The Sequence of Revelation of the Verses of Soorah An-Noor

19-3-2019 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalamualaikum My question is about surah an nur. Is the ayah from 1 to 10 revealed before ayah 11 to 21 or afterjQuery111006932159875931461_1550856467147 Which ayah of surah an nur revealed first?
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

Surat An-Noor [Quran 24] was revealed scattered over a long period of time.

We will mention to you the order of the verses according to their revelation sequence (as they were revealed), as follows:

1- The first of what was revealed from Surat an-Noor was the three first verses of the Soorah; Ibn ‘Ashoor said in at-Tahreer wat Tanweer:

“It is possible that the story of Murthad ibn Abu Murthad about whom the verse: {The fornicator does not marry except a [female] fornicator or polytheist….} [Quran 24:3] is the reason of the revelation of the first verses of this Soorah. So the verse {The fornicator does not marry except a [female] fornicator or polytheist} is the first purpose of (the revelation) of this Soorah, and the Saying of Allah: {The [unmarried] woman or [unmarried] man found guilty of sexual intercourse - lash each one of them with a hundred lashes.} is an introduction and forword to His Saying: {The fornicator does not marry except a [female] fornicator or polytheist.} [Quran 24:3].” [End of quote]

He also said:

“We will aslo discuss hereunder that the reason for the revelation of the verse in which Allah Says (what means): {The fornicator does not marry except a [female] fornicator or polytheist.} [Quran 24:3], is about the case of Murthad ibn Abu Murthad with ‘Inaaq.

Murthad ibn Abu Murthad was martyred in the month of Safar 3 AH in the batttle of Ar-Rajee’. So, the beginning of this Soorah was revealed before 3 AH, and it is most likely that it was revealed at the end of first year or Hijrah (1 AH) or the the beginning of the second year or Hijrah (2 AH) when the Muslims were successively migrating and the polytheists considered them as prisoners.” [End of quote]

2- The verses containing the story of Ifk [i.e. false accusation of the Mother of the Believers ‘Aa’ishah of adultery], which are verses (11 to 21); Ibn ‘Ashoor may Allaah have mercy upon him said: “Among its verses [i.e. verses of Soorah An-Noor] are the verses of the story of Ifk which were revealed after the battle of Benu Al-Mustalaq from Khuzaa’ah. The most correct view is that the battle of Benu Al-Mustalaq took place in the fourth year of Hijrah (4 AH), so it took place before the battle of Al-Khandaq (the trench). [End of quote]

As well as the two verses concerning the accusation (of adultery), which are verses 4 and 5, which reads: {And those who accuse chaste women ……} as they were revealed about the story of Ifk according to one view. Al-Qurtubi said in his Tafseer when elaborating on this story: “This verse was revealed about the two false accusers. Sa’eed ibn Jubayr said: “The reason of its revelation is what was said about ‘Aa’ishah, the Mother of the Believers may Allaah be pleased with her. Another view is that it was revealed about false accusations (of adultery) in general and not only about this incident.” [End of quote]

3- Verses about Li’aan, which are verses 6 to 10, {And those who accuse their wives [of adultery] ….}. Ibn ‘Ashoor also said: “Among its verses is {And those who accuse their wives [of adultery] and have no witnesses except themselves….} [Quran 24:6], it was revealed in the month of Sha’baan in the ninth year of Hijrah (9 AH) after the battle of Tabook. So these verses were revealed after the beginning verses of this Soorah. This necessitates that this Soorah was revealed scattered over a long period of time and some verses were joined with others.” [End of quote]

Allah knows best.

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