ABSTRACT

The inspired revelations to Muhammad have been arranged into 114 surahs. They range in length from the very short, about one line (about 17 words), to the very long, about six hundred lines as they appear now in the standard Arabic text. All the surahs but one begin with the formula ‘In the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful’. This will not be quoted in this work (except for the first surah in which this formula is counted as the first verse), not because it is not important but for clarity’s sake (in fact, this formula is used by a Muslim whenever starting any endeavour, whether going to work, beginning a meal, taking a walk or any other action). The arrangement of the surahs in the Qur’an essentially goes from the very long to the very short. The exception is the first chapter, which is a common prayer and is called ‘the Opening of the Book’. The numbering (the arrangement of the Surahs) is not connected with the sequence of revelation.