How many suras in the Qur'an and how many verses? The Qur'an is a sacred book of Muslims

Every seventh inhabitant of the world professes Islam. Unlike Christians, whose holy book is the Bible, Muslims have the Koran. According to the plot and structure of these two wise ancient books are similar, but the Koran has its own unique features.

What is the Quran

Before you figure out how many suras in the Qur'an and how many ayahs, it is worth to learn more about this wise ancient book. The Qur'an is the foundation of the faith of Muslims. It was written in the 7th century by the Prophet Muhammad (Mohammed). As the admirers of Islam believe, the Creator of the Universe sent the archangel Gabriel (Jabrail) to transmit through Muhammad his message for all mankind. According to the Quran, Mohammed is far from being the first prophet of the Most High, but the last one to whom Allah ordered to convey his word to people.

The writing of the Koran lasted for 23 years, until Muhammad's death. It is noteworthy that the prophet himself did not collect all the texts of the message - it was done after the death of Mohammed by his secretary Zeid ibn Sabit. Prior to that, all the texts of the Qur'an were memorized by the followers and recorded on everything that would turn up on the arm.

There is a legend that in his youth the Prophet Mohammed was interested in Christianity and even was going to receive baptism himself. However, faced with a negative attitude of some priests to him, he left this venture, although the ideas of Christianity were close to him. Perhaps there is a grain of truth in this, as some of the plot lines of the Bible and the Quran are intertwined. This indicates that the prophet was clearly familiar with the holy book of Christians.

Contents of the Quran

Like the Bible, the Koran is both a philosophical book, a collection of laws, and a chronicle of the Arabs. Most of the book is written in the form of a dispute between Allah, the opponents of Islam and those who have not yet decided whether to believe or not.

Thematically, the Koran can be divided into 4 blocks.

• Basic principles of Islam.
• Laws, traditions and rites of Muslims, on the basis of which the moral and legal code of the Arabs was subsequently created.
• Historical and folklore data of the pre-Islamic era.
• Legends of the acts of Muslim, Jewish and Christian prophets. In particular, in the Quran there are such heroes of the Bible as Abraham, Moses, David, Noah, Solomon and even Jesus Christ.

Structure of the Quran

As for the structure, here again the Quran is similar to the Bible. However, unlike her, his author is one person, so the Koran is not divided into books by the names of the authors. The sacred book of Islam is divided into two parts, according to the place of writing.

The chapters of the Koran, written by Mohammed until 622, when the prophet, fleeing from the opponents of Islam, moved to the city of Medina, are called Meccan. And all the others that Muhammad wrote in his new place of residence are called Medina.

How many suras in the Quran and what is it?

Like the Bible, the Quran consists of chapters, which the Arabs call surahs. In total this sacred book consists of 114 chapters. They are not in the order of their writing by the prophet, but in meaning. For example, the very first written is considered a chapter called Al-Alak, which tells that Allah is the Creator of everything visible and invisible, as well as the ability of man to sin. However, in the holy book, she is recorded in the 96th, and the first is the sura of Fatih.

The Quran's heads are not the same in length: the longest is 6,100 words (Al-Bakar), and the shortest is only 10 (Al-Kausar). Starting with the second chapter (Bacara Sura), their length becomes smaller.

After the death of Mohammed, the whole Koran was evenly divided into 30 juzes. This is done so that during the holy month of Ramadan, reading one juza per night, an orthodox Muslim could fully read the Koran.

Of the 114 chapters of the Koran, 87 (86) are surahs written in Mecca. The remaining 27 (28) are the Medin chapters written by Mohammed in the last years of his life. Each Surah from the Quran has its own name, which reveals the brief meaning of the whole chapter.

113 of the 114 chapters of the Qur'an begin with the words "In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate!" Only the ninth sura, At-Taubah (from Arabic means "repentance") begins with a story about how the Almighty deals with those who worship several gods .

What are the verses

Having learned how many suras in the Quran, it is worth paying attention to another structural unit of the sacred book - ayat (analogue of the biblical verse). In translation from Arabic, "ayah" means "signs."

The length of these verses is different. Sometimes there are ayahs longer than the shortest chapters (10-25 words).

Because of problems with the separation of surah on ayat, Muslims have a different number - from 6204 to 6600.

The least number of ayahs in one chapter is 3, and at most 40.

Why the Qur'an should be read in Arabic

Muslims believe that only the words from the Koran in Arabic, on which the sacred text was dictated by the archangel Mohammed, possess miraculous power. That is why any, even the most accurate translation of the sacred book, loses its divinity. Therefore, to read the prayers from the Koran is necessary in the original language - Arabic.

