The whole syllabus on one screen. المَدَنِيّ
rows (Madani) are marked gold: only Al-Bayyinah, Az-Zalzalah and An-Nasr are Madani — everything else is Makki.
All 23 surahs — the complete crib
| # | Surah | Means | Key word (lafzi) | Theme | M/M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | الفاتحة | The Opening | الْحَمْدُ all praise | Essence of the Quran — praise, tawheed, the straight path | Makki |
| 93 | الضحى | Morning Brightness | مَا وَدَّعَكَ He has not forsaken you | Comfort: your Lord has not abandoned you | Makki |
| 94 | الشرح | The Expansion | الْعُسْرِ ・ يُسْرًا hardship ・ ease | “With hardship comes ease” — relief after difficulty | Makki |
| 95 | التين | The Fig | أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ the best form | Man created in the best form; faith + deeds save him | Makki |
| 96 | العلق | The Clot | اقْرَأْ Read! | First revelation — “Read!”; knowledge vs tyranny | Makki |
| 97 | القدر | The Decree | لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ the Night of Decree | Laylat al-Qadr — better than 1000 months | Makki |
| 98 | البينة | The Clear Proof | الْبَيِّنَةُ the clear proof | The clear evidence; best vs worst of creation | Madani |
| 99 | الزلزلة | The Earthquake | مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ an atom's weight | The earth testifies; atom's weight of good/evil seen | Madani |
| 100 | العاديات | The Chargers | الْعَادِيَاتِ the chargers | Man's ingratitude to his Lord | Makki |
| 101 | القارعة | The Striking Calamity | الْقَارِعَةُ the striking calamity | Judgement Day; the scales of deeds | Makki |
| 102 | التكاثر | Rivalry in Increase | التَّكَاثُرُ rivalry in increase | Distraction by worldly competition until death | Makki |
| 103 | العصر | Time | خُسْرٍ loss | All mankind is in loss — except 4 qualities | Makki |
| 104 | الهمزة | The Slanderer | هُمَزَةٍ لُمَزَةٍ slanderer・backbiter | Woe to the backbiter who hoards wealth | Makki |
| 105 | الفيل | The Elephant | أَبَابِيلَ in flocks | Allah destroyed Abraha's army of the elephant | Makki |
| 106 | قريش | Quraysh | إِيلَافِ accustomed security | Gratitude for security & provision → worship | Makki |
| 107 | الماعون | Small Kindnesses | الْمَاعُونَ small kindnesses | Faith proven by deeds; no riyaa | Makki |
| 108 | الكوثر | Abundance | الْكَوْثَرَ abundance | Allah's gift; pray & sacrifice; hater is abtar | Makki |
| 109 | الكافرون | The Disbelievers | الْكَافِرُونَ the disbelievers | Disavowal of shirk — no compromise | Makki |
| 110 | النصر | The Help | أَفْوَاجًا in crowds | Victory → tasbih & istighfar; farewell | Madani |
| 111 | المسد | Palm Fibre | تَبَّتْ perish! | Abu Lahab's ruin — wealth can't save | Makki |
| 112 | الإخلاص | Sincerity | الصَّمَدُ the Eternal Refuge | Pure Tawheed — = ⅓ of the Quran | Makki |
| 113 | الفلق | Daybreak | الْفَلَقِ the daybreak | Refuge from external evils | Makki |
| 114 | الناس | Mankind | الْخَنَّاسِ the retreating whisperer | Refuge from the internal whisperer | Makki |
Memory hooks for the whole syllabus
- Only 3 Madani surahs: البينة · الزلزلة · النصر (Bayyinah, Zalzalah, Nasr). Asked “Makki or Madani?” — if it isn't one of these three, answer Makki.
- The “occasion of revelation” set examiners love: Al-Masad (Abu Lahab's insult at Safa) · Al-Ikhlas (the idolaters asked to “describe your Lord's lineage”) · Al-Kawthar (al-ʿAs called the Prophet ﷺ abtar) · Al-Kafirun (Quraysh's worship-swap offer) · An-Nasr (the Farewell Hajj / the Prophet's ﷺ approaching death).
- “First” superlatives: Al-Alaq = the first revelation (“Iqra — Read!”) · Al-Fatiha = the first complete surah and the essence (Umm al-Kitab) · Laylat al-Qadr (Al-Qadr) = the night the Quran first descended, better than 1000 months.
- The protection set (Mu'awwidhat): Al-Ikhlas + Al-Falaq + An-Nas — recited after every fard salah and before sleep. Falaq = external evils; Nas = the internal whisperer (al-khannas, who retreats when Allah is remembered).
- Judgement-Day scenes: Az-Zalzalah (earth testifies, atom's weight seen) · Al-Qari'ah (the scales / mawazin) · At-Takathur (rivalry distracts “until you visit the graves”) · Al-Asr (all mankind in loss except faith, good deeds, advising truth & patience).
- Makkan history pair: Al-Feel (Allah destroyed Abraha's elephant army with the ababil birds) → Quraysh (so be grateful for the security and the winter/summer caravans → worship the Lord of this House). Cause → blessing.
- Consolation pair: Ad-Duha (“your Lord has not forsaken you”) + Ash-Sharh (“with hardship comes ease”) — both reassure the Prophet ﷺ. At-Teen: man made in the best form (aḥsan taqwīm).
🎯 The battery test — 15 questions, mostly word meanings, over all 23 surahs. Score 12/15 on first try (≥80%)
to complete the Thafseer subject. This is your final drill — sit it like the real paper.