Short answer
The Companions gave different answers. The best-known view, from Ibn Abbas, is that the last ayah revealed was 2:281: "And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah." Other reports name the ayat on riba (2:278) or the ayah on inheritance (4:176). The famous 5:3, "This day I have perfected your religion", came at the Farewell Hajj but was not the very last.
This is a factual question of the Quranic sciences. Knowing the last revealed ayat matters for questions of abrogation, since a later ruling replaces an earlier one.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
No single hadith of the Prophet ﷺ names the last ayah. The answers come from Companions, each reporting what he knew:
- 2:281: Ibn Abbas is reported to have said this was the last ayah revealed, shortly before the Prophet's ﷺ death. Many scholars, including al-Suyuti, favour it.
- 2:278 (riba): al-Bukhari reports from Ibn Abbas that the last ayah revealed was the ayah of riba. Since 2:278 to 281 belong together, the two reports fit.
- 4:176: al-Bara ibn Azib said the last ayah revealed was the one on kalalah (inheritance with no parent or child), and the last surah was at-Tawbah.
Why the reports differ. Each Companion spoke of the last thing he heard on a topic, or the last he himself witnessed. Scholars reconcile the reports this way: 4:176 may be the last on inheritance, 2:278 the last on riba, and 2:281 the last overall.
What about 5:3? "This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon you" was revealed at Arafah during the Farewell Hajj. It marks the completion of the religion's laws, but other ayat came after it. The last complete surah revealed, according to a report from Ibn Abbas in Sahih Muslim, was Surah an-Nasr.
The first revelation was the opening of Surah al-Alaq. See when the Quran was revealed, Quran 5:3 and the history of the Quran.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:281
وَٱتَّقُوا۟ يَوْمًۭا تُرْجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ ۖ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍۢ مَّا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ ﴿٢٨١﴾
And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be treated unjustly.
The ayah many scholars name as the last revealed.
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:176
يَسْتَفْتُونَكَ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ يُفْتِيكُمْ فِى ٱلْكَلَٰلَةِ ۚ إِنِ ٱمْرُؤٌا۟ هَلَكَ لَيْسَ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌۭ وَلَهُۥٓ أُخْتٌۭ فَلَهَا نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ ۚ وَهُوَ يَرِثُهَآ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهَا وَلَدٌۭ ۚ فَإِن كَانَتَا ٱثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُمَا ٱلثُّلُثَانِ مِمَّا تَرَكَ ۚ وَإِن كَانُوٓا۟ إِخْوَةًۭ رِّجَالًۭا وَنِسَآءًۭ فَلِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ ۗ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ أَن تَضِلُّوا۟ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌۢ ﴿١٧٦﴾
They request from you a [legal] ruling. Say, "Allah gives you a ruling concerning one having neither descendants nor ascendants [as heirs]." If a man dies, leaving no child but [only] a sister, she will have half of what he left. And he inherits from her if she [dies and] has no child. But if there are two sisters [or more], they will have two-thirds of what he left. If there are both brothers and sisters, the male will have the share of two females. Allah makes clear to you [His law], lest you go astray. And Allah is Knowing of all things.
Named by al-Bara as the last ayah.
Quran, Surah Al-Maaida 5:3
حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ وَٱلْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَٱلْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَٱلْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى ٱلنُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُوا۟ بِٱلْأَزْلَٰمِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ ۗ ٱلْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَٱخْشَوْنِ ۚ ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلْإِسْلَٰمَ دِينًۭا ۚ فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ فِى مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍۢ لِّإِثْمٍۢ ۙ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ ﴿٣﴾
Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah, and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience. This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
Revealed at the Farewell Hajj, marking the completion of the religion.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Itqan (al-Suyuti), Chapter on the first and last of what was revealed. Collects the Companions' reports and reconciles them.
- Fath al-Bari (Ibn Hajar), Kitab al-Tafsir, on Surah al-Baqarah 2:281. Discusses the report of Ibn Abbas on the last ayah.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.