How the Qur'an is organised
Surahs and ayahs come from the Qur'an itself. Juz, hizb and page numbers are reading aids added later. This guide keeps the two apart.
Short answer
The Qur'an has 114 surahs (chapters) containing 6,236 ayahs (verses) in the Kufan verse count used by most printed copies today and by Bayyina's reader.
Its longest surah is The Cow (286 ayahs); the shortest have 3. The division into 30 juz is a reading schedule, not part of the text.
114 surahs, 6,236 ayahs
Every count on this page is computed from the same text the reader shows, so you can check it surah by surah. The three longest surahs are The Cow (286), The Poets (227), and The Heights (206). The shortest, with 3 ayahs each, are The Declining Day (103), The Abundance (108), and The Help (110).
What a surah is
The word سُورَة (sūrah) is the Qur'an's own name for one of its units. It challenges doubters to bring "a surah like it" and opens Surah An-Nur by calling itself a surah:
وَإِن كُنتُمْ فِى رَيْبٍۢ مِّمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَىٰ عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُوا۟ بِسُورَةٍۢ مِّن مِّثْلِهِۦ وَٱدْعُوا۟ شُهَدَآءَكُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَٰدِقِينَ
And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful.
سُورَةٌ أَنزَلْنَٰهَا وَفَرَضْنَٰهَا وَأَنزَلْنَا فِيهَآ ءَايَٰتٍۭ بَيِّنَٰتٍۢ لَّعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
[This is] a surah which We have sent down and made [that within it] obligatory and revealed therein verses of clear evidence that you might remember.
The surah names you see (Al-Baqarah, "The Cow"; Al-Kahf, "The Cave") are traditional titles, usually taken from a word inside the surah. They are not written in the Arabic text itself.
What an ayah is
آيَة (āyah, plural āyāt) means a sign. The Qur'an uses the same word for its own verses and for signs in nature and history, which is worth remembering when a translation renders it one way only.
الٓر ۚ كِتَٰبٌ أُحْكِمَتْ ءَايَٰتُهُۥ ثُمَّ فُصِّلَتْ مِن لَّدُنْ حَكِيمٍ خَبِيرٍ
Alif, Lam, Ra. [This is] a Book whose verses are perfected and then presented in detail from [one who is] Wise and Acquainted.
كِتَٰبٌ أَنزَلْنَٰهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَٰرَكٌۭ لِّيَدَّبَّرُوٓا۟ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلْأَلْبَٰبِ
[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded.
Surahs that open with letters
29 surahs begin with letters read by their names, such as الٓمٓ (alif lām mīm) and حمٓ (ḥā mīm). The Qur'an does not explain them, and Bayyina does not assign them a meaning.
- 2The Cow2:1
- 3Family of Imran3:1
- 7The Heights7:1
- 10Jonah10:1
- 11Hud11:1
- 12Joseph12:1
- 13The Thunder13:1
- 14Abraham14:1
- 15The Rocky Tract15:1
- 19Mary19:1
- 20Ta-Ha20:1
- 26The Poets26:1
- 27The Ant27:1
- 28The Stories28:1
- 29The Spider29:1
- 30The Romans30:1
- 31Luqman31:1
- 32The Prostration32:1
- 36Ya Sin36:1
- 38Sad38:1
- 40The Forgiver40:1
- 41Explained in Detail41:1
- 42The Consultation42:1
- 43The Gold Adornment43:1
- 44The Smoke44:1
- 45The Kneeling45:1
- 46The Wind-Curved Sandhills46:1
- 50Qaf50:1
- 68The Pen68:1
The basmalah
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ (“In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful”) is numbered as an ayah only in Al-Fatihah in this count. Printed copies place it above every other surah except At-Tawbah (9), which opens straight into its text. Inside a surah it appears once, in Solomon's letter:
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
إِنَّهُۥ مِن سُلَيْمَٰنَ وَإِنَّهُۥ بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Indeed, it is from Solomon, and indeed, it reads: 'In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,
بَرَآءَةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ عَٰهَدتُّم مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ
[This is a declaration of] disassociation, from Allah and His Messenger, to those with whom you had made a treaty among the polytheists.
Juz, hizb and pages
The juz (one-thirtieth), hizb (one-sixtieth) and page numbers divide the text into equal portions for reading over a month or for memorising. They often begin mid-surah and are not mentioned in the Qur'an.
