Surah

A surah (/ˈsʊərə/;^[1] Arabic: سُورَة, romanized: sūrah; pl. سُوَر, suwar) is an Arabic word meaning 'chapter' in the Quran. Its plural form in Arabic is suwar.

There are 114 suwar in the Quran, each divided into ayat (verses). The suwar are of unequal length; the shortest surah (al-Kawthar) has only three verses, while the longest (al-Baqarah) contains 286 verses.^[2] The Quran consists of one short introductory chapter (Q1), eight very long chapters, making up one-third of the Quran (Q2‒9); 19 mid-length chapters, making up another one-third (Q10‒28); and 86 short and very short ones of the last one-third (Q29‒114).^[3]

Of the 114 suwar in the Quran, 86 are classified as Meccan, as they were revealed before Muhammad's migration to Medina (hijrah), while 28 are Medinan, as they were revealed after. This classification is only approximate in regard to the location of revelation; any surah revealed after the migration is termed Medinan and any revealed before it is termed Meccan. However, some Meccan suwar contain Medinian verses (verses revealed after the migration) and vice versa. Whether a surah is Medinian or Meccan depends on if the beginning of the surah was revealed before or after the migration.

The Meccan suwar generally deal with faith and scenes of the Hereafter while the Medinan suwar are more concerned with organizing the social life of the nascent Muslim community and leading Muslims to the ultimate goal of attaining dar al-Islam by showing strength towards the unbelievers. Except for al-Tawbah, all suwar commence with "In the Name of Allah, al-Rahman (the Beneficent), al-Rahim (the Merciful)". This formula is known as the basmalah and denotes the boundaries between suwar. The suwar are arranged roughly in order of descending size; therefore the arrangement of the Quran is neither chronological nor thematic. Suwar are recited during the standing portions (qiyam) of Muslim prayers. Al-Fatihah, the first surah of the Quran, is recited in every unit of prayer, and some units of prayer also involve recitation of all or part of any other surah.