Surah
A surah is one of the Quran’s 114 chapters, comprising a sequence of verses. Surahs vary greatly in length and are not arranged chronologically.
Ayah: A verse of the Quran, marked as a unit within a surah. Surahs are sequences of ayahs, the Quran’s smaller textual units.
Quranic revelation: The communication of the Quran to Muhammad, understood in Islamic tradition as revelation from God. Islamic tradition regards surahs as composed of revealed passages.
Salah: The prescribed Islamic ritual prayer performed at set times each day. Salah includes Quran recitation, commonly drawing on short surahs.
Chronology of Quranic revelation: The sequence in which Quranic passages are understood to have been revealed. The canonical order of surahs is not a chronological sequence of revelation.
Basmalah: The Arabic phrase “In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.” Most surahs begin with this formula, while Surah At-Tawbah does not.
Compilation of the Quran: The historical process by which Quranic material was collected and established as a written text. Compilation established the corpus in which the 114 surahs are preserved.
Hifz: The practice of memorizing the Quran in Arabic. Surahs provide substantial units for memorization and review.
Meccan surah: A surah, or passage, traditionally classified as revealed before Muhammad’s migration to Medina. This classification distinguishes surahs by setting and period rather than position in the Quran.
Mushaf: A written codex of the Quran, usually containing all 114 surahs in a standardized order. A mushaf presents surahs as divisions of the complete written Quran.
Uthmanic codex: The standardized written Quranic text associated with the caliph Uthman ibn Affan. Its consonantal text underlies the standard sequence of surahs in Quran copies.