How Many Surahs and Verses Are in the Quran?
The Quran has 114 surahs and 6,236 verses in the standard count. Why other totals exist, plus Meccan and Medinan surahs, juz and the basmala.
Last updated: 2026-10-03
Short answer: the Quran has 114 surahs (chapters) and 6,236 ayahs (verses) in the count used by almost all printed copies today. The number of surahs is the same everywhere; the number of verses depends on a counting tradition, which is why you may see other totals.
Why do verse totals differ?
The words of the Quran are the same in every standard copy. What differs is where some verses are considered to end. Early centres of learning — Kufa, Basra, Damascus, Mecca and Medina — each preserved a way of counting verse breaks. The Kufan count, which gives 6,236, is the one used with the Hafs recitation printed in most of the world. Other counts give totals a little lower, such as 6,204 or 6,214. The often-repeated figure of 6,666 does not match any standard count.
Longest and shortest surahs by verses
The longest surah is Surah Al-Baqarah (2) with 286 ayahs. The shortest by number of verses have 3 ayahs each: Al-'Asr, Al-Kawthar and An-Nasr. More in the shortest and longest surahs and verses.
Meccan and Medinan surahs
Each surah is classified by when it was mainly revealed: before the Prophet’s migration to Medina in 622 CE (Meccan) or after it (Medinan). In the dataset used on this site, 86 surahs are Meccan and 28 are Medinan. Scholars differ on the classification of a few surahs, and some surahs contain verses from both periods, so you may see slightly different numbers elsewhere.
Other ways the Quran is divided
- Juz (para): 30 parts of roughly equal length, used to read the whole Quran in a month.
- Hizb: each juz has two, so there are 60, often divided again into quarters.
- Manzil: seven sections, for reading the whole Quran in a week.
- Ruku: thematic paragraphs marked in many South Asian copies.
The basmala
Every surah except one begins with the basmala, the phrase “In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”. The exception is Surah At-Tawbah (9). The phrase also occurs inside Surah An-Naml (27) at 27:30, so it appears 114 times in total. In the Kufan count the basmala is numbered as the first ayah of Surah Al-Fatihah (1) only.
How many words and letters?
Word counts vary with how particles and joined words are counted. A simple count of the Uthmani text used on this site gives 77,429 words; published figures are usually around 77,400–77,800. Letter counts vary even more and are best treated as approximate.
Browse every surah with its number of ayahs on the surah list.
Frequently asked questions
- How many chapters are in the Quran?
- 114. The chapters are called surahs, and the number is the same in every standard copy.
- How many verses are in the Quran?
- 6,236 in the Kufan count used with the Hafs recitation in most printed copies. Other early counting traditions give slightly lower totals because they place some verse breaks differently; the words are the same.
- Which surah does not start with Bismillah?
- Surah At-Tawbah (9) is the only surah that does not begin with the basmala.
This article explains common understanding and history for general readers; it is not a religious ruling. For questions of practice, consult a qualified scholar. See the disclaimer.
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