Ibn Al-Zubayr Al-Sakafi’s Life and His Approach to the Arrangement of the Surahs

Ibn al-Zubayr al-Sakafi, who grew up in Andalusia, an important place in the Islamic world, is a recitation, exegesis, hadith and nahw (grammar) scholar. He is also regarded as one of the leading scholars of the Maliki school of law. This article deals with the life and scholarly personality of Ibn al-Zubayr and his approach to the arrangement and composition of the Quran surahs. There are three different approaches to the process of the Quran becoming a book and the arrangement of the surahs. What makes Ibn al-Zubayr different in this regard is his view that these three approaches can be combined. He mentioned his views and the relations that constitute evidence on this issue in his “al-Burhan” that he wrote about the relations between verses and Surahs. The author’s this work, in addition to revealing the relationship between surahs, also shows that the arrangement of the surahs are not just a product of ijtihad.