Hazrat Aws bin Huzayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that we came to the service of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with the delegation of Thaqeef. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) accommodated us, Banu Malik, in one of his tents. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would come to us every night after ‘Isha and would converse with us, and would mostly tell us about the attitude of the Quraysh towards him. He would say: "We and they were not equal, for we were weak and under apparent pressure. When we came to Madinah, the matter of war remained between us and them. Sometimes we would draw the lot (and gain victory) over them, and sometimes they would draw the lot (and gain victory) over us."

One night, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came a little later than usual, so I said: "O Messenger of Allah! You have come later than usual tonight." He replied: "A portion of my recitation of the Qur’an was left, and I did not like to come out before completing it."

Hazrat Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) says: We asked the companions of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "How do you divide the Qur’an (for recitation)?" They replied: "Three (surahs after Al-Fatihah: Al-Baqarah, Aal-e-Imran, and An-Nisa), and five (surahs from Al-Ma’idah to the end of At-Tawbah), and seven (surahs from Yunus to An-Nahl), and nine (surahs from Bani Isra’il to Al-Furqan), and eleven (surahs from Ash-Shu’ara to Ya-Sin), and thirteen (surahs from As-Saffat to Al-Hujurat), and the last portion of the Mufassal, that is, from Surah Qaf to the end."