Makkan and Madeenan Quran.

As part of studying the revelation of the Quran, the Muslim scholars have categorised the Soorahs (chapters) of the Quran and their verses according to the time or era of their revelation. This is the subject that came to be known as the Makkan and Madeenan division, or revelation, of the Quran. This division is logical since the Prophet, Muhammad received revelation over twenty-three (23) years: thirteen (13) of them he spent in Makkah and ten (10) in Madeenah.

The correct and well-established definition of Makkan and Madeenan Quran is the one in which the Chapters and verses that were revealed prior to the Hijrah or immigration of Prophet Muhammad from the city of Makkah to the city of Madeenah, are known as 'Makkan'. All other Chapters and verses that were revealed after this time are termed 'Madeenan'.

The location of their revelation is not necessarily relevant to this classification, such that there may be certain revelations that were revealed in Makkah, but are classified as Madeenan because of the period of their revelation. A good example of this is the Chapter of An-Nasr (Divine Support), number 110, which was revealed in Minaa (outskirts of Makkah) yet it is classified as a Madeenan Chapter because it was revealed while the Prophet was living in Madeenah just a few months before he passed away.

The Makkan part of the Noble Quran deals mainly with beliefs like the Creation as in the verse (which means): "And a great number of towns (their population) We destroyed (for their crimes). Our torment came upon them (suddenly) by night or while they were taking their midday nap." [Quran 7:4], the Oneness and Uniqueness of Allaah, the Most Exalted, as in the verses (which mean): "Say (O Muhammad): 'He is Allaah, (the) One. Allaah the Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need. He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him." [Quran 112], prophethood, as in the verse (which means): "It is He (Allaah) who has sent among the unlettered a Messenger (Muhammad) from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book [Quran] and wisdom [i.e. the Sunnah or Prophet's sayings] — although they were before in clear error —." [Quran 62:2], the revelation, as in the verse (which means): "Verily, We have sent it (this Quran) down in the night of Al-Qadr (Decree)." [Quran 97:1], angels, as stated in the verse (which means): "Whoever is an enemy to Allaah, His Angels, His Messengers, Jibreel (Gabriel) and Meekaa’eel (Michael), then verily, Allaah is an enemy to the disbelievers." [Quran 2: 98], and The Day of Judgement as in verses (which mean): "Then (on the Day of Judgement) as for him whose balance (of good deeds) will be heavy. He will live a pleasant life (in Paradise). But as for him whose balance (of good deeds) will be light. He will have his home in a pit (Hell). And what will make you know what it is? (It is) a fiercely blazing Fire!" [Quran 101: 6-11]

General disobedience of man, and his punishment and reward are frequent themes in the Makkan verses.

The creation and development of man in the mother's womb is taken to be a wondrous thing.

Madeenan parts, on the other hand, are filled with laws, both universal as well as worldly (marriage, divorce, heritage, blood-money, other transactions, etc). Special emphasis is laid on justice and fairness. Social interaction and ethical rules have been elaborated time and time again. Politics, worship and prayers are also frequently discussed.


Next, is a list of the Makkan and Madeenan Chapters is provided for easy reference. The list is based on the classification used by the Mus-haf (Quran text book) we read today. For the sake of brevity, only the Chapter numbers are provided:

Makkan Chapters:

6/7/10/11/12/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/23/25/26/27/28/29/30/31/32/

34/35/35/36/37/38/39/40/41/42/43/44/45/46/50/51/52/53/54/56/67/

68/69/70/71/72/73/74/75/77/78/79/80/81/82/83/84/85/86/87/88/89/

90/91/92/93/94/95/96/100/101/102/103/104/105/106/107/108/109/

111/112/113/114.

Madeenan Chapters:

2/3/4/5/8/9/13/22/24/33/47/48/49/55/57/58/59/60/61/62/63/64/65/

66/76/98/99/110.

