(Meccan [except for verses 12, 17, and 114 which are Medinan] and it is one hundred and twenty-three verses [revealed after Surah Yunus]) 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Its verses are perfected, organized in a solid, well-structured manner that does not allow for any contradiction or flaw, like a well-built structure.

It may be derived with the hamzah from 'حكم' with a dammah on the kaf, meaning it has become wise: that is, it has been made wise, as His saying: 'The verses of the Wise Book.' It is said: it has been prevented from corruption, from their saying: 'أحكمت الدابة' if you put wisdom upon it to prevent it from running wild. Jarir said:

'O sons of Hanifa, restrain your foolish ones... I fear for you that I may become angry.' [[Jarir is saying: O sons of Hanifa, 'prevent your foolish ones from me as you would restrain a beast with wisdom, for my anger towards you is severe.' In it is a form of threat; his fear for them is a metaphor for that. 'And I may become angry' is the object of 'I fear,' meaning I fear your anger against me.]]

And from Qatadah: 'It has been perfected from falsehood, then it has been detailed as necklaces are detailed with pendants, from the signs of monotheism, and the rulings, and the admonitions, and the stories. Or it has been made into sections, surah by surah, and verse by verse. And it was divided in the revelation and was not revealed all at once. Or it detailed what the servants need: that is, it clarified and summarized. And it is recited:

'Its verses are perfected, then detailed': that is, I perfected it, then I detailed it. And from Ikrimah and Al-Dahhak: 'then detailed,' meaning it distinguished between truth and falsehood. If you say: what is the meaning of 'then'? I say: its meaning is not a delay in time, but rather in the state, as you say: it is perfect, the best of rulings, then detailed, the best of details. And so-and-so is of noble origin, then noble in action. And 'the Book' is the news of a subject that is omitted. 'Perfected' is an attribute of it. And the saying 'from a Wise, All-Aware' is a second attribute. It may also be a news after news, and it may be a connection to 'perfected' and 'detailed,' meaning: from Him is its perfection and detailing. And in it is a beautiful antithesis, because the meaning is: He perfected it, the Wise, and detailed it: that is, He clarified and explained it, the All-Aware of the realities of matters.