Why different verses of different surahs were revealed at different times.

I wondered once why different verses from different surahs were revealed at different times, this was the case with especially long surahs like Al Baqarah (2nd chapter), Aal Imraan (3rd) etc. But with shorter surahs like surah al falaq, nas etc - they were usually revealed all at once.



But why weren't they revealed altogether? The answer's quite simple.

Since the verses were regarding different situations which the believers faced - they had to be revealed at separate times. This would allow the verse to have a context and it would be an example for future generations to derive rulings from.

I.e. the verses on permission to fight back to defend against the aggressors in Medinah were revealed when defense was really needed. So we could see them verses and see what the Messenger of Allah and his companions did when them verses were revealed - this placed a context for the future generations of Muslims to learn how the companions understood them verses, and how they put them into practise.



Having context for verses means that we have examples to look upto - examples who were direct students of the Messenger of Allah who would explain to them anything if they didn't understand the verse.






During the life of the Messenger of Allah, he would recieve verses from different surahs. So a whole surah may not have been revealed to him in its entirety, and while this surah is not revealed altogether - other surahs would also be revealed.

As they were revealed - he (peace be upon him) was taught by Angel Jibreel which verse belonged to which surah, and he (peace be upon him) would teach his companions where to place the verse in the surah while some of them would memorise and others write it down.


more detail on the compilation (if you're interested):
http://www.islamicboard.com/refutati...html#post74524





But what was the reason for the verses coming at different times for different surahs?


When we look at the different surahs in the Qur'an, each surah is targeted at a certain group of people.


For instance;

Surah Bani Israel/Israa' is targetting Jews.

Surah Maryam is targetting Christians.

Surah Az-Zumar is targetting polytheists.

These are just a few examples, there are many more in the Qur'an and they have alot of secret gems within them - which can only be unlocked if you understand that religion that the surah is targetting.



I'll let you read this to understand what i've just said (it's really kool with examples);
http://www.islamicboard.com/quran/53...s-respond.html



Therefore - since the verses were revealed in different situations for different circumstances, one verse may have been placed in one surah while another verse which may have been so similar to it was placed in another surah.



This is why you'll hear alot of repetition in the Qur'an of the same story throughout differen't surahs, but when the narration is repeated - it isn't always exactly the same - there's always a slight difference in detail. This slight detail is what will differ and target that different religious audience - to draw them closer to Allah - you just have to find where that gem is.




And Allah knows best.