Difference Between Meccan and Medinan Suras

November 2022 · 5 minute read

Suras or Surahs are a collection of sayings that divide the holy book of Muslims, the Quran into various chapters. These sayings are said to be wise words spoken to prophet Mohammad by God. The suras of Meccan and Medinan are the same suras. The Muslims follow these suras by considering them as a path to reach god.

Meccan Suras vs Medinan Suras

The main difference between the Meccan and Medinan suras is that when the suras were told by God to Prophet Mohammad, the Meccan suras were the ones which were told by God to him when he was in Mecca while the Medinan suras were told to him when he was in the Medina. The suras were given the name from the place where God told Mohammad the sayings.

Meccan suras are the saying told by god to Pophrt Mohammad when he was living in Mecca. There are the initial chapters of the Quran according to their timing but as the Quran is from long to short surahs they are found at the end of the Quran. They are about two-thirds of the whole suras. They were delivered to Mohammad before he migrated to Medina.

The Medinan suras are the ones that were delivered to Mohammad by god when he migrated to Medina. the sayings cover one-thirds of the whole suras. According to the Islamic tradition, these are the 28 latest suras. they were said in Medina where the Islamic community was more developed.

Comparison Table Between Meccan And Medinan Suras

Parameters of ComparisonMeccan SurasMedinan Suras
What are they?The Meccan suras were the sayings that were told by God to Prophet Mohammad when he was in Meccan.The Medinan suras were the sayings told to prophet Mohammad by God when he was in the Medina.
The verses lengthThe verses are short.The suras are prolonged ones.
ChapterThey are in the last chapters of the Quran.They are in the earlier chapters of the Quran.
Coverage of QuranThey cover about two-thirds of the whole suras.They cover about one-third of the whole suras.
What are they about?They are reminiscent of the soothsayers.They are about earlier history and laws.

What are Meccan Suras?

Meccan suras are the sayings of God that were told to Prophet (Someone who can foresee the future) Mohammad when he was living in Mecca. These sayings are the chapters of the Quran, which is the holy book of the Islamic religion.

Meccan Suras are short, they have short verses and are found in the later chapters of the Quran. However, these suras were timely stated first and so are the very first sayings which were told to the man by god. These suras are about the prophets and celestial objects like stars and planets. In these suras, Mohammad sees himself as the messenger of God, one who has been sent to earth by God to warn people. He warns people or the citizens to leave their idol worship. Indeed, he motivates them to follow only one god. He also respects the bible in these verses to get the attraction of the Christians and the jews

The first of the suras are said to be presented in such a manner so that they can be passed along orally. These suras were said to be the light for people. These suras are short but they are diverse and enriched in terms of structure. These suras contain prophecies about the ultimate reality or the destiny of humankind, which also links with the topic of the end of the world.

What are Medinan Suras?

The median suras are the suras that are told by God to Prophet Mohammad after he had migrated to the medina. The Islamic community was much more developed in the medina. These suras forms one-third of the whole suras. And they are long in length, i.e. they have prolonged verses. And as the Quran is organized from longest to shortest the median suras are mentioned in the early chapters of the Quran despite the fact that they were told after the mecca suras.

These suras are also known as Madni Surahs, Surah Madniyah, and Madani Chapters. These suras are about the legislation, the laws that Islamisms should follow. Mohammad is shown as the messenger of god and the suras talk about the earlier history, and the principles, warfare, and morals as well. In these suras, there are many sayings that told Islamism to avoid other religions like Jews and Christians. And one can notice the change of attitude of Mohammad towards the Jews and Christians. He believed in one god but he began to differentiate between the beliefs of the two religions( Muslims and Christians).

The median suras are mentioned in the earlier chapters of the Quran as they are long verses. These suras are considered the latest suras as they were revealed to Mohammad after his migration to Medina from Mecca.

Main Differences Between Meccan And Medinan Suras

  • Meccan suras were the ones that were told by God to the prophet Mohammad when he was in Meccan while the Medinan suras were told to him by God when he was in the Medinan.
  • Meccan suras cover about two-thirds of the suras while the Medinan suras cover the rest one-third.
  • Meccan suras are short with short verses while Medinan suras are long ones.
  • Meccan suras are found in the end chapters of the Quran as the Quran is organized from longest to shortest. Therefore the Medinan suras are found in the earlier chapters.
  • Meccan suras remind about the prophets of the pagans which involve oaths and celestial bodies while the Medinan suras are about earlier laws and prophets.
  • Conclusion

    The Mecca and Medinan suras are the sayings said by God to the Prophet Mohammad. These suras are in the Quran, which is the holy book of the Islamic traditions. These are given the names according to the place in which Mohammad was living when they were. That is the Meccan surahs were told to him when he was living in the mecca and the Medinan suras when he migrated to the medina.

    The Mecca surahs were told to Mohammad earlier and they cover two-third of the whole suras. And they are divided into verses that are called Ayat in Urdu. Urdu is the language of Islamisms.

    The Medinan suras are one-third of the whole suras and they were told to Mohammad by god when he was in the medina where the Islamic community was more developed.

    References

  • https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/jqs.2020.0440
  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/598634
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