The holy Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) over 1400 years ago, and since then, it has been memorized, recited, and studied by millions of Muslims around the world. The accuracy of its content has been highly sought after, and its translations are always under scrutiny by Muslim scholars as well as non-Muslim linguists, historians, and experts on Islam.
It contains 114 chapters with 6,666 individual verses called aayat in Arabic, and each verse contains an average of 4 words each (considering the total amount of words in the Quran). This makes the total number of unique words in the Quran 18,994.
The order of the Qur’an
As Muslims, we may have an idea that there is a lot of wisdom and knowledge packed into the Glorious Qur’an, but it’s hard to imagine just how many words are in it.
While many people like to recite short segments at mosques and events, they often don’t realize that each Surah (chapter) contains between 3 and 200 verses, depending on length.
And there are 114 Surahs in total! Did you know there were more than 60 000 aayats (verses) in total? At my Online Quran Academy, I love answering questions about Allah’s Glorious Book, so I decided to do some quick calculations.
The different recitations
Each of these 17 official Qur’an recitations has a specific name. Since it is all in Arabic, native Arabic speakers may have an easier time with some than others. For instance, Hafs and Warsh are both very similar to each other and are considered to be relatively easy to recite. Suppose you can’t understand something that someone is saying in an unfamiliar dialect.
In that case, most people will not be offended if you ask them to repeat themselves in another way or another language (preferably English!). Here’s a rundown of what each recitation is named after Ameer Al-Mu’mineen Abu Bakr Siddique: Recited by Uthman Ibn Affan رضي الله عنه.
It was written down during his reign as Caliph by Ali Ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه. This version is often used for formal prayers such as salah (prayer) and Taraweeh prayers during Ramadan.
The different lengths
The majority of Muslims tend to focus on memorizing certain verses or chapters in particular—the shorter ones. There are a few reasons for that, explains Zia Sheikh, founder of Online Quran Academy. The most common would be that these were taught at an early age by parents and teachers.
Children are often encouraged to memorize short passages from the Qur’an, and as they grow older, they may continue doing so as part of their daily prayers, he says. It is important to note here that not all Qur’anic passages are equal in length.
For example, Surah Al-Baqarah (Chapter 2) has 286 ayahs (verses), while Surah Al-Anfal (Chapter 8) has only 75 ayahs. The longest chapter is Surah Ibrahim (Chapter 14), with 264 ayahs; it is followed by Surah An-Nisa’ (Chapter 4), with 165 ayahs. The shortest chapter is Chapter 112, which consists of only three verses, notes Sheikh.
How many chapters in the Qur’an?
The Qur’an contains 114 chapters (surahs) arranged roughly according to length, each known as a sura. The longest surah is Surah 2 (also known as Al-Baqarah), which contains 286 ayat. The shortest surah is just four ayat long and is called al-Nasr. It was revealed during a war to comfort soldiers who were afraid of dying in battle.
It is worth noting that even though each surah has its own title, there are many other names for individual surahs. You can find them on your favorite online Quran academy website or on the MSA Academy app under Qaris’ section for students or readers.
How many aayaat in the Quran?
The Qur’an contains approximately 114 chapters or suras. Each chapter is subdivided into verses, and each verse is subdivided into ayaat. There are 6,666 verses in total (roughly 29,530 words).
This does not include al-Muqatta’at: special letter combinations that do not follow any consistent rule about placement within chapters and whose meanings remain unknown.
Conclusion
Each of its 114 surahs, or chapters, is comprised of several verses (ayat). The longest chapter in Quran is Surah Baqarah, with 286 ayats. The shortest chapter in Quran is Surah Ankabut, with three ayats. But how many aya’s are there altogether in Qur’an? This post will attempt to answer that question once and for all!