وَعَن ابْن عَبَّاس قَالَ: قلت لعُثْمَان بن عَفَّان مَا حملكم أَنْ عَمَدْتُمْ إِلَى الْأَنْفَالِ وَهِيَ مِنَ الْمَثَانِي وَإِلَى بَرَاءَةٍ وَهِيَ مِنَ الْمَئِينِ فَقَرَنْتُمْ بَيْنَهُمَا وَلم تكْتبُوا بَينهمَا سَطْرَ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ وَوَضَعْتُمُوهَا فِي السَّبع الطول مَا حملكم على ذَلِك فَقَالَ عُثْمَانُ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِمَّا يَأْتِي عَلَيْهِ الزَّمَان وَهُوَ تنزل عَلَيْهِ السُّور ذَوَات الْعدَد فَكَانَ إِذا نزل عَلَيْهِ الشَّيْء دَعَا بعض من كَانَ يَكْتُبُ فَيَقُولُ: «ضَعُوا هَؤُلَاءِ الْآيَاتِ فِي السُّورَةِ الَّتِي يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا كَذَا وَكَذَا» فَإِذَا نَزَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ الْآيَةُ فَيَقُولُ: «ضَعُوا هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ فِي السُّورَةِ الَّتِي يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا كَذَا وَكَذَا» . وَكَانَتِ الْأَنْفَالُ مِنْ أَوَائِلِ مَا نَزَلَتْ بِالْمَدِينَةِ وَكَانَتْ بَرَاءَة من آخر الْقُرْآن وَكَانَت قصَّتهَا شَبيهَة بِقِصَّتِهَا فَظَنَنْت أَنَّهَا مِنْهَا فَقُبِضَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَمْ يبين لنا أَنَّهَا مِنْهَا فَمِنْ أَجْلِ ذَلِكَ قَرَنْتُ بَيْنَهُمَا وَلِمَ أكتب بَينهمَا سَطْرَ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ وَوَضَعْتُهَا فِي السَّبْعِ الطُّوَلِ. رَوَاهُ أَحْمَدُ وَالتِّرْمِذِيُّ وَأَبُو دَاوُدَ

Ibn 'Abbas said he asked ‘Uthmān what had induced them to deal with al-Anfāl (Qur’ān, 8) which is one of the Mathānī* and with Barā'a which is one with a hundred verses, joining them without writing the line contain­ing "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,” and putting it among the seven long ones. When he asked again what had induced them to do that, ‘Uthmān replied, "Over a period sūras with numerous verses would come down to God’s messenger, and when some­thing came down to him he would call one of those who wrote and tell him to put these verses in the sūra in which such and such is mentioned, and when a verse came down he would tell them to put it in the sūra in which such and such is mentioned. Now al-Anfāl was one of the first to come down in Medina and Barā’a was among the last of the Qur’ān to come down, and the subject-matter of the one resembled that of the other, so because God’s messenger was taken without having explained to us whether it belonged to it, for that reason I joined them without writing the line containing ‘In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, and put it among the long sūras.'’ *Sūras with less than a hundred verses, but more than those in al mufassal. Ahmad, Tirmidhī and Abū Dāwūd transmitted it.