This is brought to quash the devilish thoughts from the likes of Yaasir Qaadhi who believe the Qur'aan was not adequately preserved denying the promise of Allaah to protect the Book from any distortion or alteration.
Al-Imaam al-Qurtubee wrote in his Jaamiuli Ahkaam Al-Qur'an, Vol 1, p.64-65 as follows:
Section
As for the number of letters and divisions of the Qur'an, Salām Abū Muḥammad al-Hammānī narrated that al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf gathered the reciters, memorizers, and scribes and said: “Tell me, how many letters are there in the entire Qur'an?” He said: "I was among them, so we calculated and unanimously agreed that the Qur'an consists of 340,740 letters."
He then said, “Tell me, at which letter does the halfway point of the Qur'an end?” It was found to be in Surah Al-Kahf at the word ‘fa’ in ‘fa-l-ya-ta-laṭṭaf’ (and let him be cautious).
He then asked, “Inform me about the thirds.” It was found that the first third ends at the 100th verse of Surah At-Tawbah (Baraa’ah), the second third ends at the 100th or 101st verse of Surah Ash-Shu‘ara (Ṭa-Sīn-Mīm), and the final third consists of what remains of the Qur'an.
He further asked, “Tell me about its sevenths by letters.” The first seventh ends in Surah An-Nisa at ‘fa-minhum man āmana bihi wa-minhum man ṣadd’ (in the letter dal). The second seventh ends in Surah Al-A‘raf at ‘ḥabiṭat’ (in the letter ta). The third seventh ends in Surah Ar-Ra‘d at ‘ukuluha dā’im’ (in the letter alif at the end of the word). The fourth seventh ends in Surah Al-Ḥajj at ‘wa-li-kulli ummatin ja‘alnā mansakan’ (in the letter alif). The fifth seventh ends in Surah Al-Aḥzāb at ‘wa-mā kāna li-mu’minin wa-lā mu’minatin’ (in the letter ha). The sixth seventh ends in Surah Al-Fatḥ at ‘aẓ-ẓannīn bi-Allāhi ẓanna as-saw’ (in the letter waw). The seventh seventh includes what remains of the Qur'an.
Salām Abū Muḥammad added: “We calculated this using four finger spans, and al-Ḥajjāj used to recite one quarter of the Qur'an every night. The first quarter ended with the conclusion of Surah Al-An‘am, the second quarter ended at Surah Al-Kahf ‘fa-l-ya-ta-laṭṭaf’, the third quarter ended with the conclusion of Surah Az-Zumar, and the fourth quarter consisted of the rest of the Qur'an.”
Regarding this summary, there is a difference of opinion mentioned in the book Al-Bayān by Abū ʿAmr ad-Dānī. Whoever wishes to investigate further can find it there.
Section
As for the number of verses in the Qur'an according to the first Medinan count, Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā said: "The compilation of the verse count in the Medinan recitation totals 6,000 verses." ʿAmr added: "This is the count narrated by the people of Kūfa from the people of Medina, though they did not specify any individual by name to whom it was attributed."
As for the last Madinan count, Isma'il ibn Ja'far said: "It is six thousand, two hundred, and fourteen verses." Al-Faḍl said: "According to the Makkan scholars, the total number of Qur'anic verses is six thousand, two hundred, and nineteen verses."
Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā stated: "The total number of Qur'anic verses according to the Kufans is six thousand, two hundred, and thirty-six verses. This is the count narrated by Sulaym and Al-Kisā'ī from Ḥamzah, which Al-Kisā'ī attributed to ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him)."
Muḥammad also mentioned: "The total number of Qur'anic verses according to the Basran scholars is six thousand, two hundred, and four verses. This is the count that their predecessors adhered to up until now."
As for the count of the people of Sham (Syria), Yaḥyā ibn al-Ḥārith al-Dhimmārī said: "It is six thousand, two hundred, and twenty-six verses, though another narration states six thousand, two hundred, and twenty-five verses—one verse less." Ibn Dhakwān commented: "I suspect that Yaḥyā did not count Bismillah al-Raḥman al-Raḥīm."
Abū ʿAmr stated: "These are the counts that have been traditionally transmitted and used across different regions, both in ancient and modern times."
As for the total words of the Qur'an, Al-Faḍl ibn Shādhān said: "According to ʿAṭā' ibn Yasār, the Qur'an contains seventy-seven thousand, four hundred, and thirty-nine words, and its letters amount to three hundred and twenty-three thousand, fifteen letters."
He continued: "This differs from what Al-Ḥammānī mentioned earlier." ʿAbdullah ibn Kathīr narrated from Mujāhid: "We calculated the Qur'an to have three hundred and twenty-one thousand, one hundred and eighty letters. This also differs from the count previously mentioned by Al-Ḥammānī."
Culled and checked by Aboo Aamir
People also read this
