Certain chapters and verses are said to be more virtuous than others. What does this mean, as all are divine words?.Part1

We firstly have to be aware that the degree of perfection for every creature has been determined by God’s will and we do not have even the smallest role or share in this determination.

Accordingly, we do accept that which Almighty God teaches us to be superior as superior. No two things are identical to each other in the universe. There are differences and degrees of superiority among them. For instance, the month of Ramadan is superior to other months, and Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Power) is better than a thousand months. Similarly, Friday is more worthy of reverence than other days of the week, and even within a day, the time just before dawn is superior to other times, and hence the morning prayer, which is performed at this time, is more blessed and more likely to be accepted. The Ka’ba has superiority over all other places in the world. Likewise, not all our conducts are evaluated in the same way and certain behaviors and acts are regarded by God as being more righteous and some pious deeds more worthy of reward.

The four grand angels, Archangel Gabriel, Michael, Israfel and Azrael, the angel of death, are superior to other angels. Prophets are superior to all humankind. The five great prophets – Prophet Muhammad, Prophet Noah, Prophet Abraham, Prophet Moses and Prophet Jesus, peace be upon them all – whom are distinguished by Muslims as highest in rank, are superior to all other Prophets.

And Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is the best of all creation.

Thus, certain chapters and verses are more superior to others. 

What is most important is that if their superiority has been stated by God, then we have to accept this and act accordingly. The entire Qur’an is the Word of God. All its words and letters have been revealed in Arabic and there is no difference among any of them. However, the fact that certain chapters and verses are superior to others is due to certain divine reasons. In the same way that breathing, eating food and eating fruit are all requirements for human beings, but with different levels of necessity, so too are certain chapters and verses of the Qur’an different. There are certain Qur’anic verses and chapters whose importance in comparison to others is like the importance of breathing compared to other bodily functions. There are also certain Qur’anic verses and chapters whose superiority to others is equal in rank to that of eating food several times a day. And finally, there are certain Qur’anic verses and chapters whose superiority to others is equal in rank to that of our occasional eating of certain luxury fruits.