Wikipedia's first sentence called it “the 21st sura of the qur'an”. Today it says “the 21st chapter”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Surat al-Anbiya ("The Prophets") is the 21st sura of the Qur'an . It has 112 ayat. It is a Makkan sura . v t e1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16987854.
The opening as it stood in 2010 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Sura Al-Anbiya ( , Sūratu al-Anbiyā , "The Prophets ") is the 21st sura (or chapter) of the Qur'an with 112 ayat .It is a Meccan sura .It's principal subject matter is Prophets of the past, who also preached the same faith as Muhammad .Some of the main points highlighted in the sura are: Abraham's fight against idolatry Lot's fight against the sinful Job's trial and his fight against impatience The mention of other prophets such as Ishmael , Dhul-Kifl and Idris and the fact that they are among the most righteous of men.Mary and her chastity Jonah's call for repentance from inside the whale Zechariah and his son John
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 368224893.
The opening as it stood in 2015 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Sura Al-Anbiya ( , Sūratu al-Anbiyā , "The Prophets") is the 21st sura (or chapter) of the Qur'an with 112 ayat . It is a Makkan sura . Its principal subject matter is prophets of the past, who also preached the same faith as Muhammad . The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics) .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668831793.
The opening as it stood in 2020 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
21st chapter of the Qur'an "Q21" redirects here.Al-Anbiyāʼ , properly pronounced: Al-Ambiyāʼ ( Arabic : الْأَنْبِيَاء , "The Prophets") is the 21st chapter ( sūrah ) of the Quran with 112 verses ( āyāt ).Regarding the timing and contextual background of the supposed revelation ( asbāb al-nuzūl ), it is an earlier " Meccan surah ", which means it is believed to have been revealed in Mecca, instead of later in Medina. Its principal subject matter is prophets of the past, who also preached the same faith as Muhammad . The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics) .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 961321366.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
21st chapter of the Qur'an Folio from Samarkand Kufic Quran with surah Al-Anbiya.Metropolitan Museum of Art Page from the Qur'an copied by Ahmad al-Suhrawardi (1256-1340) with the fragment of the surah Al-Anbiya (verses 25nn).Illumination by Muhammad ibn Aybak .Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum Al-Anbiyaʼ ( , ’al-’anbiyā’ ; meaning: "The Prophets") is the 21st chapter ( sūrah ) of the Quran with 112 verses ( āyāt ).Regarding the timing and contextual background of the believed revelation ( asbāb al-nuzūl ), it is an earlier " Meccan surah ", which means it is believed to have been revealed in Mecca , rather than later in Medina. Its principal subject matter is prophets of the past, who also preached the same faith as Muhammad . The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics) .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1173062813.
The opening as it stood in 2025
21st chapter of the Qur'an Folio from Samarkand Kufic Quran with surah Al-Anbiya. Metropolitan Museum of Art Page from the Qur'an copied by Ahmad al-Suhrawardi (1256-1340) with the fragment of the surah Al-Anbiya (verses 25nn). Illumination by Muhammad ibn Aybak . Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum Al-Anbiyaʼ ( Arabic : الأنبياء , ’al-’anbiyā’ ; meaning: "The Prophets") is the 21st chapter ( sūrah ) of the Quran with 112 verses ( āyāt ). Its principal subject matter is prophets of the past, who also preached the same faith as Muhammad . Regarding the timing and contextual background of the revelation ( asbāb al-nuzūl ), it is a " Meccan surah ", which means it is believed to have been revealed in Mecca, instead of later in Medina.It was revealed around 2–3 years before Hijrah , in a later stage of Muhammad preaching in Mecca . The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics) .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1291629739. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “the 21st sura of the qur'an”. Today it says “the 21st chapter”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
the 21st sura of the qur'an
Now
the 21st chapter
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
