Medinan surah

A Medinan surah (Arabic: سورة مدنية, romanized: Surah Madaniyah) of the Quran is one that was revealed at Medina after Muhammad's hijrah from Mecca. They are the latest 28 Suwar. The community was larger and more developed, in contrast to its minority position in Mecca.^[1]

The Medinan Surahs occur mostly at the beginning and in the middle of the Qur'an (but are said to be the last revealed surahs chronologically), and typically have more and longer ayat (verses). Due to the new circumstances of the early Muslim community in Medina, these surahs more often deal with details of moral principles, legislation, warfare (as in Surah 2, al-Baqara), and principles for constituting the community. They also refer more often to the community with "O people!" and at times directly address Muhammad or speak of him as "an agent acting in combination with the divine persona: 'God and his messenger' (Q 33:22)".^[2]

The division of surahs into 'Meccan surahs' and 'Medinan surahs' is primarily a consequence of stylistic and thematic considerations, which Theodor Noldeke used to develop his famous chronology of the Qur'anic suras. Classification of the surahs into these periods is based upon factors such as the length of the verse and the presence or absence of certain key concepts or word (e.g. al-Rahman as name of God).^[3][2]

Characteristics of Medinan surahs

Following are some of the stylistic and subject characteristics of Medinan Surahs:

• Mention of 'Jihad' and detailing on its rulings.^{[citation needed]}
• Details of Islamic jurisprudence^[4] and legal system^[5] as well as laws governing family, money transaction, international law and acts of worship.
• Mention of 'Munafiq' and dealing with hypocrites.^{[citation needed]}
• Any verse that starts with يا أيها للذين آمنوا O you who believe.^{[citation needed]}
• Long verses.^{[citation needed]}
• Easier vocabulary.^{[citation needed]}
• Discussion in regards to the People of the Book.^{[citation needed]}

The Medinan phase

The Medinan phase lasted approximately 10 years. The phase began from Muhammad's hijrah to Madina; and ended with the death of Muhammad. While the themes of the Meccan surahs remain, the Muslims growing into more of a community and the formation of Ummah, now is clear.^[6]

Chronological order of Medinan surahs

The order of the 28 surahs, is as follows:

Order	Sura Name	Number	Note
87	Al-Baqara	2	Except 281 from Mina at the time of the Last Hajj
88	Al-Anfaal	8	Except 30-36 from Mecca
89	Aal-i-Imraan	3
90	Al-Ahzaab	33
91	Al-Mumtahana	60
92	An-Nisaa	4
93	Az-Zalzala	99
94	Al-Hadid	57
95	Muhammad	47	Except 13, revealed during the Prophet's Hijrah
96	Ar-Ra'd	13
97	Ar-Rahmaan	55
98	Al-Insaan	76
99	At-Talaaq	65
100	Al-Bayyina	98
101	Al-Hashr	59
102	An-Noor	24
103	Al-Hajj	22	Except 52-55, revealed between Mecca and Medina
104	Al-Munaafiqoon	63
105	Al-Mujaadila	58
106	Al-Hujuraat	49
107	At-Tahrim	66
108	At-Taghaabun	64
109	As-Saff	61
110	Al-Jumu'a	62
111	Al-Fath	48	Revealed while returning from Hudaybiyya
112	Al-Maaida	5	Except 3, revealed at Arafat on Last Hajj
113	At-Tawba	9	Except last two verses from Mecca
114	An-Nasr	110	Revealed at Mina on Last Hajj, but regarded as Medinan sura
Source(s)		[7]

See also

• Meccan surah
• List of chapters in the Quran

References

1. Vincent J. Cornell, Voices of Islam: Voices of tradition (2007), page 77
2. McAuliffe, Jane Dammen, "The Cambridge Companion to the Quran", Cambridge: 2006. p. 111.
3. (in Reviews) Studien zur Komposition der mekkanischen Suren by Angelika Neuwirth, Review author[s]: A. Rippin, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 45, No. 1. (1982), pp. 149–150.
4. Fiqh
5. Sharia
6. "Makkan and Madinan Revelations - QURAN INSTITUTE OF AMERICA".
7. "Revelation Order - Tanzil Documents". tanzil.net. Retrieved 2024-11-26.