Is present order of the Qur’an according to its revelation?

Question:
Is present order of the Qur’an according to its revelation?

Answer:
The Qur’an is Allah’s Book which He revealed to the Prophet through the Angel Gabriel. Everything that has to do with the Qur’an is, therefore, directed by Allah. It is true that the Qur’an was revealed at different times and places and some verses were revealed to provide guidance with regard to particular occasions and events. However, the Prophet could be receiving Quranic revelations of different surahs at the same period in time, with all of these surahs not being complete yet.

When he received such revelation, he also received guidance as to its place in the Qur’an. The Angel Gabriel would tell him: these verses come after such and such verse of such and such a surah. Nothing was left to discretion or to competent scholarship. Allah’s Book is given in the order Allah has chosen. The same applies to the arrangement of the surahs. It is true that the arrangement does not follow a chronological order. It is arranged in the best order which a book meant to provide guidance to all generations of humanity should take. It was often the case that Quranic revelations dealt with particular events as and when they happened in the life of the Muslim community. Hence the order of revelation suited that particular and additional purpose.

As for later generations, they have the Qur’an complete and they refer to any part of it as suits their circumstances. The ordering of the surahs is also divine. The Prophet used to receive the Angel Gabriel when the two of them recited the Qur’an to each other, once every Ramadan. In the last year of the Prophet’s life, they recited the Qur’an to each other twice. Moreover, the Prophet used to read the Qur’an in the order we have now.