Question
Is the order of Qur’ānic verses tawqīfī (divinely determined)?
Answer
Yes. The order of the verses of the Qur’ān is tawqīfī, meaning that the Prophet ﷺ himself instructed the Companions (رضي الله عنهم) regarding their sequence by command of Allah. On this, there is ijmāʿ (consensus) of the Ummah.
Evidence from the Companions
❀ ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr (رضي الله عنه) said:
قلت لعثمان بن عفان... قال: يا ابن أخي لا أغير شيئا منه من مكانه
“I said to ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (رضي الله عنه) regarding the verse ﴿وَالَّذِينَ يُتَوَفَّوْنَ مِنْكُمْ وَيَذَرُونَ أَزْوَاجًا﴾ (al-Baqarah: 234), that another verse abrogated it, so why did you still write it (in the Muṣḥaf)? He replied: ‘My nephew, I cannot move anything from its place in the Qur’ān.’”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4530)
Scholarly Statements
❀ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله, d. 852H):
في جواب عثمان هذا دليل على أن ترتيب الآيات توقيفي
“ʿUthmān’s reply is proof that the order of the verses is tawqīfī.”
(Fatḥ al-Bārī 8/194)
❀ Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ (رحمه الله, d. 544H):
لا خلاف أن تأليف كل سورة وترتيب آياتها توقيف من الله تعالى...
“There is no disagreement that the composition of every sūrah and the arrangement of its verses is tawqīf from Allah, exactly as it is now in the Muṣḥaf, and the Ummah transmitted it from its Prophet ﷺ.”
(Ikmāl al-Muʿlim 3/137)
❀ al-Zarkashī (رحمه الله, d. 794H):
ترتيبها توقيفي بلا شك ولا خلاف فيه
“The order of the verses is tawqīfī, without doubt or disagreement.”
(al-Burhān 1/256)
❀ al-Suyūṭī (رحمه الله, d. 911H):
الإجماع والنصوص المترادفة على أن ترتيب الآيات توقيفي لا شبهة فيه
“There is consensus and numerous texts affirming that the order of the verses is tawqīfī, without any doubt in this.”
(al-Itqān 1/211)
❀ al-Zarqānī (رحمه الله, d. 1367H):
انعقد إجماع الأمة على أن ترتيب آيات القرآن الكريم... كان بتوقيف من النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم عن الله تعالى...
“The Ummah has unanimously agreed that the arrangement of the verses of the Qur’ān, as seen today in the Muṣḥaf, was by tawqīf from the Prophet ﷺ, who received it from Allah. There is no scope for opinion or ijtihād in this matter…”
(Manāhil al-ʿIrfān 1/346-347)
Conclusion:The order of the verses in the Qur’ān is divinely determined (tawqīfī), fixed by the Prophet ﷺ through revelation. The Companions only transmitted what was given, and there is consensus that no one had the authority to alter the sequence.
