in full, and on the second day through to the end of Barā’ah, and on the third day through to the end of al-Naml, that is preferable to reading on the first day as far as His words, “far-reaching,” and on the second day as far as His words, “Indeed, We do not allow the reward of the reformers to be lost.”

Accordingly, if he completes the Quran every month, as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, initially instructed ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Amr to do, following a method analogous to the Companions’ division, he should make a separate portion of any surah approximately one-thirtieth of the Quran in length, or longer by about half that amount, or slightly shorter, such as Āl ‘Imrān, al-Nisā’, al-Mā’idah, al-An‘ām, and al-A‘rāf.

As for al-Baqarah, one might say that he should make it a single portion, even though it is the length of two and one-third portions. However, the more fitting approach is to divide it into two portions out of necessity, since the portions must be reasonably similar in length: a portion may equal a standard thirtieth of the Quran or exceed it by less than half. But when it is twice that length and more, this amounts to doubling it and adding still more.

On this basis, there would be seven portions through to the end of al-A‘rāf, with al-Anfāl forming one portion and Barā’ah another. This is preferable to making them a single portion, since that would place approximately one-third of the Quran in eight portions, whereas our preferred arrangement places approximately one-third in nine. This is closer to an even division. The Companions’ division required the first portion to be longer.

The second set of ten portions, extending through to the end of al-‘Ankabūt, would consist of two surahs each. As for Yūnus and Hūd, they too may form two portions, or a single portion, since they are the first of