The Tadabbur i Qur’an is a monumental commentary of the Qur’an written by Amin Ahsan Islahi (1904 – 1997). Extending over nine volumes and six thousand pages, this mastrful work was completed in a span of twenty two years. If his mentor, Hamid-al-Din Farahi (1863 – 1930) propounded the view that the Qur’an possesses structural and thematic nazm (coherence), it is Islahi who established this premise in this commentary. He has presented conclusive evidence that the Qur’an is divided into seven discrete groups. Each group has a distinct theme. Every group begins with one or more Makkan surah and ends with one or more Madinan surah. In each group, the Makkan surahs precede the Madinan ones.
The relationship between the Makkan surahs and Madinan surahs of each group is that of the root of a tree and its branches. In every group, all the phases of the Prophet’s mission are depicted. Moreover, in general, two surahs of each group form a pair so that each member of the pair compliments in other various ways. Each surah has specific addressees and a central theme around which the contents of the surah revolve. The central theme highlights a particular aspect of the central theme of the group of which the particular surah is the part.