Divine Methodology for Monthly Recitation of the Qur'an
Why are the long Suwar at the beginning and the short Suwar at the end of the Qur'an? Why is the longest Surah of all located at the very beginning of the Qur'an?
When we attempt to answer this the very important question: (Why is the longest Surah of all in the Qur’an, i.e., Surah alBaqarah with 286 verses, located at the very beginning of the Qur’an?), we must hasten to remind the gentle reader that Allah Most High has declared that He divided the Qur’an so that it might be recited at intervals:
Qur’an, al-Isra’, 17:106
This is a Qur’an which we have divided into parts, i.e., as Suwar (plural of Surah). We have done so in order that you might recite it to the people at intervals, and in conformity with those divisions as Suwar. We also sent it down part-by-part.
The implication of the above is that Allah Most High has divided the Qur’an into Suwar so that they may function as Ajza, or parts, to be recited whenever we wish to Khatam the Qur’an, i.e., to recite it cover-to-cover to completion.
Such recitation can be at intervals of daily recitation for the entire Qur’an to be completed in one lunar month, and this is the way that Allah Most High recited the Qur’an Himself (through the Angel Gabriel during the month of Ramadan). Of course, the interval can also be for reciting the whole Qur’an once every 20 days, or every 10 days, or every week.
This book does not explain the methodology for reciting the Qur’an other than once a month.
Allah Most Wise placed the longest Surah of all at the beginning of the Qur’an for a specific reason and purpose, and our view is that He did so to test us and to force us to think. Do we have to recite the whole of Surah al-Baqarah as our first Juz on the first day of the month if we are reciting daily to complete the recitation in one lunar month, or can we subdivide the Surah into parts for recitation over a period of time which would extend beyond that first day of the lunar month?
The answer to this is crucially important for locating the correct way in which the Qur’an is to be recited over a period of one lunar month, or even less than that.
Allah Most High provides the answer to the question when He orders as follows:
Qur’an, al-Qiyamah, 75:18
And when We have recited it, i.e., when we have delivered through the Angel Gabriel the way that it should be recited, you must follow that way of reciting the Qur’an.
Prophet Muhammad pbuh never sub-divided Surah al-Baqarah into parts for daily recitation. Indeed, Allah Most High has prohibited such sub-division of Surahs—including Surah al-Baqarah—for daily recitation of the Qur’an. He did so when he declared in Surah al-Hijr that He sent Prophet Muhammad pbuh as a warner, and He then went on to warn those who arbitrarily sub-divide the Qur’an (for recitation) that they will have to answer to Him on Judgment Day:
Qur’an, al-Hijr, 15: 92-93
Say to them O Muhammad: I am a warner who warns you, and I do so in a manner which is clear and without ambiguity—warning you of Divine anger which descends on the Muqtasimin who divide the Qur’an arbitrarily into bits and pieces. Allah Most High then took an oath: By thy Rab, O Muhammad, I will certainly hold them to account for what they have done (hence they will all have to answer to Me one day for having divided the Qur’an into bits and pieces).
Here, then, is the first explanation for the longest Surah of the Qur’an being placed at the very beginning of the Qur’an. It was put in that position in order to test us to see which of us would respect Allah’s division of the Qur’an into Suwar, and would therefore recite the whole of Surah al-Baqarah on the first day of the month, - and which of us would sinfully breakup the Surah into parts for daily recitation.
There is another implication of the longest Surah of the Qur’an being placed at the beginning of the Qur’an, and all the long Suwar also placed at the beginning of the Qur’an, while all the short Suwar are located at the end, and this is subsequently explained in this book.
One of the most important things that we have done in this book is to warn that the Qur’an cannot be arbitrarily subdivided as Ajza for daily recitation. Hence, whether we are reciting the Qur’an to Khatam or complete the recitation in one lunar month, or even less than that, the whole of Surah alBaqarah must be recited on the first day of the lunar month.
Allah Most High placed the longest Surah of the Qur’an at the very beginning of the Qur’an to test us to see whether we would respect the boundaries which He placed in the Qur’an, and, as a consequence, would recognize the whole of Surah al-Baqarah as the first Juz to be recited by those who would Khatam or complete the Qur’an in one lunar month.
We devote the next chapter, sadly so, to exposing the colossal failure of most Muslims in their response to that Divine test.
to be continued . . . .
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