Sura:-
Sura is not an Arabic word. It may have been derived from the Sanskrit of the Hindu religion from Suranama, meaning Degree or Step (by which one can mount up). For literary purposes, it is equivalent to a chapter.
Sura is the name given to the Chapters of the Quran. The Arabs of the Hijaz did not use this word until Muhammad inserted it in his Quran. It may also have its origin taken from the following:
South Arabian meaning Image
Hebrew meaning Delineate or
Syriac, also meaning Image.
The Quran has 114 Suras which are not arranged in the chronological order of 'revelations' but in the haphazard manner of the descending order of the number of verses/ayat per Sura.
The first Sura, Al Fatiha, is the opening Sura similar to the Lord's Prayer in the Christian Liturgy and it too has seven verses.
In reality this was not among those Suras that were 'revealed' to Muhammad because it is only a supplication to Allah and it should be OBVIOUS that Allah would NOT 'reveal' a Surah making supplications to himself.
The Quran hence starts with the second Sura which has 286 Ayat/Verses, followed by the third Sura of 200 verses and so on.
Twenty Eight of the most important Suras (2,3,4,5,9,22 for example refer to the judicial, theological and moral precepts which constitute the whole essence of the Quran) were 'descended' in the Madina among the Jews (Judaized Arabs) and constituting a total of 1513 verses or 24% of the verses and 25% of the Suras of the Quran.
The Biblical characters appear on the scenes in the pages of the Suras of the Quran without any introduction, with no useful background details or story line and no 'spirit' whatsoever. They are mentioned in a manner that presumes that the readers or listeners are already acquainted with the subject at hand. This is so because Muhammad was invariably addressing the indigenous and willingly converted 'Jewish' and Christian Arabs as well as their associates among the Pagan ones of Mecca and Madina.
The pagan Arabs were in very close contact both physically - every day life - and in the blood line to both the Arabian 'Jews' and 'Christians'.
Contrary to all the propaganda of the Muhammadan Arabs, the 'Jews' and 'Christians' of Arabia were not foreigners or invaders who became assimilated among the Arabs but the great majority of them were most definitely aboriginals who had CONVERTED to the religions of the Jews and Christians WITHOUT COERSION. They had exactly the same tribal connections, names, manners, traditions, tructure, loyalties and blood relations as the pagan ones.
They had as much right to reside in the land of their nativity as Muhammad and his followers.
Many of the most important Suras are jumbled up in both Time and Space as for example Sura 2, Al Baqara, which meanders among the following subject matters:
A Introduction to the new revelation (1-32)
B Adam and Satan (no creation story) (33-39)
C Reminder to the Children of Israel of their Covenant and their escape from Egypt (40-50)
D Remember Moses, the 10 commandments, the calf, Manna, Quails, water from the rock (51-61)
E Belief in the Quran, Torah, New Testament; breaking the Sabbath; the heifer; disobedience to Allah; punishment (62-82)
F Covenant of the Israelites; the Torah; the Quran; why not believe the Quran? (83-96)
G Gabriel; addressing the pagan Arabs; insulting the People of the Book; (97-121)
H Children of Israel; Abraham & Ishmael built the Ka'ba; they are Muslimeen; so are Jacob, Isaac, the Tribes, Moses, Aharon etc; (122-141)
I The Qiblah (142-152)
J Dying for the cause (153-157)
K Pagan ancient Arab history; punishments (158-167)
L Food prohibitions; (158-173)
M Non believers; criminal justice etc (174-182)
N Fasting rules and regulations; Fighting for Allah (Jihad); Pilgrimage; backsliding (183-210)
P Warnings; fighting prohibitions; wine and gambling (211-220)
Q Concerning women; divorce; wills (221-242)
R Fighting; Saul & Samuel allegory; David & Goliath allegory; messengers (243-253)
S General ideas (254-263)
T Charity; usury; fair dealings (264-286)
According to the Muhammadan Muslim records, the Quran was 'revealed' over a very long period of 23 years - for as long as Muhammad was alive and 'revealing' his MADE to ORDER verses as and when he needed them - at different dates and different places with different verses belonging to different Suras to different MEMORIZERS.
There is actually no proper and clear 'historicity' in the Quran; there is no proper beginning, no middle and no end, neither in the Suras nor in the strucrure of the Quran.
Even the contents of the suras are a jumble of disconnected stories, parables and ideas.
It is an undeniable fact that even the greatest authority on the Arabic language cannot and will not understand the contents of the Quran WITHOUT knowing the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, Zoroasterian religion, Pagan Arabian religion, their scriptures, their traditions and their fetishes.
The Quran is after all, a tossed salad of homilies, concepts, precepts and thoughts which are plagiarised, plundered, pirated and/or perverted from the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, Zoraoastrian religion, Pagan Arabian religion, their traditions, their fetishes and their scriptures.
The Suras and contents of the Quran are completely unlike the chapters and contents of of the Bible, which are full of details, are sequential and flow beautifully like a river both in historicity and detail.
There is only one sura in the Quran which contains a greater amount of detail regarding its subject matter than any other, and that is Sura 12, Yusuf/Joseph, which tells his story PLAGIARISED almost verbatim from Jewish 'legendary' traditions.
