Mishkat al-Masabih — Hadith #49401

And on the authority of Ibn Abbas, he said: I said to Uthman bin Affan, “What made you think that you went to al-Anfal, which is from the double, and to Bara’ah, which is from the mein, and you went to Qaraan?” between them, and you did not write a line between them. In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and you placed it seven in length. What prompted you to do that? Uthman said: It was The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, was one of those who were subjected to a time when surahs with numerous verses were revealed to him. Whenever something was revealed to him, he called some of those who were writing. So he says: “Put these verses in the surah in which such-and-such is mentioned.” Then when the verse was revealed to him, he would say: “Put this verse in the surah in which such-and-such is mentioned.” Al-Anfal was one of the first to be revealed in Medina, and it was clear from the end of the Qur’an, and its story was similar to hers, so I thought it was from it. Then the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, was arrested and he did not explain to us that it was And for that reason I combined them, and did not write a line between them, In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and I placed them in the seven-long length. Narrated by Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi, and Abu Dawood