this is not a fatwa q. i want to know which aya concerning hijab was revealed first: the ayah in surat alnoor(31) or al-ahzab(59). and what is the resource(book) that would enable me to find out this information on my own concerning other ayat. plz send the answer to my email. jazakum allah khair

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

We have not come across any statement of the scholars that precisely clarifies which of the two verses was revealed first. However, in general, Chapter An-Noor [Quran 24] was revealed due to the story when the ‘Aa’ishah the wife of the Prophet was falsely accused by the hypocrites of having committed adultery. This incident took place during the battle of Al-Muraysee'. The scholars differed in opinion as to when this battle took place. Ibn Hajar is of the view that the preponderant opinion is that the battle took place in 5 A.H. in the month of Sha’baan, so it would have happened before the battle of Al-Khandaq, because the latter took place in Shawwaal in 5 A.H. as well. The Chapter of Al-Ahzaab [Quran 33] was revealed about the battle of Al-Khunduq; therefore, it becomes evident from this that the verse of Chapter An-Noor was revealed before the verse of Chapter Al-Ahzaab.

Furthermore, we are not aware of any book which clarifies the order of the revelation of the verses, but this can be deducted from the books on the reasons of the revelation according to the procedure hereby by which we provided a response to your question.    

Allaah Knows best.