In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “the 16th sura of the qur'an”. Today it says “the 16th 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 2026-08-02. In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “the 16th sura of the qur'an”. Today it says “the 16th chapter”.
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 an-Nahl ("The Bee") is the 16th sura of the Qur'an .1It has 128 ayat. It is a Makkan sura . v t e2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16987845.
The opening as it stood in 2010 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Sura An-Nahl ( , Sūratu an-Naḥl , "The Bees ") is the 16th. sura of the Qur'an , with 128 verses .Its name means "the bees".
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 371201162.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Sura An-Nahl ( , Sūratu an-Naḥl , "The Bees ") is the 16th sura of the Qur'an , with 128 ayat .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 649950552.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
16th chapter of the Qur'an An-Naḥl ( Arabic : الْنَّحْل , "The Bees ") is the 16th chapter ( sūrah ) of the Qur'an , with 128 ( āyāt ).It is named after honey bees mentioned in verse 68 , and contains a comparison of the industry and adaptability of honey bees to the industry of man.Regarding the timing and contextual background of the 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.OCLC 1002857525 . : |last= has generic name ( help ) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link )
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 960624717.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
16th chapter of the Qur'an The Bee ( Arabic : الْنَّحْل ; an-nahl ) is the 16th chapter ( sūrah ) of the Qur'an , with 128 verses ( āyāt ). It is named after honey bees mentioned in verse 68, and contains a comparison of the industry and adaptability of honey bees with the industry of man. It is an earlier " Meccan surah ", which means it is believed to have been revealed ( asbāb al-nuzūl ) in Mecca, instead of later in Medina.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1177061829.
The opening as it stood in 2025
16th chapter of the Qur'an The Bee ( Arabic : الْنَّحْل; an-naḥl ) is the 16th chapter ( sūrah ) of the Qur'an , with 128 verses ( āyāt ). It is named after honey bees mentioned in verse 68, and contains a comparison of the industry and adaptability of honey bees with the industry of man. Regarding the timing and contextual background of the believed revelation ( asbāb al-nuzūl ), it is an " Meccan surah " during the last period, which means it is believed to have been revealed in Mecca, instead of later in Medina.George Sale translation Sam Gerrans Ibn Kathir .The Qurʼan with annotated interpretation in modern English .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1291014891. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “the 16th sura of the qur'an”. Today it says “the 16th 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 between 2005 and 2025.
Then
the 16th sura of the qur'an
Now
the 16th 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.
