A
sura (pl.
suwar) is a division of the
Qur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura (
Al-Kawthar) has only three
ayatAyah or Aayah is the Arabic word for sign or proof:"These are the Ayat of Allah, which We recite to you with truth...
(verses) while the longest (
Al-BaqaraSura al-Baqarah is the second and longest chapter of the Qur'an. It is a Medinan sura and comprises 286 verses, including the single longest verse in the Qur'an...
) contains 286 ayat. Of the 114 suras in the Qur'an, 86 are classified as
MeccanThe Meccan suras are the chronologically earlier suras of the Qur'an that were, according to Islamic tradition, revealed anytime before the Hijrah . The other type of sura is the Madinan sura....
while 28 are Medinan - this classification is only approximate as regards location of revelation - in actual fact, any sura revealed post-
HijrahThe Hijra is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Alternate spellings of this Arabic word are Hijrah, Hijrat or Hegira, the latter following the spelling rules of Latin.- Hijra of Muhammad :In September 622, warned of a plot to...
is termed Medinan and any revealed before that event is termed as Meccan. The Meccan suras generally deal with faith and scenes of the Hereafter, while the Medinan suras are more concerned with organizing the social life of the (then) nascent Muslim community.
Significance
According to the theory of Nazm-e-Quran promulgated by the
Farahi schoolHamiduddin Farahi was a celebrated Islamic scholar of Indian subcontinent known for his groundbreaking work on the concept of Nazm, or Coherence, in the Quran...
, each sura has a central theme (umud) around which the
ayahAyah or Aayah is the Arabic word for sign or proof:"These are the Ayat of Allah, which We recite to you with truth...
s of the sura revolve. Notable scholars like Irfan Ahmad Khan and
Shaykh GhazaliSheikh Mohammed al-Ghazali al-Saqqa , was an Islamic cleric and scholar whose writings "have influenced generations of Egyptians". The author of 94 books, Sheikh Ghazali attracted a broad following with works that sought to interpret Islam and its holy book, the Qur'an, in a modern light...
have also supported this view.
Ayat and suras are believed to be divinely determined in the text of the Qur'an, and hence carry special meaning. Ruku (division of sura comprising several ayat) is a later arrangement created for the ease of readability of later generations of Muslims.
Prayer
Suras are recited during
salatSalah is the practice of formal prayer in Islam. Its importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the Five Pillars of Sunni Islam, of the Ten Practices of the Religion of Twelver Islam and of the 7 pillars of Musta'lī Ismailis...
while in the position of Qiyam (standing upright). Sura Al-Fatiha is recited in every unit of prayer followed by another sura (or part of it). In an obligatory Salat, after two units, only Sura Al-Fatiha is recited.
Benefits of reciting suras
Islamic tradition holds that there are some suras, or parts thereof, that have certain benefits when recited. For example, reciting sura Al-Fatiha is said to be a cure for illness.
List of all suras in the Qur'an
Suras in the Qur'an are not arranged in the chronological order of revelation.
Amin Ahsan IslahiAmin Ahsan Islahi was a Pakistani Muslim scholar, famous for his Urdu exegeses of Qur'an, Tadabbur-i-Qur’an—an exegesis that he based on Hamiduddin Farahi's idea of thematic and structural coherence in the Qur'an.-Early life:...
says that the order of revelation has no significance for the present times, and the present arrangement is divinely ordained. Regarding the names of various suras, it is widely believed that this naming scheme is meant for the purpose of identifying different suras.
Names of Suras in the Qur'an
The verses and suras when revelead to
MuhammadMuhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
in the Qur'an did not come with a label attached to them. Muhammad, as we find in many
HadithThe term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
, used to refer to shorter suras not by name, rather by their first verse. For example: Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said, "
Al-Hamdu Lillahi Rabb il-`Aalameen is the Mother of the Qur'an, the Mother of the Book, and the seven repeated Ayat of the Glorious Qur'an." (Tirmidhi). We also find Hadith in which Muhammad used to refer to them by their name. For example, 'Abdullah bin Buraydah narrated from his father, "I was sitting with the Prophet and I heard him say, 'Learn Surat ul-Baqarah, because in learning it there is blessing, in ignoring it there is sorrow, and the sorceresses cannot memorize it."' (Ahmad)
Arab tradition, similar to other tribal cultures of that time, was to name things according to their unique characteristics. They used this same method to name suras. Most sura names are found in Hadith. Some suras were named according to their central theme, such as al-Faatiha (the Opener) and
YusufSura Yusuf is the 12th sura of the Qur'an, with 111 ayat. It is a Makkan sura. This sura tells the story of Prophet Yusuf, who is also known as Joseph in English by way of the Bible or Torah....
(Joseph), and some were named for the first word at the beginning of the sura, such as Qaaf, Ya-Seen, and
ar-RahmaanSurat ar-Rahman is the 55th sura of the Qur'an with 78 ayats.It has the refrain: "Then which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?"- Verse :Ar-Rahman is often regarded as the 'beauty of the Quran', in accordance with a hadith:...
. Some suras were also named according to a unique story or topic within the sura, such as
al-BaqaraSura al-Baqarah is the second and longest chapter of the Qur'an. It is a Medinan sura and comprises 286 verses, including the single longest verse in the Qur'an...
h (the Cow), an-Noor (the Light), while other suras were named according to a unique word used in them, such as az-Zukhruf (the Ornaments of Gold),
al-HadeedSurat Al-Ḥadīd is the 57th sura of the Qur'an, with 29 ayat.-Iron in the Qur'an:Surat Al-Hadid is the 57th Surah of the Qur'an prefixed by the Basmala...
(the Iron), and al-Ma`oon (the Small Kindness).
Most names of the suras are still used to this day. Several are known by multiple names: Sura al-Lahab (the Flame) is also known as al-Masad (the Palm Fibre). Sura
FussilatSurat Fussilat , also known as Surat Ha Mim al-Sajda is the 41st sura of the Qur'an with 54 ayat.سَنُرِيهِمْ آَيَاتِنَا فِي الآَفَاقِ وَفِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِ بِرَبِّكَ أَنَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌWe will henceforth keep visually exposing...
(Explained in Detail) is also known as Ha-Meem Sajda ("...it is a surah that begins with Ha Mim and in which a verse requiring the performance of
sajdah (prostration) has occurred.")
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