وَقُرْءَانًا فَرَقْنَٰهُ لِتَقْرَأَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ عَلَىٰ مُكْثٍ وَنَزَّلْنَٰهُ تَنزِيلًا
25:33; 73:5.
Commentary:
This verse explains why the present order of the chapters and verses of the Quran is different from the order in which they were originally revealed. As a matter of fact the Quran had to meet the needs of two classes of people: (a) It had to answer the temporary objections, of its immediate addressees and satisfy the immediate needs of the first converts to Islam; and (b) it had to lay down guidance for the multitudinous and multifarious problems of mankind for all time. The verses dealing with the objections of Meccan idolaters and the spiritual upbringing of early Muslims naturally had to be revealed first and those which dealt with the lasting spiritual human needs were revealed afterwards. Thus the Quranic verses were revealed piecemeal and at intervals. Whenever a particular objection was raised by disbelievers, verses containing the answer to such an objection were revealed. Similarly, when early Muslims were required to be provided with guidance at a particular occasion, necessary and relevant verses were revealed to meet the needs of that occasion. That was the order in which the Quran was originally revealed. But since the temporary needs of the immediate addressees of the Quran were different from the permanent requirements of mankind in general, the order in which the Quran was later compiled in the form of a book had naturally to be different from that in which it was originally revealed. It may be noted that the present order of the chapters of the Quran and of the verses was also made in accordance with Divine command. There are traditions which clearly relate that whenever a verse or a group of verses was revealed to the Holy Prophet, he would send for one of the recorders and direct him to record the revealed verse or verses indicating to him at the same time the chapter and the particular place in it to which they belonged. This shows that whenever the Holy Prophet received a certain revelation he was also divinely informed where the revealed verse or verses were to be placed. It is indeed an outstanding miracle of the Quran that it was revealed in an order which was best suited for the needs of the period during which it was revealed and was arranged for permanent use in the order which was also best suited for humanity’s permanent needs. The subject of the Quranic verses having been revealed in one order and subsequently arranged in a different order has been dealt with at some length in General Introduction.
25:33; 73:5.
The Qur’an had to meet the needs of two classes of people: (a) It had to answer the temporary objections of its immediate addressees and to satisfy the immediate spiritual needs of the first converts to Islam: and (b) it had to lay down guidance for the multitudinous and multifarious problems of mankind for all time. The verses dealing with the objections of Meccan idolaters and the spiritual upbringing of early Muslims naturally had to be revealed first and those which dealt with the lasting spiritual human needs were revealed afterwards. Thus the Quranic verses were revealed piecemeal and at intervals. Whenever a particular objection was raised by disbelievers, verses containing the answer to such an objection were revealed. Similarly, when the early Muslims were required to be provided with guidance at a particular occasion, necessary and relevant verses were revealed to meet the needs of that occasion. That was the order in which the Qur’an was originally revealed. But since the temporary needs of