The Chronological Analysis of the Quran

The Quran was revealed in Arabic to the Prophet Mohammadin 610 CE over
22 years. In the first twelve years of the revelation, the Prophetwas
living in Makkah )Mecca(. Persecution, at the hands of the tribe of
Quraysh then forced him, allallaahu alayhi wa sallam, and his
companionsto leave to Al-Madeenah, in what is known as the Hijrah
)immigration(, where he lived the last ten years.
The 114 chapters of the Holy Quran are not listed in the chronological
order of their revelation. This special order, however, was inspired
to the Prophetby Allaah, the Most Exalted, so it is a genuine quality
of the Quran. Each chapter is described as either Makkan or Madeenan,
depending on whether the majority of its verses were revealed before
or after the Hijrah.
Knowing the chronological order in which the different Soorahs
)Quranic chapters( or verses were revealed can be of importance in
some cases. And even though this may not be possible for all of the
6234 verses, because the sequence was recorded at anytime, through
sound Ijtihaad )research( and analysis, scholars were capable of
putting together the cases where authentic reports confirmed such
order and the cases where that order was made clear.
These efforts resulted in the development of a method in which the
revelation of the Quran was looked at in chronological terms as well
as dividing revelation into Makki )Makkan( and Madani )Madeenah( types
or periods.
We will first look at some of the benefits of this chronological
analysis, then proceed to discuss the Makki and Madani criteria and
their use in the Tafseer )interpretation of the Quran( and the
deduction of Fiqh )Islamic jurisprudence( rulings.
In the following we will present a very brief look at three main
benefits of the chronological analysis of the Quran, other benefits
and many more examples can be found in Al-Itgaan, by Imaam As-Suyooti:
Assessment of Rulings' Abrogation
Abrogation is a term that refers to the cases in which a ruling gets
abrogated by another. Simply put, abrogation means the replacement of
one verse by another thus reversing or repealing the ruling that was
revealed in it. Therefore, if we have a case in which we have two
verses that carry in them two rulings which oppose one another and we
could reconcile them in a way that is acceptable under the Principles
of Fiqh )Jurisprudence(, then we look at the chronological order of
their revelation to assess which verse carries the abrogated ruling.
Obviously, the verse revealed first carries the abrogated ruling, and
we should uphold the ruling carried in the late-revealed one.
Examples of that: If we knew that:
1. The verses making Salaah )prayer( obligatory were revealed in
Makkah before the Hijrah ]migration of Prophet Muhammadand his
companionsfrom Makkah to Madeenah[.
2. The verses making Zakaah )the Poor Due( and Sawm )fasting(
obligatory were revealed during the second year of Hijrah, and
3. The verses that established the obligation of Hajj )pilgrimage to
Makkah( were revealed in the sixth year of Hijrah,
We would know the sequence in which these pillars of Islam were established.
Appreciation of the Gradual Process in Legislation
This is an important part of the general message of Islam, especially
the aspect related to making prohibitions and having people go through
major changes of lifestyle. Knowledge of the chronology of how these
aspects were made in the early period of Islam leads one to appreciate
the wisdom behind the gradual process of legislation. A good example
of this is the prohibition of inebriants. First, people were told they
are bad but may have some benefit, as in the verse )which means(:"They
ask you )O Muhammad( about wine and gambling. Say, 'In them is great
sin and ]yet, some[ benefit for people.'"]Quran 2:219[
Then they were told not to drink before Salaah, through the verse
)which means(:"O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while
you are intoxicated ..."]Quran 4:43[
And later inebriants were prohibited altogether, through the verse
)which means(:"O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling,
]sacrificing on[ stone alters ]to other than Allaah[, and divining
arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you
may be successful. "]Quran 5:90[
In this example we notice the way the legislation considered the fact
that drinking was a major solid part of the Arabs' social life. But
the gradual approach used in indicating its harms and making it
prohibited on them made it easy for them to accept, a realistic
approach which we can all learn from.