A Surah: much more than a chapter
A Surah is commonly translated as a Chapter, but it is way more than that. Neil Robinson writes in his book, Discovering the Quran: A Contemporary Approach to a Veiled text, “The difference between surahs and chapters was put succinctly by the eighteenth century Indian theologian Shah Wali-Allah of Delhi, when he wrote that the Quran should not be thought of as a book arranged in chapters and dealing with subject systematically, but rather as a collection of epistles by a king, each written for his subjects according to the requirements of the situation. The comparison of surahs with epistles (a letter, message or communication) is a highly suggestive one… We shall see later that it apparently throws light on the order in which the surahs occur. In addition, it helps to prepare the reader for many of the themes and motifs to be repeated in surah after surah, but with subtle modifications to fit the different circumstances of the recipients of the message.”
Each surah contains a different number of ayaat. When citing a passage of the Quran, the number of surah is written first, followed by the number of the ayah, both separated by a colon. For example, 3:113 refers to the 113rd ayah of the 3rd surah). Hamiduddin Farahi has defined a surah as, “a set of verses which is a wellknit discourse dealing with a specific theme. This set of verses must contain a preface, a central theme and a conclusion. A surah, therefore, must contain at least three ayaat (verses).”
The word Surah – is a proprietary word used by the Quran for a body of literature. Allah ﷻ says in Surah Al-Baqarah 2: 23,
وَإِن كُنتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِّمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَىٰ عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِّن مِّثْلِهِ وَادْعُوا شُهَدَاءَكُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful.
When Quran challenged the people of Arabia with – “bring forward a surah…”, they were baffled because they had never heard this word being used in this way before. In English, we say chapters or sections. The Arabs used the words – “kalaam”, “kaseeda” or “baab” for units of language but they had never used or heard the word “surah” used like this before.
Literally the word refers to a very high status, a very high place. It comes from the Arabic word “Sur” which means the outside walls of an ancient city. The purpose of these walls is to protect the cities. The walls are unusually tall and thick so that no one can climb over them and no one can dig under them. They are giant walls with only select entrances. Having select entrances means you need to have approval to enter these cities. You can’t just walk in.
When we build a house, and we want to mark the territory of our house, we build a fence around it. A ‘sur’ is more than this fence. It is not a private property build by a common person. It is built by the king, the ruler, the emperor of the whole city. It is the property of the king. When Quran used the word Surah for the units of the Quran, it immediately took everyone’s attention to the fact that this belongs to a king (malik), an owner (maalik). This set a tone for the majesty and grandeur of the Quran.
Building a sur requires a lot of time, work and investment. It needs a foundation and then it is raised brick by brick. A sur is high and thick and it cannot be scaled. Consequently, the surs are only put on high value places that are worth protecting. A sur tells us that whatever is inside it, is of a very high value. Similarly, a Surah in the Quran is highly valuable, and we cannot overcome it. It is impenetrable.
Arabs did not have these Surs – these great walls. Their cities did not have anything that needed protection. They had only seen the surs with wealthy and distant empires of that time like the Romans and Persians. This made them immediately think that this is not from around here. It is from a king who is far away. The word surah set a tone that it from God who is high above.
God presents a challenge to mankind to bring a surah like it. The choice of wordings that “He sent down the surah” indicates that it is an impossible task. Any sur that we as human beings try to make will be from the earth going upwards, whereas the Surahs of the Quran have been sent down to us from above. No matter how much effort we put in, we can never match it in its grandeur or elegance.
If someone does foolishly try to penetrate a sur, or climb over it or to attack that wall, they are not just attacking anyone in the city. They are making an offence against the king himself. Similarly, when anyone tries to scale a surah, they are making an offence against Allah ﷻ Himself.
Another way in which the word Surah was used was one of the floors of a multi floor building. There is a floor before it and there is a floor after it. There is a hint in the word surah that every surah is a part of a larger sequence. There is a specific structure to the surahs of the Quran i.e. which is first, which is second and so on. This order is set in stone and can’t be changed.
We can think of a Surah as a city of getting to know Allah ﷻ. Just like every city has its centre, each Surah has a main theme or idea. Some surahs are simple to understand with their words alone and have one simple main theme, but other surahs like Surah Baqarah and Surah Araf are full of various kinds of diverse gems that inspire contemplation. It is like a needle and a thread that has gone through several precious pearls to make an exquisite necklace. Just like some cities are small and some big- the surahs are also of varying lengths. Every surah, like a city, has its own climate, its own personality, its own signature, cure, sweetness and divine origin – some motivate, some inspire, some give good news, some issue warnings. Some have more details of Paradise and some have more details of Hellfire. Each surah imparts a specific message as its central theme. The completion of this theme marks the end of the surah. If there were no such specific conclusion intended to be dealt with in each surah, there would be no need to divide the Quran in surahs. Rather the whole Quran would be a single surah. Had God not intended dealing a specific issue in each surah in a coherent fashion, He would not have threaded its verses in a single unifying thread. A single wall must contain a single city in it. Just like very specific amenities are put together and a wall erected around it to build a city, a specific set of verses are placed together and named a surah.
