47. Virtues of the Qur'ān
٤٧۔ كِتَابُ فَضَائِلِ الْقُرْآنِ
While I was with Aisha, the mother of the Believers, a person from Iraq came and asked, "What type of shroud is the best?" ʿAisha said, "May Allah be merciful to you! What does it matter?" He said, "O mother of the Believers! Show me (the copy of) your Qur'an," She said, "Why?" He said, "In order to compile and arrange the Qur'an according to it, for people recite it with its Suras not in proper order." ʿAisha said, "What does it matter which part of it you read first? (Be informed) that the first thing that was revealed thereof was a Sura from Al-Mufassal, and in it was mentioned Paradise and the Fire. When the people embraced Islam, the Verses regarding legal and illegal things were revealed. If the first thing to be revealed was: 'Do not drink alcoholic drinks.' people would have said, 'We will never leave alcoholic drinks,' and if there had been revealed, 'Do not commit illegal sexual intercourse, 'they would have said, 'We will never give up illegal sexual intercourse.' While I was a young girl of playing age, the following Verse was revealed in Mecca to Muhammad: 'Nay! But the Hour is their appointed time (for their full recompense), and the Hour will be more grievous and more bitter.' (54.46) Sura Al-Baqara (The Cow) and Surat An-Nisa (The Women) were revealed while I was with him." Then ʿAisha took out the copy of the Qur'an for the man and dictated to him the Verses of the Suras (in their proper order) . (Using translation from Bukhārī 4993)
وَيْحَكَ وَمَا يَضُرُّكَ أَيَّهُ قَرَأْتَ قَبْلُ؟ إِنَّمَا نُزِّلَ أَوَّلُ مَا نُزِّلَ سُورَةٌ مِنَ الْمُفَصَّلِ فِيهَا ذِكْرُ الْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّارِ حَتَّى إِذَا ثَابَ النَّاسُ لِلْإِسْلَامِ نُزِّلَ الْحَلَالُ وَالْحَرَامُ وَلَوْ نُزِّلَ أَوَّلُ شَيْءٍ لَا تَشْرَبُوا الْخَمْرَ لَقَالُوا «لَا نَدَعُ شُرْبَ الْخَمْرِ وَلَوْ نُزِّلَ أَوَّلُ شَيْءٍ لَا تَزْنُوا» لَقَالُوا لَا نَدَعُ الزِّنَا وَإِنَّهُ أُنْزِلَتْ {وَالسَّاعَةُ أَدْهَى وَأَمَرٌ} [القمر 46] بِمَكَّةَ وَإِنِّي جَارِيَةٌ أَلْعَبُ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ ﷺ وَمَا نَزَلَتْ سُورَةُ الْبَقَرَةِ وَالنِّسَاءِ إِلَّا وَأَنَا عِنْدَهُ قَالَ «فَأَخَرَجَتْ إِلَيْهِ الْمُصْحَفَ فَأَمَلَّتْ عَلَيْهِ آيَ السُّوَرِ»