The Holy Quran

The Quran is the final revealed book of Islam. Muslims believe it is the word of Allah, revealed in Arabic to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ through the angel Jibril (Gabriel). It is recited in prayer, memorised by millions and read as guidance for belief, worship, character and daily life.

The Quran has 114 surahs (chapters), 30 juz' (equal parts) and 6,236 verses in the Hafs count, which is the most widespread. If the Basmalah at the start of each surah is counted as a verse, the total is 6,348. The printed Madinah Mushaf has 604 pages.

It was revealed gradually over about 23 years: roughly 13 years in Makkah and 10 years in Madinah, until shortly before the death of the Prophet ﷺ. The first verses revealed are the opening of Surah Al-'Alaq (96:1-5), in the cave of Hira, in the month of Ramadan.

The Prophet ﷺ had scribes write down each revelation, and many companions memorised it. After the Battle of Yamamah, Abu Bakr had it collected into one set of pages under the care of Zayd ibn Thabit. 'Uthman later had standard copies written and sent to the main cities. Muslims also believe in Allah's promise to protect it (15:9), and the Quran has been passed on by recitation from teacher to student in an unbroken chain.

The longest surah is Al-Baqarah (286 verses). The shortest is Al-Kawthar (3 verses), and Al-'Asr and An-Nasr also have 3 verses. The longest verse is the verse of debt, Al-Baqarah 2:282. The surahs are arranged in the order the Prophet ﷺ taught, not in the order they were revealed.

The Quran opens with Surah Al-Fatihah and ends with Surah An-Nas. The first surah to begin to be revealed was Al-'Alaq, and Juz' 'Amma, the 30th part, starts with Surah An-Naba.

Meccan surahs were revealed before the Hijra (the migration to Madinah). They focus on faith in Allah, the Hereafter, the prophets and good character, and are usually shorter. Medinan surahs were revealed after it and include more rulings on worship, family, society and law. In the usual count 86 surahs are Meccan and 28 are Medinan.

All surahs begin with Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim except Surah At-Tawbah (Surah 9). Scholars give reasons such as its theme of ending treaties, and that it was treated as a continuation of Al-Anfal. The Basmalah also appears inside Surah An-Naml (27:30), so it is recited 114 times in the Quran.

Twenty-nine surahs begin with separate letters, such as Alif-Lam-Mim, Ya-Sin and Ha-Mim, called al-huruf al-muqatta'ah. Many scholars say that Allah knows best their meaning. Another view is that they remind us that the Quran is made of the same letters the Arabs use, yet nobody can bring its like.

The Quran calls people to worship Allah alone, to believe in His angels, books, prophets, the Last Day and the divine decree, and to live with honesty, mercy and justice. It tells the stories of earlier prophets, explains worship and the rights of parents, family, neighbours and the poor, and reminds people of accountability in the Hereafter.

No. The Quran is the Arabic wording that was revealed. A translation only conveys the meanings as understood by the translator, so it can never replace the Arabic. This is why the page shows the Arabic text first, with a translation and the tafsir under each verse to help with understanding.

Tafsir is the explanation of the Quran: the meaning of words, the reason a verse was revealed, and the lessons of each passage, taken from the Quran, the Sunnah, the companions and the Arabic language. Reading it next to the verse helps avoid misunderstanding. Arabic pages here show Tafsir al-Muyassar, a clear and concise tafsir.

Begin with Al-Fatihah and the short surahs of Juz' 'Amma. Read a little every day, at a steady pace, with a translation and tafsir. Listen to a reciter to learn the pronunciation, and learn tajweed (the rules of recitation) with a teacher if you can. Regular reading, even a page a day, is better than reading a lot once.

The Prophet ﷺ said that the best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it (Sahih al-Bukhari). He also said that for each letter read from the Book of Allah there is a good deed, multiplied by ten (at-Tirmidhi, hasan sahih). Reading with understanding and acting on it is the aim.

It is a verse after which the reader or listener makes one prostration of recitation (sujud at-tilawah). Scholars count fourteen or fifteen such verses in the Quran. The surah pages on this site mark them.

The Arabic text is the Uthmani script in the recitation of Hafs from 'Asim. The English translation is Marmaduke Pickthall; every other language shows the translation named under its verses. Arabic pages show Tafsir al-Muyassar under each verse.

Yes. Open a surah and press Play to hear the whole surah without breaks, or press the play button on a verse to hear it verse by verse. You can choose among 19 reciters, change the speed and repeat a verse to memorise. Audio streams from the internet; the Muslim Flow app also lets you download surahs for offline listening.