Organization of the Koran

Terms to remember in this section:

• Surah
• Ayat
• Juz'
• Meccan period
• Medinan period

The Koran is organized by Surah, Ayat, and Juz'. Each Surah can be compared to a chapter in a book, with the Ayat being a verse.  For example if you were to refer to the third Ayat in the first Surah, it would be 1:3.  Reference to several Ayat in Surah 1 would be 1:3-7.  Juz' is an artificial construct that breaks up the Koran into 30 parts, allowing the Koran to be read in a month's time. In the month of Ramadan, when the entire Koran is recited, congregations recite one Juz' daily in order to complete the reading of the entire Koran during this holy time for Muslims.

There are two phases of revelation of the Koran, the Meccan period and the Medinan period. In the first 13 years of Muhammad's life as the Prophet, revelations came to him while he lived in Mecca. These are known as Meccan Surahs. When Muhammad migrated to Medina, the revelations he received are known as Medinan Surahs. The primary subject matter of the Meccan Surahs are God's Oneness, the day of judgment and the afterlife, and pious conduct. The Medinan Surahs address legal code, relationship between immigrants and hosts, the hypocrites, and People of the Book (Christians and Jews).

The Koran is not presented chronologically. Medinan Surahs are longer and found in the beginning of the Book, while most of the Meccan Surahs are shorter and found at the end of the book. There are 114 Surahs in the Koran, and 85 of the Surahs were revealed during the Meccan period. Eleven of the 30 parts (Juz') are from the Meccan period.  Medinan Surahs make up 29 of the 114 Surahs of the Koran, and 19 of the 30 parts.

--from The Koran for Dummies by Sohaib Sultan