Accordingly, the Makkan Chapters are 85 in number, and the Madeenan are 28, the total of which is 113, where it should be 114. The reason for missing a Chapter is the fact that we did not include the first Chapter in the Mus-haf, which is Al-Faatihah, or the Opening Chapter. This Chapter has been reported as having been revealed twice, one time in Makkah and another in Madeenah. Therefore, it was not included in either of them.

It should be pointed out that the only way for us to know whether a Chapter is Makkan or Madeenan is through narration, and not by Ijtihaad (the exertion of effort on the part of a qualified Islamic scholar to deduce an Islamic law for an issue about which there is no clear, specific text). Thus, the only way to distinguish them is through authentic narrations from the Companions narrated from the Prophet .

Live with the QURAN

Allaah The Exalted Says (what means): {It was the month of Ramadhaan in which the Quran was [first] sent down as guidance for all people, having [in it] clear proofs of [Divine] guidance and the criterion.} [Quran 2:185]

Since that first Ramadhaan revelation, believers the world over and across history have drawn nearer to Allaah Almighty, rejuvenated their faith, found their purpose in life, saved their souls from hellfire, and found the key to eternal happiness in Paradise with their Beloved Lord through the Quran.

Almost exactly 1,433 years ago, the Beloved Messenger of Allaah commenced his journey form Makkah to Madeenah and laid the foundations of the greatest community of believers ever to have lived. Among the foundations of that Community of men and women was a radiant and vibrant faith in Allaah Almighty, unflinching love for His Prophet and brotherhood and sacrifice for each other. These virtues were implanted in their souls by the Prophet through the guidance of the Quran. The foundation of that Community was the Quran. The Word of God was what that blessed Community stood for.

Allaah's speeches, delivered and explained to them by His impeccable Messenger had created and nurtured that community in Makkah for the previous 13 years. In the second year of Hijrah or shortly afterward, the verses about fasting were revealed that eventually made the fasting of the month of Ramadhaan an obligation. Just like all other foundational markers and rituals of that blessed Community, the month of fasting was connected to the Quran.

The pillar of Islam prior to fasting, that of Prayer, was also built around the Quran. The Prophet and his followers prayed from the very beginning of his blessed call, and read Quran in it. The five regular prayers had been revealed toward the end of Makkan life (in the year 10 or 12 of prophethood) at the occasion of the Prophet's Ascension (Mi`raaj) to Heaven. The Quran had already alluded to the number of obligatory prayers, their times, and content, and the Prophet had given them their final form by way of instruction from the Archangel Gabriel.

The month of fasting was designed, in the wisdom of Allaah, to celebrate the Quran in a different way, but one which complemented the prayer. While the regular prayers set the tone and the rhythm of the daily life of the believers, Ramadhaan would challenge them and all their spiritual descendants to soar even higher in their worship and remembrance of their Creator, and specifically to rejuvenate that daily routine of prayer.

Allaah, Most High, is, of course, all aware of His servants, whose habitual practices inevitably become monotonous. Thus the heart rusts. Feelings mellow. Intellectual acuity in the form of spiritual understanding clouds over. Hence, perspectives blur. The journey of faith begins to seem long and uneventful from day to day. Impulsive and short-sighted—"Man has been created from haste" [Quran 21:37]—the human being is nonetheless capable of rising to great heights, provided he is prompted with proper reminders that hold his attention to his task and path. For no matter how great the reward, how high the stakes, when the human heart loses sight of its purpose and road, it gives up the struggle. It needs peaks from where to see the end clearly, oases wherefrom to fill up on hope in order to gain the stamina required to cross the many difficult vales along the way.

The Month of Ramadhaan provides that climax, that summit, that viewpoint. It comes with intense physical training. But its soul is the Quran. It is only as good as the closeness to the Quran—both spiritual and intellectual—that one attains in it.

