Sunan Abu Dawood 786

أَخْبَرَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ عَوْنٍ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏أَخْبَرَنَا هُشَيْمٌ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏عَنْ عَوْفٍ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏عَنْ يَزِيدَ الْفَارِسِيِّ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏قَالَ:‏‏‏‏ سَمِعْتُ ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏قَالَ:‏‏‏‏ قُلْتُ لِعُثْمَانَ بْنِ عَفَّانَ مَا حَمَلَكُمْ أَنْ عَمَدْتُمْ إِلَى بَرَاءَةَ وَهِيَ مِنَ الْمِئِينَ وَإِلَى الْأَنْفَالِ وَهِيَ مِنَ الْمَثَانِي، ‏‏‏‏‏‏فَجَعَلْتُمُوهُمَا فِي السَّبْعِ الطِّوَالِ وَلَمْ تَكْتُبُوا بَيْنَهُمَا سَطْرَ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ ؟ قَالَ عُثْمَانُ:‏‏‏‏ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِمَّا تَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِ الْآيَاتُ فَيَدْعُو بَعْضَ مَنْ كَانَ يَكْتُبُ لَهُ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏وَيَقُولُ لَهُ:‏‏‏‏ ضَعْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ فِي السُّورَةِ الَّتِي يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا كَذَا وَكَذَا، ‏‏‏‏‏‏وَتَنْزِلُ عَلَيْهِ الْآيَةُ وَالْآيَتَانِ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏فَيَقُولُ مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏وَكَانَتْ الْأَنْفَالُ مِنْ أَوَّلِ مَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ بِالْمَدِينَةِ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏وَكَانَتْ بَرَاءَةُ مِنْ آخِرِ مَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏وَكَانَتْ قِصَّتُهَا شَبِيهَةً بِقِصَّتِهَا فَظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهَا مِنْهَا، ‏‏‏‏‏‏فَمِنْ هُنَاكَ وَضَعْتُهَا فِي السَّبْعِ الطِّوَالِ وَلَمْ أَكْتُبْ بَيْنَهُمَا سَطْرَ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ .

Narrated Uthman ibn Affan:: Yazid al-Farisi said: I heard Ibn Abbas say: I asked Uthman ibn Affan: What moved you to put the (Surah) al-Baraah which belongs to the mi'in (surahs) (containing one hundred verses) and the (Surah) al-Anfal which belongs to the mathani (Surahs) in the category of as-sab'u at-tiwal (the first long surah or chapters of the Quran), and you did not write In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful between them? Uthman replied: When the verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet صلی ‌اللہ ‌علیہ ‌وسلم, he called someone to write them down for him and said to him: Put this verse in the surah in which such and such has been mentioned; and when one or two verses were revealed, he used to say similarly (regarding them). (Surah) al-Anfal is the first surah that was revealed at Madina, and (Surah) al-Baraah was revealed last in the Quran, and its contents were similar to those of al-Anfal. I, therefore, thought that it was a part of al-Anfal. Hence I put them in the category of as-sab'u at-tiwal (the seven lengthy surahs), and I did not write In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful between them.