Criticism and Analysis of the Duty-Oriented Role of the Concept of Ṣalāh in the Selection of Surah Ḥamd as the First Revealed Surah

The topic of the first revealed verse and chapter is one of the controversial topics in the field of Quranic sciences. The obligation of prayer at the beginning of the Prophet's mission is one of the strongest indicators, which has been used in the preference of Surah Ḥamd as the first revealed Surah. In this article, which is organized by the analytical descriptive method, the narrative evidences about the obligation of prayer at the beginning of the mission, and the elemental role of Surah Ḥamd, which formed the content of this concept, are challenged as a pre-established assumption. Therefore, in order to discover the first revelation of the Qurʾan, other evidences and proofs should be sought and another method should be suggested. What is this evidence? And which is this method? The answers to these questions are the approaches of this article. Therefore, in this research, instead of just relying on controversial topics of narration, paying attention to the special characteristics of the Holy Qurʾan; like its textuality and the property of being a book, it is suggested as a valid and reasoned method to measure the validity of the sayings related to the category "Awwala mā Nuzila" (the first thing that was revealed).