

IslamQA: The chronology of the Quran

Salamalaikum, in regards to the ayahs and surahs of the Quran, is there a known and agreed upon chronology?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

We do not have enough information to build a complete chronology. But we have evidence here and there that tells us which verse or sura came before which. For example we know Surat al-Muzzamil is one of the earliest suras, while we also know that the Medinan suras all came afterwards. But sometimes a Medinan sura contains a verse or more from the Mekkan period, so just because a sura is considered Medinan is not sufficient to tell us that all of it is Medinan.

Check out this page for a list of the suras and their chronological order.

And God knows best.
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