The Qur'an describes reading it in measured portions and being sent down in parts, not in one sitting:
أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ وَرَتِّلِ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ تَرْتِيلًا
Or add to it, and recite the Qur'an with measured recitation.
وَقُرْءَانًۭا فَرَقْنَٰهُ لِتَقْرَأَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ عَلَىٰ مُكْثٍۢ وَنَزَّلْنَٰهُ تَنزِيلًۭا
And [it is] a Qur'an which We have separated [by intervals] that you might recite it to the people over a prolonged period. And We have sent it down progressively.
وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَوْلَا نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ جُمْلَةًۭ وَٰحِدَةًۭ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ لِنُثَبِّتَ بِهِۦ فُؤَادَكَ ۖ وَرَتَّلْنَٰهُ تَرْتِيلًۭا
And those who disbelieve say, "Why was the Qur'an not revealed to him all at once?" Thus [it is] that We may strengthen thereby your heart. And We have spaced it distinctly.
The order of the surahs
The surahs are arranged roughly from longest to shortest, not in the order they were revealed. The opening surah is short, and the Qur'an does not give its own chronology.
All 114 surahs
Each name opens the full surah in Arabic with English. The number after the name is its ayah count.
- 1The Opening7
- 2The Cow286
- 3Family of Imran200
- 4The Women176
- 5The Table Spread120
- 6The Cattle165
- 7The Heights206
- 8The Spoils of War75
- 9The Repentance129
- 10Jonah109
- 11Hud123
- 12Joseph111
- 13The Thunder43
- 14Abraham52
- 15The Rocky Tract99
- 16The Bee128
- 17The Night Journey111
- 18The Cave110
- 19Mary98
- 20Ta-Ha135
- 21The Prophets112
- 22The Pilgrimage78
- 23The Believers118
- 24The Light64
- 25The Criterion77
- 26The Poets227
- 27The Ant93
- 28The Stories88
- 29The Spider69
- 30The Romans60
- 31Luqman34
- 32The Prostration30
- 33The Confederates73
- 34Sheba54
- 35The Originator45
- 36Ya Sin83
- 37Those Who Set the Ranks182
- 38Sad88
- 39The Groups75
- 40The Forgiver85
- 41Explained in Detail54
- 42The Consultation53
- 43The Gold Adornment89
- 44The Smoke59
- 45The Kneeling37
- 46The Wind-Curved Sandhills35
- 47Muhammad38
- 48The Victory29
- 49The Rooms18
- 50Qaf45
- 51The Winnowing Winds60
- 52The Mount49
- 53The Star62
- 54The Moon55
- 55The Beneficent78
- 56The Inevitable96
- 57The Iron29
- 58The Pleading Woman22
- 59The Exile24
- 60The Woman to Be Examined13
- 61The Ranks14
- 62The Congregation11
- 63The Hypocrites11
- 64The Mutual Disillusion18
- 65The Divorce12
- 66The Prohibition12
- 67The Sovereignty30
- 68The Pen52
- 69The Reality52
- 70The Ascending Stairways44
- 71Noah28
- 72The Jinn28
- 73The Enshrouded One20
- 74The Cloaked One56
- 75The Resurrection40
- 76The Man31
- 77The Emissaries50
- 78The Tidings40
- 79Those Who Drag Forth46
- 80He Frowned42
- 81The Overthrowing29
- 82The Cleaving19
- 83The Defrauding36
- 84The Splitting Open25
- 85The Mansions of the Stars22
- 86The Morning Star17
- 87The Most High19
- 88The Overwhelming26
- 89The Dawn30
- 90The City20
- 91The Sun15
- 92The Night21
- 93The Morning Hours11
- 94The Relief8
- 95The Fig8
- 96The Clot19
- 97The Power5
- 98The Clear Proof8
- 99The Earthquake8
- 100The Coursers11
- 101The Calamity11
- 102The Rivalry in Worldly Increase8
- 103The Declining Day3
- 104The Traducer9
- 105The Elephant5
- 106Quraysh4
- 107The Small Kindnesses7
- 108The Abundance3
- 109The Disbelievers6
- 110The Help3
- 111The Palm Fiber5
- 112The Sincerity4
- 113The Daybreak5
- 114Mankind6