Those who do not have the opportunity to get acquainted with the Koran in the original in order to better understand the meaning of the sacred book, it is worth reading the tafsirs (interpretations and explanations of holy texts by the associates of Mohammed and well-known scientists of later periods).

Russian-language translations of the Koran

Currently, there is a great variety of translations of the Koran into Russian. However, all of them have their own shortcomings, therefore they can serve only for an initial acquaintance with this great book.

Professor Ignaty Krachkovsky translated the Koran into Russian in 1963, but he did not use comments on the sacred book of Muslim scholars (tafsirs), so his translation is beautiful, but in many ways far from the original.

Valeria Porokhova translated the sacred book in verse form. Surah in Russian in her translation rhymes, and when reading the sacred book sounds very melodic, in some ways resembling the original. However, she translated from the English-speaking interpretation of the Quran Yusuf Ali, and not Arabic.

Quite good, though containing inaccuracies, are the popular translation of the Koran into Russian by Elmira Kuliyeva and Magomed-Nuri Osmanov.

Sura Al-Fatiha

Having dealt with how many suras in the Quran, you can consider a few of the most famous of them. The head of Al-Fatih is called by Muslims "the mother of the Scripture", since she opens the Koran. Surat Fatiha is sometimes called Alham. It is believed that written by Mohammed, she was the fifth, but the scholars and associates of the prophet made her first in the book. This chapter consists of 7 ayahs (29 words).

This sura begins in Arabic with a traditional phrase for 113 chapters - "Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim" ("In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful!"). Further in this chapter, Allah is praised, and also asks for His mercy and help in the path of life.

Sura Al-Baqarah

The longest sura from the Quran Al-Bakar is 286 verses. In translation, its name means "cow". The name of this surah is related to the story of Moses (Moses), whose plot is also in the 19th chapter of the Bible book of Numbers. In addition to the parable of Moses, this chapter also tells about the ancestor of all Jews - Abraham (Ibrahim).

Al-Baqarah also contains information on the basic tenets of Islam: on the unity of Allah, on the pious life, on the forthcoming Day of God's Judgment (Kiyamat). In addition, this chapter provides guidance on the conduct of trade, pilgrimage, gambling, age for marriage and various nuances relating to divorce.

Bacara Sura contains information that all people are divided into 3 categories: believers in Allah, rejecting the Most High and His teachings and hypocrites.

Al-Baqara's heart, and the whole Koran, is the 255th Ayat, called Al-Kursi. It tells about the greatness and power of Allah, His power over time and the universe.

Sura An-Nas

The Qur'an is completed by Sur Al Nas (An-Nas). It consists of only 6 ayahs (20 words). The title of this chapter is translated as "people". In this Sura, it is told about the fight against the tempters, regardless of whether the people are jinn (evil spirits) or Shaitan. The main effective means against them is the utterance of the Name of the Most High - so they will be put to flight.

It is considered that the two final chapters of the Koran (Al-Falaq and An-Nas) have a protective force. So, according to Mohammed's contemporaries, he advised reading them every night before bedtime, so that the Almighty would protect him from the machinations of the dark forces. His beloved wife and faithful companion of the prophet Aisha (Aisha) said that during the illness Muhammad asked her to read aloud the final two surahs, hoping for their healing power.

How to read the holy book of Muslims

Having learned how many Suras in the Qur'an, as the most famous of them are called, it is worthwhile to get acquainted with how Muslims are treated with a sacred book. Muslims refer to the text of the Koran as a shrine. So, for example, from the board on which the words from this book are written with chalk, you can not erase them with the help of saliva, you need to use only pure water.

In Islam, there is a separate set of rules on how to properly behave when reading surah, verses from the Koran. Before you start reading, you need to do a little ablution, brush your teeth and dress in festive clothes. All this is due to the fact that reading the Koran is a meeting with Allah, to which one should prepare with reverence.

During reading, it is better to be alone, so that outsiders do not distract from attempts to comprehend the wisdom of the sacred book.

As for the rules for dealing with the book itself, it can not be put on the floor or left open. In addition, the Qur'an must always lie on top of other books in the pile. Sheets from the Koran can not be used as wrappers for other books.

To read the Qur'an is taken either from the early morning (then Allah will bless the man for the whole day), or late in the evening, shortly before sleep (then the Almighty will rest until the morning).

The Koran is not only a sacred book of Muslims, but also a monument of ancient literature. Every person, even very far from Islam, after reading the Koran, will find in it a lot of interesting and instructive. In addition, today it is very simple: you just need to download the appropriate application from the Internet to the phone - and the ancient wise book will always be at hand.