Ulum al Qur'an
Makkan and Madinan Suras
Suras of the Qur'an have also been classified, according to their origin, into Makkan and Madinan suras.
A sura is said to be of Makkan origin, when its beginning was revealed in the Makkan phase, even if it contains verses from Madina.
A sura is said to be of Madinan origin, when its beginning was revealed in the Madinan phase, even if it has verses from the Makkan period in its text. [Mabani, in GdQ, 1, p.59.]
The following 85 suras are, according to Zarkashi, [Zarkashi, B.: Al-burhan fi 'ulum al-Qur’an, Cairo, 1958,Vol. 1,p.193.] of Makkan origin:
96, 68, 73, 74, 111, 81, 87, 92, 89, 93, 94, 103, 100, 108, 102, 107, 109, 105,113,114,112,53,80,97,91,85,95, 106,101,75, 104,77,50,90,86,54,38,7,72,36,25,35, 19,20, 56,26,27, 28, 17, 10, 11, 12, 15, 6, 37, 31, 34, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 51, 88, 18, 16, 71, 14, 21, 23, 32, 52, 67, 69, 70, 78, 79, 82, 84,
There is a difference of opinion as to what was last revealed in Makka. Some say, following Ibn 'Abbas, that it was Sura 29 (al-ankabut); others say Sura 23 (al-mu'minun); still others say Sura 83 (al-mutaffifin). Some believe that Sura 83 is actually Madinan.
The following 29 suras are, according to Zarkashi, [Zarkashi. Vol. 1, p. 194. For another list see fihrist. 1, pp. 52-3.] of Madinan origin:
2, 8, 3, 33, 60, 4, 99, 57, 47, 13, 55, 76, 65, 98, 59, 110, 24, 22, 63, 58, 49, 66, 61, 62, 64, 48, 9, 5.
Some hold that Sura 1 (al-fatiha) is of Makkan, others that it is of Madinan, origin.
The Makkan suras constitute about 11, and the Madinan about 19 juz' of the text.
From the above division it is obvious that the Madinan suras are the longer ones and comprise a much larger part of the Qur'an.