The Qur’an is Allah’s final revelation to mankind. Every letter is blessed, and every āyah literally a divine sign. There is no better way to know Allah and to seek closeness to Him than through His uncreated speech: reciting it, understanding it, reflecting over its meanings, memorising its words, contemplating its wisdom, and living by its guidance. It contains the tales of past nations, the news of what is to come, and the cure for an ailing heart. Such is its power that simply listening to it has a uniquely soothing and spiritually uplifting effect.

This book aims to help readers better appreciate the Qur’an and become more acquainted with it. It is not a work of exegesis (tafsīr), nor an extensive commentary of any sort. Rather, it is—as its title states—an introduction to the sūrahs of the Glorious Qur’an. The same format is followed for every sūrah:

• Overview: A brief outline of the sūrah and its content. Where does its name come from? What does it speak about? And how does it speak about it?
• Context: This is essentially the relevant asbāb al-nuzūl (reasons for revelation) for the given sūrah. While the Qur’an is a timeless guide, there were often specific occasions cited in the books of Hadith and prophetic biography for when certain passages were revealed.
• Themes: The core repeated messages of any given sūrah form its themes and motifs. For example, some sūrahs may speak primarily about the stories of the prophets, while others may focus on legislation.
• Unique features: Any interesting information related specifically to the sūrah at hand is mentioned here.
• Lessons: A few lessons are given for the reader to try and implement. Allow the Qur’an to be a transformative force in your life!
• Virtues and valuable information: This is the faḍāʾil section for the given sūrah. Noteworthy virtues, rewards, and benefits will be cited here. Sometimes, statements from the Salaf are also quoted with regards to the sūrah in question or passages therefrom.

Since this is not a work of qur’anic commentary, there are no references given for the reports and traditions mentioned in the text. Given the plethora of research tools available at a fingertip’s length, assiduous seekers of knowledge would be able to find these sources without much trouble. Furthermore, there are no explanations given to said reports. They are almost always comprehensible at a plain-sense level, and any apparent contradictions can often be intuitively solved. These are nonetheless duly reconciled and thoroughly discussed in classic scholarly works for those who wish to turn to them. The reader should also keep in mind that the qur’anic sciences do not always consult the most authentic reports. Many of them relate to the sīrah, and are therefore more akin to history (tārīkh) than rigorous ḥadīth criticism. Similarly, traditions related to the virtues of actions (faḍāʾil al-aʿmāl) do not require the same level of authenticity as those related to theological (ʿaqīdah) or jurisprudential (fiqh) matters.

Sūrah and Āyah

The Qur’an is revealed into 114 units of revelation. This divinely ordained unit is known as a sūrah, often translated as ‘chapter’. Each sūrah is comprised of some number of āyāt, the plural word for āyah. The latter literally means ‘sign’, ‘marvel’, or ‘miracle’, and is mentioned many times in the Qur’an to this effect. In terms of revelatory units, an āyah can be thought of as a verse within the chapter. Some sūrahs were revealed in parts over time then later compiled under instruction from the Prophet ﷺ, and others were revealed all together from beginning to end in one go. Neither sūrahs nor āyāt have a fixed or roughly uniform length across the Qur’an. Some āyāt are made up of multiple sentences and clauses, while others are just a few letters long. Likewise, sūrahs may be more than a hundred verses long or as short as just three or four.

Makkan and Madinan Qur’an

The Qur’an was revealed over a period of 23 years. The Prophet ﷺ officially assumed prophetic office when he was 40 years of age, and passed away when he was 63 years old. Throughout his messengerhood, Allah would reveal to him that which is perfect for his personal circumstances and those of the wider ummah at that given time. Of those 23 years, 13 of them were spent in Makkah, and 10 came after the Hijrah (emigration) to Madinah. Qur’an revealed before the Hijrah to Madinah is referred to as Makkan, and Qur’an revealed after the Hijrah is referred to as Madinan. Accordingly, some sūrahs are wholly Makkan or wholly Madinan, while many are a mixture—portions of them were revealed before the Hijrah and other portions were revealed thereafter. The judgement of whether this latter type of sūrah is Makkan or Madinan is often given based on its majority, though nuance can be found in the classic works of qur’anic commentary, specifically those concerned with asbāb al-nuzūl (the occasion of revelation).

Juzʾ

As previously discussed, the chapters of the Qur’an are known as sūrahs, while the verses of the Qur’an are known as āyāt. So what is a juzʾ? The word juzʾ literally means ‘part’ and comes from a man-made division of the Qur’an into 30 roughly equal sections. A juzʾ has no revelatory value and is completely arbitrary, though is nonetheless a useful tool that many Muslims use for their memorisation and prayers. For example, in Ramadan, an imam who wishes to recite the whole Qur’an during the holy month will recite roughly one juzʾ per night.

Sajdah Tilāwah

There are certain passages in the Qur’an—15 according to modern popular prints of the muṣḥaf—after whose recitation the Prophet ﷺ prostrated (i.e. performed sajdah). This type of prostration is referred to as a sajdah of tilāwah; that is a prostration borne of qur’anic recitation. If you’ve prayed tarāwīḥ in congregation before, you’ll likely remember the embarrassing moment after the imam made takbīr and everyone went into sujūd while you went into rukūʿ. A merciful imam usually warns the congregation beforehand to avoid this type of tragedy, “There will be a sajdah of tilāwah in the first/second rakʿah.” The four jurisprudential schools of thought differ as to how many sajdahs there are in the Qur’an. For simplicity, this book will conform to the 15 commonly highlighted in the muṣḥaf using the symbol: ۩.

May Allah make this a blessed book, taking after the Blessed Book about which it is written. May Allah accept our meagre efforts and forgive our ample shortcomings and mistakes. May Allah, of His boundless mercy, include us among His choicest slaves: the people of the Qur’an! Āmīn.