Critical Studies on the Quranic Exegesis

Critical Studies on the Quranic Exegesis

Dating Sūrat al-Nisāʾ: A New Chronology and Its Exegetical Consequences

Document Type : Original article

Authors
Zahra Kalbasi Ashtari 1
Amir Ahmadnezhad 2
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Qurʾān and Hadith Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Department of Qurʾān and Hadith Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
10.22034/naghdeara.2026.565527.1371
Abstract
This article proposes a new chronology for Sūrat al-Nisāʾ, dating its revelation continuously from Jumādā al-Ūlā of the fourth year to Rajab of the fifth year of the Hijra, that is, the period between the Battle of Uḥud and the Battle of the Trench. The study combines historical-critical analysis of time-bound verses, occasions of revelation, and early historical reports with attention to the dating of the sūras that precede and follow Sūrat al-Nisāʾ. It argues that the traditional revelation orderings, which place the sūra in later years, conflict with the internal evidence of the text. On the basis of the proposed chronology, the article re-reads three areas of the sūra’s content: the laws concerning family, inheritance, and marriage, which are situated in the social crisis following Uḥud; the confrontation with the hypocrites, which is connected to the faction of ʿAbd Allāh b. Ubayy; and the verses urging jihad and emigration, which are read against the background of the preparations for the Battle of the Trench. The study concludes that the new dating resolves several exegetical difficulties and supports the thesis of continuous revelation.
Keywords
Sūrat al-Nisāʾ
dating
continuous revelation
time-bound verses
polygamy
Battle of Dhāt al-Riqāʿ
Battle of the Trench
Subjects
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Critical Studies on the Quranic Exegesis
Volume 7, Issue 1 - Serial Number 13
September 2026
Pages 123-156

  • Receive Date 07 February 2026
  • Revise Date 03 July 2026
  • Accept Date 07 July 2026