Question:
About Quran numbering system, how come they refer particular verse about Quran in hadees? kindly explain.
Answer:
In our Quran, the verses in the Quran numbering system, we have given a preface about the chapters, verses, sajdah etc.; in that we mentioned the numbering system was not on an authenticated source.
When we examine the Qur’an through the present system of chapter and verse numbering, it must first be acknowledged that this numerical arrangement itself is not an authenticated part of the original revelation. The numbers assigned to verses, the sectional divisions, and even the indicators of sajdah were later editorial additions meant only to assist readers in locating passages. They were never part of the revealed text itself.
The earliest compilation of the Qur’an was carried out during the caliphate of Abu Bakr(RA), and this manuscript later became the exemplar from which the standardized copies were produced under the authority of Uthman ibn Affan(RA). These copies, written in the early script, were distributed throughout the expanding Muslim world so that the community would remain united upon one textual standard. Even today, manuscripts attributed to this early tradition are preserved in museums in Istanbul and Tashkent, bearing witness to that historical effort of preservation.
However, the later numbering system sometimes fragments the natural flow of the revelation. Consider, for example, the passage commonly referenced as 4:168–169. In the numbering system, these appear as two separate verses, yet the meaning unfolds only when they are read together. If one reads merely:
“Those who disbelieve and transgress—Allahﷻ will not forgive them, nor guide them to any path,”
the statement appears incomplete. Only when the following portion is read—
“Except to the path of Hell, wherein they will abide forever; and that is easy for Allahﷻ ”—does the full meaning emerge. The two numbered verse’s function, in essence, as a single statement.
A similar example can be seen in 7:121–122. If one reads only: “They said, ‘We have believed in the Lord of the worlds,’”
the declaration seems unfinished. Its clarity is achieved only with the continuation: “The Lord of Moses and Aaron.”
Thus, what is labeled as two verses in the numbering system often constitutes a single coherent proclamation.
This numbering system was not in the earlier manuscripts but is numbered in the current versions means; it was added by the later people.
In its true sense, a Qur’anic verse (ayah) is a complete and meaningful unit of revelation—something that conveys a clear message within itself. When a passage requires the continuation of another numbered verse to convey its meaning, the numbering has artificially divided what is essentially one unit of speech.
For this reason, we have often pointed out that the current numbering system sometimes creates fragments that appear incomplete or semantically dependent on what follows. Nevertheless, for the sake of clarity, scholarship, and universal reference, we continue to abide by the existing numbering system. To alter it would create confusion within the vast body of Qur’anic scholarship that already relies upon these conventional references.
Thus, while the numbering may not perfectly reflect the natural structure of the revelation, it remains a practical tool for citation—accepted not as part of the revelation itself, but as a later scholarly aid.