Someone asked Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa as to the Divine wisdom behind the division of the Holy Quran into 30 parts. Huzoor-e-Anwaraa, in his letter dated 10 January 2021, gave the following answer to this question:
“Allah the Exalted revealed the Holy Quran in the form of verses and surahs and the Holy Prophetsa established their present order also according to the guidance vouchsafed to him by God Almighty. As far as the matter of dividing the Holy Quran into stages [manazil], parts and ruku‘aat is concerned, later people did that at different times for the convenience of reading. That is why there is no such division found in the olden manuscripts of the Holy Quran.
It is mentioned in the ahadith that there were some Companionsra who only used to keep themselves engaged in supererogatory acts of worship instead of fulfilling their domestic responsibilities. Upon being informed about them, the Holy Prophetsa admonished them. One of his instructions also included the requirement of a minimum number of days to complete one reading of the Holy Quran.
Hence, it is recorded about Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr bin al-Aasra that the Holy Prophetsa told him to finish one reading of the Holy Quran in at least a month. He replied, ‘O Allah’s Messengersa! I am capable of doing more than this’, whereupon he said, ‘Recite it in twenty days.’ He replied, ‘I am capable of doing even more than this’, whereupon he said, ‘Recite it in ten days.’ He replied, ‘I am capable of doing even more than this,’ whereupon he said, ‘Then, recite it in at least a week and do not overburden yourself beyond this for your wife also has a right upon you, your visitor has a right upon you and your body has a right upon you.’ (Sahih Muslim, Kitab as-siyam)
Some believe that, in the light of this instruction of the Holy Prophetsa, people later divided the Holy Quran into thirty parts and seven manazil for their convenience so that it may be convenient for the one who wishes to complete a reading of the Holy Quran in at most a month or the one who wishes to do so in at least seven days.
Some are of the view that the Holy Quran was divided into manazil and parts in the Middle Ages for the convenience of students and teachers, teaching the Holy Quran to children. And this division is not based on any specific themes or topics but merely the volume of the Holy Quran.
Regarding the division of the Holy Quran into ruku‘aat, it is said that this work took place during the time of Hajjaj bin Yusuf and according to some traditions this division was done by Hazrat Uthmanra. Moreover, [it is said] this division of ruku‘aat was done to facilitate the recitation of various portions of the Holy Quran in the rak‘aat of prayers [salat].
In any case, it is an established fact that this division of the Holy Quran is not from Allah the Exalted nor was it done by the Holy Prophetsa. Rather it is from later times. That is why there is a difference in the division of some parts in the copies of the Holy Quran published in the various parts of the Arab and non-Arab world. However, there is no room for even a shadow of a doubt that this division does not make any difference in understanding the Holy Quran nor does it affect its authenticity and truthfulness.”
