# Order of chapter in Koran **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 29, 2007, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-chapter-in-koran/424459 "2007-10-29T16:51:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-chapter-in-koran/424459/1 "2007-10-29T16:51:26Z")
Why are chapters of the Koran ordered by length? Is this due to practices related to memorization? Is there any need to have the information in it ordered chronologically, and if so how is that taken care of? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-chapter-in-koran/424459/2 "2007-10-29T17:43:04Z")
I have no idea why they were ordered by length. My translations simply say that this is the “traditional” way it’s been done. It’s certainly not universal – there are other translations of the Kora n with the chapters ordered differently. And plenty of commentaries to help sort out the chronology. ---
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2007, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-chapter-in-koran/424459/3 "2007-10-30T17:23:12Z")
What, no Koran scholars around here lately? ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-chapter-in-koran/424459/4 "2007-10-31T15:24:23Z")
Muhammad at first discouraged writing down the revelations or keeping a record of his conversations. He later relented. Even so most of the record of revelations were oral. This oral record was dying with the deaths of Muhammad’s companions. One of the successor Imams (don’t have the name) collected all written copies of the Koran and had them burned after publishing the official version. This Imam’s version is the one which established the order of the suras. There are English translations with the suras in chronological order. ---
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-chapter-in-koran/424459/5 "2007-11-13T22:06:47Z")
[QUOTE=Will Repair] Muhammad at first discouraged writing down the revelations or keeping a record of his conversations. He later relented. Even so most of the record of revelations were oral. This oral record was dying with the deaths of Muhammad’s companions. One of the successor Imams (don’t have the name) collected all written copies of the Koran and had them burned after publishing the official version. This Imam’s version is the one which established the order of the suras. [/QUOTE] Ok, but that doesn’t explain why in that order (order of increasing length). ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/order-of-chapter-in-koran/424459/6 "2007-11-14T05:48:57Z")
Chronologically, the suras and ayahs are all over the place and grouping them in this way makes more sense then trying to keep everything in the order it was actually collected. The revelations did not happen in order.