APPENDIX B
SURA ORDERINGS OF THE QUR'AN
The order in which the suras of the Qur'an were revealed has been a subject
of great interest for Eastern as well as Western scholars, in that it is
essential to tracing the development of Islam. In general, the lists of suras
are divided into two main groups: those revealed in Mecca and those
revealed in Medina. Seven different orderings are given below in column
form. The letters represent the following listings:
D : This sura ordering is given by Suyuti (El-Itkan, vol. 1, p. 5) from
the book Fadaylu'l-Qur'an by Ibn Durays (d. 906). The isnad
begins with Ibn `Abbas.
I : The sura ordering is given by Suyuti (El-Itkan, vol. 1, p. 4) from
the Dalaylu'l-Nubuwa of al-Bayhaqi (d. 1066 AD). The isnad
begins with Husayn b. Hasan and `Ikrima and is also transmitted
through Muhammad b. Ishaq.
F : This sura ordering is given in the Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim (d. 995) in
which the list of Nöldeke and Schwally, GQ (p. 61) was compared
with the translation of Dodge (pp. 49 ff.) and Flügel's edition of
the Fihrist (pp. 25 ff.). The isnad begins with Muhammad b.
Nu`man.
A : This ordering is based on the Qur'an codex of Ibn `Abbas as
related in the "Muqaddima" of the Tafsir of al-Shahrastani
(d. 1153). This listing was provided by al-Zandjani, who in turn is
quoted by Jeffery in Materials, p. 194.
J : This ordering is based on the Qur'an codex of Ja`far b. al-Sadiq as
given in the "Muqaddima" of al-Shahrastani (d. 1153). This listing
was provided by al-Zandjani, who is in turn quoted by Jeffery in
Materials, p. 330.