Without exemplifying the meanings of the Quran, without pondering its signs, and rethinking the whole life in a coherent way through it, Ramadhaan becomes empty. That is why the Prophet has tied fasting and the Quran together as the two intercessors on the Day of Judgment: The Prophet said: "Fasting and the Quran will intercede on behalf of the servant on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say: `O Lord! I prevented him from food and satisfying his desires during the day. Therefore, do Thou make mean intercessor for him.' The Quran will say: `I prohibited him from sleeping at night, therefore, do Thou make me an intercessor for him.' Thus shall they intercede'” [Ahmad]

An intervening plea, then: Let us both strive, then, you and I, to make this Ramadhaan truly the month of the Quran, a month in which we transcend the monotony of life and reach a new level of faith and bliss. For we know not how many Ramadhaan peaks we have left before our way ends.

Chronological Analysis of the Quran

The Quran was revealed in Arabic to the Prophet Mohammad in 610 CE over 22 years. In the first twelve years of the revelation, the Prophet was living in Makkah (Mecca). Persecution, at the hands of the tribe of Quraysh then forced him, allallaahu alayhi wa sallam, and his companions to leave to Al-Madeenah, in what is known as the Hijrah (immigration), where he lived the last ten years.

The 114 chapters of the Holy Quran are not listed in the chronological order of their revelation. This special order, however, was inspired to the Prophet by Allaah, the Most Exalted, so it is a genuine quality of the Quran. Each chapter is described as either Makkan or Madeenan, depending on whether the majority of its verses were revealed before or after the Hijrah.

Knowing the chronological order in which the different Soorahs (Quranic chapters) or verses were revealed can be of importance in some cases. And even though this may not be possible for all of the 6234 verses, because the sequence was recorded at anytime, through sound Ijtihaad (research) and analysis, scholars were capable of putting together the cases where authentic reports confirmed such order and the cases where that order was made clear.

These efforts resulted in the development of a method in which the revelation of the Quran was looked at in chronological terms as well as dividing revelation into Makki (Makkan) and Madani (Madeenah) types or periods.

We will first look at some of the benefits of this chronological analysis, then proceed to discuss the Makki and Madani criteria and their use in the Tafseer (interpretation of the Quran) and the deduction of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) rulings.

In the following we will present a very brief look at three main benefits of the chronological analysis of the Quran, other benefits and many more examples can be found in Al-Itgaan, by Imaam As-Suyooti :

Assessment of Rulings' Abrogation :
Abrogation is a term that refers to the cases in which a ruling gets abrogated by another. Simply put, abrogation means the replacement of one verse by another thus reversing or repealing the ruling that was revealed in it. Therefore, if we have a case in which we have two verses that carry in them two rulings which oppose one another and we could reconcile them in a way that is acceptable under the Principles of Fiqh (Jurisprudence), then we look at the chronological order of their revelation to assess which verse carries the abrogated ruling. Obviously, the verse revealed first carries the abrogated ruling, and we should uphold the ruling carried in the late-revealed one.

Examples of that: If we knew that:

1. The verses making Salaah (prayer) obligatory were revealed in Makkah before the Hijrah [migration of Prophet Muhammad and his companions from Makkah to Madeenah].
2. The verses making Zakaah (the Poor Due) and Sawm (fasting) obligatory were revealed during the second year of Hijrah, and
3. The verses that established the obligation of Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) were revealed in the sixth year of Hijrah,
We would know the sequence in which these pillars of Islam were established.

Appreciation of the Gradual Process in Legislation :
This is an important part of the general message of Islam, especially the aspect related to making prohibitions and having people go through major changes of lifestyle. Knowledge of the chronology of how these aspects were made in the early period of Islam leads one to appreciate the wisdom behind the gradual process of legislation. A good example of this is the prohibition of inebriants. First, people were told they are bad but may have some benefit, as in the verse (which means): "They ask you (O Muhammad ) about wine and gambling. Say, ‘In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people.’” [Quran 2:219]

Then they were told not to drink before Salaah, through the verse (which means): "O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated ..." [Quran 4:43]

And later inebriants were prohibited altogether, through the verse (which means): "O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allaah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful. " [Quran 5:90]

In this example we notice the way the legislation considered the fact that drinking was a major solid part of the Arabs' social life. But the gradual approach used in indicating its harms and making it prohibited on them made it easy for them to accept, a realistic approach which we can all learn from.