When we travel, the neighbourhood of one city sometimes reminds us of a neighbourhood of another city. Similarly, different surahs can touch upon similar subjects and could be very well linked with each other, yet they are also independent and distinct units. For example, Surah Takwir (the Folding up, 81), Surah Inshiqaq (The Rending, 84), Surah Mursalat (Those that are sent forth, 77), Surah Naziat (Those that snatch away, 79) and Zariyat (The Winds, 51) address similar issues. However, their structure as well as style of expression is completely different.
Each Surah has its own name, like Al-Fatihah, Al-Baqarah, Al-Imran etc. Some Surahs also have multiple names. A Surah usually takes its name from the main theme, a story, or a distinctive word within it. Other than the Surah 19 – Surah At-Tawba, all surahs begin with Al-basmalah – “In the name of God – the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.” The first Surah is called Fatiha (The Opening) and the final Surah is called Nas (Mankind). Al-Fatihah means “The Opening” and it contains seven beautiful ayaat beginning with praise of God and a prayer for guidance to the right path. The Quran contains both short as well as long surahs. The shortest Surah is Surah Al Kawther (108) and the longest Surah is Surah Baqarah (2).
Scholars have documented details of places, times, occasions, conditions and ways in which revelation happened. Imam Jalalal-Din al-Suyuti in his book Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Quran presented 80 different classifications based on different things: Mecci versus Medeni; ayaat revealed when the Messenger was journeying versus when he was in his place of residence; revealed at night versus those revealed during the day; revealed in summer versus those revealed in winter; revealed while he was in bed and those revealed in his sleep, the occasions of revealation, first ones to be revealed versus the last ones to be revealed; those that were revealed to the previous prophets versus those that were not revealed to any of the preceding prophets; those that were revealed more than once; those surahs revealed as a whole versus those revealed in parts; the manner of revelation; and more…
Hazrat Ibn Masood رضي لله عنه says that I can say with certainty that which ayah was revealed when and where, in summer or winter, day or night! This tells us how precisely and accurately this word has reached us.
Each surah contains a different number of ayaat. When citing a passage of the Quran, the number of surah is written first, followed by the number of the ayah, both separated by a colon. For example, 3:113 refers to the 113rd ayah of the 3rd surah). Hamiduddin Farahi has defined a surah as, “a set of verses which is a wellknit discourse dealing with a specific theme. This set of verses must contain a preface, a central theme and a conclusion. A surah, therefore, must contain at least three ayaat (verses).”
The word Surah – is a proprietary word used by the Quran for a body of literature. Allah ﷻ says in Surah Al-Baqarah 2: 23,
وَإِن كُنتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِّمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَىٰ عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِّن مِّثْلِهِ وَادْعُوا شُهَدَاءَكُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful.
When Quran challenged the people of Arabia with – “bring forward a surah…”, they were baffled because they had never heard this word being used in this way before. In English, we say chapters or sections. The Arabs used the words – “kalaam”, “kaseeda” or “baab” for units of language but they had never used or heard the word “surah” used like this before.
Literally the word refers to a very high status, a very high place. It comes from the Arabic word “Sur” which means the outside walls of an ancient city. The purpose of these walls is to protect the cities. The walls are unusually tall and thick so that no one can climb over them and no one can dig under them. They are giant walls with only select entrances. Having select entrances means you need to have approval to enter these cities. You can’t just walk in.
When we build a house, and we want to mark the territory of our house, we build a fence around it. A ‘sur’ is more than this fence. It is not a private property build by a common person. It is built by the king, the ruler, the emperor of the whole city. It is the property of the king. When Quran used the word Surah for the units of the Quran, it immediately took everyone’s attention to the fact that this belongs to a king (malik), an owner (maalik). This set a tone for the majesty and grandeur of the Quran.
Building a sur requires a lot of time, work and investment. It needs a foundation and then it is raised brick by brick. A sur is high and thick and it cannot be scaled. Consequently, the surs are only put on high value places that are worth protecting. A sur tells us that whatever is inside it, is of a very high value. Similarly, a Surah in the Quran is highly valuable, and we cannot overcome it. It is impenetrable.
Arabs did not have these Surs – these great walls. Their cities did not have anything that needed protection. They had only seen the surs with wealthy and distant empires of that time like the Romans and Persians. This made them immediately think that this is not from around here. It is from a king who is far away. The word surah set a tone that it from God who is high above.
