Al-A'raf (surah)
| ٱلْأَعْرَاف Al-ʾAʿraf The Elevation | |
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| Classification | Meccan |
| Other names | The Battlements The Purgatory |
| Position | Juzʼ 8—9 |
| Hizb no. | 16—18 |
| No. of verses | 206 |
| No. of Rukus | 24 |
| No. of Sajdahs | 1 (verse 206) |
| No. of words | 3341 |
| No. of letters | 14435 |
| Quran |
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Al-Araf (Arabic: ٱلأعراف, al-ʾAʿrāf; meaning: The Heights) is the 7th chapter (sūrah) of the Quran, with 206 verses (āyāt). It takes its name from verses 46–47, in which the word A'raf appears. Al-A'raf also refers to a realm of the afterlife in Islam inhabited by those who are evenly balanced in their sins and virtues and so neither in heaven or hell.
Regarding the timing and contextual background of the revelation (Asbāb al-nuzūl), it is a "Meccan surah", which means it was revealed before the Hijra. According to the scholar Abul A'la Maududi, the surah were revealed about the same time as that of the surah Al-An'am, i.e., the last year of the Islamic prophet Muhammad's residence at Makkah: the manner of its admonition clearly indicates that it belongs to the same period and both have the same historical background; however, it cannot be declared with assurance which of these two was uncovered before the other. The audience should keep in mind the introduction to Al-An'am.