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قQuranicpediaEncyclopedia of the Glorious Qur’an

Surah سورة

In review — pending scholar verification

A chapter of the Quran. The Quran is divided into 114 surahs, varying in length.

Overview

A surah (سُورَة) is a chapter of the Quran. The Quran contains 114 surahs, each composed of one or more ayat. Surahs vary widely in length, from Surah Al-Kawthar with three ayat to Surah Al-Baqarah with 286. Each begins with the basmalah except Surah At-Tawbah.

Etymology

The Arabic سُورَة is variously traced by lexicographers to roots meaning an elevated wall enclosing a city, a rank or degree, or an excellent thing set apart. Ibn Kathir notes that each surah encloses a distinct unit of revealed speech as a wall encloses a city, set apart from what precedes and follows.

Quranic references

The Quran refers to its own surahs by name within the text:

قُلْ فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِّثْلِهِ
  • Surah Yunus 10:38 — 'Or do they say [about the Prophet], He invented it? Say, Then bring forth a surah like it...'
  • Surah Al-Baqarah 2:23 — 'And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant, then produce a surah the like thereof.'
  • Surah At-Tawbah 9:64 — 'They are apprehensive lest a surah be revealed about them...'
  • Surah An-Nur 24:1 — '[This is] a surah which We have sent down and made [that within it] obligatory...'

These verses contain the famous tahaddi (challenge) of the Quran: that no human or jinn can produce even one surah comparable to it.

Classification and order

Scholars classify surahs as Makki (revealed before the hijra at Mecca) or Madani (revealed at Medina). The order of compilation in the mushaf was established by the Prophet ﷺ and confirmed by the Sahaba under Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, with the work of Zaid ibn Thabit.

Hadith and tradition

Specific surahs carry particular virtues:

The Prophet ﷺ said: "There is a surah in the Quran with thirty ayat which intercedes for a man until he is forgiven. It is Surah Tabarak alladhi biyadihi-l-mulk (Al-Mulk)."— Sunan Abi Dawud 1400, graded Hasan by al-Albani

The Prophet ﷺ also taught that Surah Al-Fatihah is the greatest surah in the Quran (Sahih al-Bukhari 4474).

See also

References

  1. Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim, introduction and commentary on Surah Al-Baqarah 2:23.
  2. Al-Tabari, Jami al-Bayan, commentary on Surah Yunus 10:38.
  3. Al-Qurtubi, Al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Quran, introduction on the names and divisions of the surahs.
  4. Sunan Abi Dawud 1400, on the virtues of Surah Al-Mulk, graded Hasan by al-Albani.