Why was Quran not Compiled in its Chronological Order of Revelation?

The Quran is not recited in the chronological order it was revealed, it is recited in the order that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ memorized himself and made his companions memorize and that is the order in which we have the Quran today. Archangel Gabriel (alaihi salaam) not only brought revelation to the Prophet but also made him memorize in this same format as we see it compiled because of Divine Order from Allah ﷻ.

The answer to why this happened can only be understood by those who recite and ponder over the Quran and who study the traditions of the Prophet ﷺ and the delve in to the wisdom behind each verse of this book. For instance if we open the book and recite the very 1st verse in the beginning of the Quran, it begins in the following words:

Tranliterated as "Bismillah ir-Rahmanir Raheeem" which means "With the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful." If we ask ourselves why Allah ﷻ begins the Quran by mentioning 2 of His attributes out of the 99 attributes mentioned throughout the Quran. Then the answer to this would be that these 2 of His attributes are related to His Mercy and it is an expression of these 2 attributes is why He created the entire universe, just as told by the Prophet ﷺ: “Verily, Allah when He created the creation, He wrote with His Hand concerning Himself, that: 'My Mercy prevails over My wrath.’"[1] Therefore since the beginning of the creation was due to Mercy of Allah, that is precisely why Allah ﷻ begins the Quran also by mentioning those attributes of His that relate to His Grace & Mercy.

Similarly we notice the same thing with the 1st Chapter of the Quran called Surah Al Fatiha (The Opening). Even though, in the chronological order this Surah was revealed much later yet it was placed in the opening of the Quran because "Fatiha" means "To Open". In other words "Fatiha" also means the "Entrance". When one enters a place, it is only through the entrance where you enter and obviously don’t jump over the wall or sneak in through the window. If Surah Fatiha was to be placed somewhere within the Quran, not beginning, then it would not have made sense to place the entrance somewhere else other than where it belongs.

Similarly we also learn divine wisdom when reading beginning verse of the 2nd chapter called Surah Al Baqara (The Cow). Before the reader commences his or her journey through the Quran the first thing they are informed is that purpose of Quran is to give you guidance, its not a book of history, science or any other subject that may occur to your mind: "This is the Scripture in which there is no doubt, containing guidance for those who are mindful of God."[2] Thus it perfectly makes sense why this verse has been placed in its absolute beginning even though the Surah it belongs to was revealed 10 years after Prophet’s declaration of prophethood. Then the upcoming immediate verses mention the most basics of Islam and Imaan (Faith) which is obviously very essential part within a message of Islam that everyone needs to know such as spending & charity/zakah, salaah (5 times prayers), belief in unseen (Hell, Paradise, Angels etc) and in the hereafter: "who believe in the unseen, keep up the prayer (salaah), and give out of what We have provided for them (charity/zakah); those who believe in the revelation sent down to you [Muhammad], and in what was sent before you (previous prophets/books), those who have firm faith in the Hereafter (meeting with Allah, angels, Judgment day)."[3] These basics listed at the beginning make absolute sense, for every beginner must understand what is required from them from the beginning in their journey on the path of Islam. In fact even the name of the Surah is called "Baqara" meaning "Cow" because of the incident from time of Children of Israel mentioned in verse 67–73 when they made a legal case difficult due to unnecessary questioning to Prophet Musa (Moses) (alaihi salaam). Since Surah Baqara pertains to several legal ordinances for Muslims at the basic level therefore it has been named thus to remind Muslims from repeating the mistakes of Jews and make ordinances and rules difficult as they try to learn from this Surah.

As for all other upcoming verses of Quran, not only do they explain the reader why Allah ﷻ mentioned them in this sequence but also they complement all other verses that are mentioned throughout the Quran and that is the beauty of this book.

References:

[1] Jami At Tirmidhi, Vol. 6, Book 45, Hadith 3543 - Sunnah.com

[2] Al Quran 2:02 - Quran.com

[3] Al Quran 2:3-5 - Quran.com

[Courtesy of Zaid Shah | Rizqan Kareem | Most Excellent Sustenance]