Sura

A sura (also spelled surah, surat; Arabic: سورة‎ sūrah) (pl. Arabic: سور‎ suwar) is a division of the Quran, although it can be approximately referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura (Al-Kawthar) has only three ayat (verses) while the longest (Al-Baqara) contains 286 ayat. Of the 114 suras in the Quran, 86 are classified as Meccan while 28 are Medinan - this classification is only approximate as regards location of revelation - in fact, any sura revealed post-Hijrah is termed Medinan and any revealed before that event is termed as Meccan. The Meccan suras generally deal with faith and scenes of the Hereafter, while the Medinan suras are more concerned with organizing the social life of the (then) nascent Muslim community. The word sura is derived from the Pahlavi word suri meaning red color, also the walls around the cities, castles, etc. for protection.