Verses in The Qur’an

Why are there different figures mentioned with respect to the total number of verses and what is the actual number?

The general accord is that the total number of verses is 6,200-odd verses in the entire Qur’an.
According to differing ways of reciting the Qur’an, there are differing opinions on what the odd numbers exactly are. Considering these variant readings of the Qur’an, the exact number of total Qur’anic verses is 6220 according to the reciting of Meccans of the period, 6236 according to the reciting of the people of Kufa, 6216 according to the reciting of the people of Damascus, 6210, 6214 or 6217 according to the reciting of the people of Medina and 6204, 6205 or 6219 according to the reciting of Basrans of the time.

As for the disagreements over where certain verses begin and end, this is due to the differences in narration that the scholars of qira’a received but this is not a matter of interpretation. ( Qira’a is the method of recitation, punctuation and localization of the Qur’an, and there are seven main qira’at, or readings, of the Qur’an.) The differences in qira’a narrations are due to the fact that Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, stopped in different places in the same verses on different occasions. When the Prophet recited verses for the first time he would stop at the end of each verse so that the Companions would know where the verse began and ended. When he was sure that this detail had been understood, he would sometimes pass onto the following verse without halting between, to ensure continuity in meaning. Thus, if someone were to hear this second type of recital of two consecutive verses for the first time, it would be possible that they would consider these verses to be one single verse and they would recite it to others accordingly. Another reason for variance over the total number of verses depends on whether or not the basmala
that is found at the beginning of every chapter, the Qur’anic initials ( muqatta’at) that can be found at the beginning of certain chapters, some words at the beginning of certain chapters, or some short Qur’anic verses are considered to be independent verses or not. Finally, such differences of opinion does not by any means indicate any interpolation in the verses; rather the numerical variations are nothing but a different understanding of the same text by different people.

 

Akgul, Muhittin (2009). The Quran in 99 Questions (Abdullah Erdemli Trans.). New Jersey: Tughra Books. (Originally published in Turkish as Kur’an İklimine Seyahat)