There are 114 sūrahs (chapters), in the Quran. Each surah has a varying number of āyah (verses). There are 6236 verses, although the total given can vary depending on whether the expression of piety at the beginning of almost every sūrah (the basmalah), is counted. A sūrah can vary in length between three to 286 verses. With the exception of the brief opening sūrah, the Quran is then ordered with its longest sūrah first, with the following ones arranged in roughly descending order of length.

            Each sūrah can be categorised as either having been revealed during the earlier period of prophecy in Makkah or amongst those revealed after the migration of the prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his followers to Madinah (Hijrah) in 622.  The Makkan phase of revelation is thought to have lasted around thirteen years. A sūrah ascribed to this phase tends to be short and based on themes of core beliefs: the unity of Allah, the coming of resurrection and judgement, and righteous conduct. A sūrah ascribed to the Madinan phase, which lasted about ten years, from the Hijrah to the death of prophet Muhammad ﷺ, tends to be longer and whilst they still incorporate the basic themes of the Makkan phase, they also refer to the growing together of the Muslim community and their experiences and interaction with other groups. It is apparent from this chronology that the ordering of the sūrahs according to length is not the same as the order of revelation. Muslim tradition states that the reordering of the sūrahs by length in this way was established by the prophet during his lifetime. 

Early manuscripts of the Quran demonstrate the development of visual markers to make a distinction between one sūrah and the next as well as other markers to divide the text for readers, such as āyah separators, counting aids and divisions into volumes. It is useful to recognise these features when studying early Quran manuscripts.

[Click on the images below to read more about the visual markers and divisions that were added to Quran manuscripts]