The Order of Revelation of Surahs of The Holy Qur’an And The Scribes of Revelation

Question: According to the revelation which is the first and last surahs of the Holy Qur’an? After the revelation by who was the Holy Qur’an   written?

Answer: Whatever is written by the reliable Islamic historians according to that, the first Surah which was revealed on the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) was:

Read in the name of your Lord Who created.1

And the last Surah was Surah Tawbah. The subject matter of these surahs also support this assertion.

As regards the writing of Qur’an in the period of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) is concerned it can be said that whatever Ayats which were revealed to him some of his selected comparisons use to regularly and formally ask him about those Ayats and write them in the style of Kufaite style which was the current style of writing in those days.

Those gentlemen were called Katibe-Vahi meaning writers of the revelations of the Holy Qur’an. Historians have written the number of these persons to be 43. Out of those 43 persons, Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) and some other companions worked very hard work as compared to the rest in the job of writing the Ayats of Qur’an. They use to always remain present in the service of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) and under his subtle guidance and supervision wrote all the revealed Ayats.

Keeping in mind that the foundation of Islam is on that heavenly book and it is the basic law of Muslims in all the spheres of social and the individual life, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) himself specially arranged the chapters and verses in the present form.

At the time of demise of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) the whole Qur’an was in existence in written form with the Muslims. Many people had also committed it to memory. The Holy Qur’an, which is present with the Muslims, is the same which existed with the Muslims at the time of demise of the Prophet (s.a.w.a.).

• 1. Surah Alaq 96:1

Philosophy of Islamic Laws:Ayatullah Naser Makarem Shirazi, Ayatullah Jafar Subhani