hid it and after that no one saw the mushaf. [[Shi'a]] believes that other [[Imams]] had inherited the mushaf and now it is in the possession of [[Imam al-Mahdi (aj)]].<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 89, p. 42.</ref> According to [[al-Shaykh al-Mufid]], Imam 'Ali (a) had ordered the Qur'an according to the order of revelation and placed [[Makki suras]] before Madani suras and [[al-Mansukh]] before [[al-Nasikh]].<ref>Maʿrifat, ''al-Tamhīd fī ʿulūm al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 290. </ref>

# The first sura revealed to the Prophet (s) is [[Sura al-'Alaq]], which was revealed in the beginning of [[Bi'tha]].

# The first sura was [[al-Muddaththir]], it is narrated from [[Umm Salama]]: "I asked [[Jabir b. 'Abd Allah al-Ansari]] about the first [[verse]] or sura revealed first and he said: 'al-Muddaththir'."

Some Qur'an researchers have combined the three opinions: the 3 or 5 first verses of Sura al-'Alaq was revealed in the beginning of [[Bi'tha]], shortly after that, some verses of the beginning of Sura al-Muddaththir was revealed, and the first ''complete'' sura revealed to the Prophet (s) was [[Sura al-Hamd]].<ref>Maʿrifat, ''al-Tamhīd fī ʿulūm al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 127. </ref>

There's a disagreement about the last sura revealed; some considered [[Sura al-Tawba]], [[Sura al-Nasr]], or [[Sura al-Ma'ida]] as the last sura.<ref>Maʿrifat, ''al-Tamhīd fī ʿulūm al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 127;  Suyūṭī, ''al-Itqān fī ʿulūm al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 101.</ref>

According to Shi'a [[hadith]]s, the last complete sura was Sura al-Nasr. When the sura was revealed, the Prophet (s) recited it to the companions and all became glad except for [[Al-'Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muttalib|al-'Abbas]], the uncle of the Prophet (s), who became very sad and said: "I think the sura announces the end of your mission", the Prophet (s) said: "you think right"; and the Prophet (s) demised two years later.<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 10, p. 467.</ref>

As the Sura al-Nasr is revealed after the [[Conquest of Mecca]] in 8/629, and Sura al-Tawba is revealed one year later, some combined the two facts as the last ''complete'' sura revealed is Sura al-Nasr, and Sura al-Tawba is considered the last sura because its beginning verses are revealed later, although the very last [[verse]] revealed is the [[Ikmal verse]] (see: [[Verse#First_and_Last_Verses|First and Last_Verses]])<ref>Maʿrifat, ''al-Tamhīd fī ʿulūm al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 128. </ref>