What areThe Features of the Madeenan Revelations?

Madeenan revelations are all those verses and chapters of the Quran which were revealed after Hijra (Migration of the Prophet to Medina). This includes verses which were revealed in Makkah and Mina during and after the Farewell Pilgrimage, all of these verses are considered Madeenan because they represent the revelations of the second stage of the Islamic Movement in which the consolidation of the Islamic state took place.

The following are the some of the main characteristics of Madeenan verses:

a) Laws

Once Medina had become the new center of the Islamic Movement, the Islamic state was born; the Prophet (PBUH) became a ruler over the Muslims of Medina, as well as Jews and the Arab Idol worshippers who lived there. A constitution was drawn up and a system of justice was established. Thus, the verses during the Madeenan stage contained the social, economic and spiritual law which was necessary for the organization and development of an Islamic state. It was during this period that the last three pillars of Islam: Zakah (Charity), Sawm (Fasting) and Hajj (Pilgrimage) were revealed. Likewise, it was during this period that drinking alcohol, eating swine and gambling were all forbidden.

b)People of the Book (Jews and Christians)

In Medina, Muslims came in contact with Jews for the first time, in order to try to shake beliefs of the Muslims, the Jews used to ask the Prophet (PBUH) various questions about Allah and the earlier Prophets and the unseen. They asked questions about origin of the soul and what it was made of , thus a number of Madeenan verses represented the answers to the many questions raised up by Jews. The Muslims of Medina also came in contact with Christians on a larger scale, as result of that we find a number of Madeenan verses clarifying Christian misconceptions about Prophet Isaa (Jesus) and Allah. They pointed out that Jesus’ birth was not greater than that of Adam who had neither father nor the mother.

Allah Says:

“Surely the likeness of Jesus in Allah’s sight is as the likeness of Adam…He created him from dust, then said to him,”Be!’ And he was “Surah Al Imran (Chapter 3 Verse 59)

They also stressed that the miracles of Jesus, such as bringing up the dead back to life, were only by Allah’s permission. Thus Jesus was not a god not the son of Allah and Allah was not the third of the three.

c)The Munaafiqoon – Hypocrites

For the first time since the beginning of the final message we find people entering Islam, yet not believing in it. In Makkah, Muslims were oppressed and attacked, so no one would enter Islam unless they truly believed. On the other hand, the Muslims of Medina were strong and they ruled the City, thus we find some people entering Islam in order to benefit from its strength and to oppose it from within.” Abdullah Ibn Ubayy Ibn Sallol was about to be crowned King of Medina when Prophet (PBUH) entered Medina, Prophet was crowned the Ruler and Ibn Sallol hopes were ruined.

Since the Muslims were strong and he could not openly oppose them, he accepted Islam and worked against it from with in. He eventually became the head of the Munaafiqoon (hypocrites). Thus, the verses of the Madeenan stage warned the Muslims about the dangers of the hypocrites and taught them how to deal effectively with them.

d)Jihad:

The right to fight against the enemy was given for the first time in Medina, during the Makkan period Muslims were forbidden to fight back. This was for two basic reasons; (1) The Muslims were minority and could easily be completely wiped out and (2) only the strong could survive the test. The Makkan period prepared the foundation of the Islamic movement to come. It was during the Madeenan stage that a series of battles were fought against the forces of disbelief until Makkah was finally conquered and the whole of the Arabian Peninsula came under the rule of Islam. Thus, a number of the Madeenan verses taught Muslims the Islamic principles of war. For Example, they taught how to deal with prisoners of war and they forbade retreat during an attack except as a trick to trap the enemy. They also encouraged the Muslims to prepare themselves with the best weapons and battle gear they could find.

e)Long Verses:

The Madeenan verses tended to be longer than those of Makkah, in fact, there are a number of Madeenan verses which are longer than the whole Chapters of the Makkan period. The longest verse of the Quran is the verse on loans in the Madeenan Surah Al Baqarah (verse 292). This verse contains approximately 143 words. The shortest Surah of the Quran is the Makkan Surah Al Khawter Chapter 102, which contains a total of only 11 separate words in its three short verses. The need to catch the attention of unwilling listeners was no longer there because Islaam had become strong and its followers were many. Thus, the Audience at this stage was quite willing to listen attentively to longer verses teaching the vital laws of Islam.

f)Order of Surahs (Chapters)

Although all of the Makkan verses were revealed during the same period, they were neither memorized nor written down in the same order in which they were revealed. Verses from various Surahs were revealed at once, whenever single verses were revealed the Prophet (Pbuh) would tell his companions to write it in the Surah to which it belonged. If a new Surah was revealed, he would recite the Surah in the order it was to be recorded. Once the Madeenan verses and Surahs began to be revealed, the Prophet (PBUH) would tell his companions to place them before or after certain Makkan Surahs and verses. Thus, when the revelation of the Quran was complete, Makkan verses could be found within the Madeenan Surahs and Madeenan verses within the Makkan Surahs. The Prophet(PBUH) reordered the verses and Surahs of the Quran according to Allah’s command, the reasons for that was that the verses were revealed according to the needs of a developing community, whereas the order for reading purposes needed to be varied so as not to make the Quran seem one sided in its presentation. The Mixture of Verses and Chapters from the two stages gives the reader a more balanced picture of the message of Islam.