God presents a challenge to mankind to bring a surah like it. The choice of wordings that “He sent down the surah” indicates that it is an impossible task. Any sur that we as human beings try to make will be from the earth going upwards, whereas the Surahs of the Quran have been sent down to us from above. No matter how much effort we put in, we can never match it in its grandeur or elegance.
If someone does foolishly try to penetrate a sur, or climb over it or to attack that wall, they are not just attacking anyone in the city. They are making an offence against the king himself. Similarly, when anyone tries to scale a surah, they are making an offence against Allah ﷻ Himself.
Another way in which the word Surah was used was one of the floors of a multi floor building. There is a floor before it and there is a floor after it. There is a hint in the word surah that every surah is a part of a larger sequence. There is a specific structure to the surahs of the Quran i.e. which is first, which is second and so on. This order is set in stone and can’t be changed.
We can think of a Surah as a city of getting to know Allah ﷻ. Just like every city has its centre, each Surah has a main theme or idea. Some surahs are simple to understand with their words alone and have one simple main theme, but other surahs like Surah Baqarah and Surah Araf are full of various kinds of diverse gems that inspire contemplation. It is like a needle and a thread that has gone through several precious pearls to make an exquisite necklace. Just like some cities are small and some big- the surahs are also of varying lengths. Every surah, like a city, has its own climate, its own personality, its own signature, cure, sweetness and divine origin – some motivate, some inspire, some give good news, some issue warnings. Some have more details of Paradise and some have more details of Hellfire. Each surah imparts a specific message as its central theme. The completion of this theme marks the end of the surah. If there were no such specific conclusion intended to be dealt with in each surah, there would be no need to divide the Quran in surahs. Rather the whole Quran would be a single surah. Had God not intended dealing a specific issue in each surah in a coherent fashion, He would not have threaded its verses in a single unifying thread. A single wall must contain a single city in it. Just like very specific amenities are put together and a wall erected around it to build a city, a specific set of verses are placed together and named a surah.
When we travel, the neighbourhood of one city sometimes reminds us of a neighbourhood of another city. Similarly, different surahs can touch upon similar subjects and could be very well linked with each other, yet they are also independent and distinct units. For example, Surah Takwir (the Folding up, 81), Surah Inshiqaq (The Rending, 84), Surah Mursalat (Those that are sent forth, 77), Surah Naziat (Those that snatch away, 79) and Zariyat (The Winds, 51) address similar issues. However, their structure as well as style of expression is completely different.
Each Surah has its own name, like Al-Fatihah, Al-Baqarah, Al-Imran etc. Some Surahs also have multiple names. A Surah usually takes its name from the main theme, a story, or a distinctive word within it. Other than the Surah 19 – Surah At-Tawba, all surahs begin with Al-basmalah – “In the name of God – the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.” The first Surah is called Fatiha (The Opening) and the final Surah is called Nas (Mankind). Al-Fatihah means “The Opening” and it contains seven beautiful ayaat beginning with praise of God and a prayer for guidance to the right path. The Quran contains both short as well as long surahs. The shortest Surah is Surah Al Kawther (108) and the longest Surah is Surah Baqarah (2).
Classification of Surahs and ayaat
Ayaat of the Quran were revealed over a period of 23 years. The scholars look at several classifications while studying the surahs and ayaat of the Quran. Most common is Mecci (Meccan)or Medeni (Medinian) surahs. Out of the 114 surahs, 86 are classified as Meccan because majority of their ayaat were revealed before the Prophet ﷺ’s migration to Medina. The ayaat of these surahs focus mainly on restoring the belief in One God. The other 28 surahs are categorized as Medinian since majority of their ayaat were revealed after the Prophet ﷺ’s emigration from Mecca to Medina. The ayaat of these surahs have an emphasis on the commandments regarding believers’ relationship with their Lord, their fellow humans, and the rest of God’s creation.Scholars have documented details of places, times, occasions, conditions and ways in which revelation happened. Imam Jalalal-Din al-Suyuti in his book Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Quran presented 80 different classifications based on different things: Mecci versus Medeni; ayaat revealed when the Messenger was journeying versus when he was in his place of residence; revealed at night versus those revealed during the day; revealed in summer versus those revealed in winter; revealed while he was in bed and those revealed in his sleep, the occasions of revealation, first ones to be revealed versus the last ones to be revealed; those that were revealed to the previous prophets versus those that were not revealed to any of the preceding prophets; those that were revealed more than once; those surahs revealed as a whole versus those revealed in parts; the manner of revelation; and more…
Hazrat Ibn Masood رضي لله عنه says that I can say with certainty that which ayah was revealed when and where, in summer or winter, day or night! This tells us how precisely and accurately this word has reached us.