Compiled by Imam Abu Dawud as-Sijistani
أَخْبَرَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ عَوْنٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا هُشَيْمٌ، عَنْ عَوْفٍ، عَنْ يَزِيدَ الْفَارِسِيِّ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ قُلْتُ لِعُثْمَانَ بْنِ عَفَّانَ مَا حَمَلَكُمْ أَنْ عَمَدْتُمْ، إِلَى بَرَاءَةَ وَهِيَ مِنَ الْمِئِينَ وَإِلَى الأَنْفَالِ وَهِيَ مِنَ الْمَثَانِي فَجَعَلْتُمُوهُمَا فِي السَّبْعِ الطُّوَلِ وَلَمْ تَكْتُبُوا بَيْنَهُمَا سَطْرَ { بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ } قَالَ عُثْمَانُ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِمَّا يَنْزِلُ عَلَيْهِ الآيَاتُ فَيَدْعُو بَعْضَ مَنْ كَانَ يَكْتُبُ لَهُ وَيَقُولُ لَهُ " ضَعْ هَذِهِ الآيَةَ فِي السُّورَةِ الَّتِي يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا كَذَا وَكَذَا " . وَتَنْزِلُ عَلَيْهِ الآيَةُ وَالآيَتَانِ فَيَقُولُ مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ وَكَانَتِ الأَنْفَالُ مِنْ أَوَّلِ مَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ بِالْمَدِينَةِ وَكَانَتْ بَرَاءَةُ مِنْ آخِرِ مَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ وَكَانَتْ قِصَّتُهَا شَبِيهَةً بِقِصَّتِهَا فَظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهَا مِنْهَا فَمِنْ هُنَاكَ وَضَعْتُهُمَا فِي السَّبْعِ الطُّوَلِ وَلَمْ أَكْتُبْ بَيْنَهُمَا سَطْرَ { بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ } .
: Yazid al-Farisi said: I heard Ibn Abbas say: I asked Uthman ibn Affan: What moved you to put the (Surah) al-Bara'ah which belongs to the mi'in (surahs) (containing one hundred verses) and the (Surah) al-Anfal which belongs to the mathani (Surahs) in the category of as-sab'u at-tiwal (the first long surah or chapters of the Qur'an), and you did not write "In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful" between them? Uthman replied: When the verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Prophet (ﷺ), he called someone to write them down for him and said to him: Put this verse in the surah in which such and such has been mentioned; and when one or two verses were revealed, he used to say similarly (regarding them). (Surah) al-Anfal is the first surah that was revealed at Medina, and (Surah) al-Bara'ah was revealed last in the Qur'an, and its contents were similar to those of al-Anfal. I, therefore, thought that it was a part of al-Anfal. Hence I put them in the category of as-sab'u at-tiwal (the seven lengthy surahs), and I did not write "In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful" between them.