Medinan sura

The Medinan suras or Medinan chapters of the Qur'an are those later suras which, according to Islamic tradition, were revealed at Medina, after Muhammad's hijra from Mecca. These suras appeared when the Muslims were in larger numbers, rather than being an oppressed minority as in Mecca.[1]

They are mostly placed at the beginning of the Qur'an, and typically have more and longer ayat. In accordance with the new situation of the Muslims, these suras more often deal with details of legislation, and every sura which deals with issues of warfare is Medinan, beginning with surat al-Baqara. The surahs revealed at Medina at a later period in the career of the Prophet are concerned for the most part with social legislation and the political and moral principles for constituting and ordering the community.There are 28 medinan suras in the Qur'an.

The division of surahs into 'Meccan surahs' and 'Medinan surahs' is primarily a consequence of stylistic and thematic considerations. Classification of the surahs into these periods is based upon factors such as the length of the verse and the presence or absence of certain key concepts or word (e.g. al-Rahman as name of God). [2]

References

  1. ^ Voices of Islam: Voices of tradition (2007) Vincent J. Cornell Page 77
  2. ^ (in Reviews) Studien zur Komposition der mekkanischen Suren by Angelika Neuwirth, Review author[s]: A. Rippin, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 45, No. 1. (1982), pp. 149-150.