Q & A regarding the number of verses in the Qur'an

From a Q&A with Kamil Mufti.

> I wanted to ask you...that why is it often stated that the Quran has
> 6666 ayat, although the total number in 6236 ?

Good question.

The number of verses of Quran is NOT 6666 and no Muslim scholar I know of has ever said that.

It is a lie spread by Christian missionaries that some Muslims repeat and spread in their ignorance. Google and you will be surprised how many English, Arabic, Muslim, and non-Muslim websites repeat this. Moreover, it's a common question featured in Islamic/Quran quizzes for kids! So much for people who rely on the Internet!

In Christian theology 666 is the Number of the Beast mentioned in the Book of Revelation (13:18) [sign of the Anti-Christ]. They made up the number to connect the Book of Allah and the Prophet of Islam to the Antichrist!

Damien, the devil's child in 'The Omen,' has 666 inscribed on his head.

In any case, there are many ways to refute them:

(a) The Protestants believe that there are 66 truly "inspired" books in the Bible. If they link 6666 to the Antichrist, then why don't they link their 66 books to the Antichrist too? If they don't mind adding a 6, they shouldn't mind taking off a 6!

(b) The Book of Revelation was rejected by many early Christians like Marcion, Caius of Rome, Dionysius of Alexandria, Cyril of Jerusalem, and the Synod of Laodicea in 360 C.E.

(c) Eastern Church still rejects the Book of Revelation.

(d) Martin Luther is a father of Reformation and Protestant Christianity. Rejecting this book, he writs, "I leave everyone free to hold his own opinions...I miss more than one thing in this book, and it makes me consider it to be neither apostolic nor prophetic."

(e) Old manuscripts of the Book of Revelation don't mention 666, but 616.

(f) Many Christians use 666 for political propaganda. For example, they attributed 666 to Ronald Reagan because his given name, middle name (Wilson), and surname each have six letters, thus 6-6-6, or 666. Earlier they attributed it to Nero and Domitian, two Roman emperors! Some say 666 will be part of Anti-Christ's Social Security number! Yet, others say it will be the bar code or microchip on his body! They are only limited by their imagination!

Anyways, the number of verses in the Quran according to Kufan counting is 6236. The verses are the same, but their counting is slightly different. For example, some count Bismillah in the beginning of every Surah to be the first verse, others don't. Also, a few verses are counted as two by some scholars.

The following are books written by classical Islamic scholars on the count of Quranic verses:

Adad al-Madani al-Awwal by Nafi' bin Abd al-Rahman al-Madani
Adad al-Thani by same author
al-Adad by 'Ata bin Yisar
al-Adad by Hamza al-Ziyyat
al-Adad by Khalf bin Hisham
al-Adad by Muhammad bin Eisa
al-Adad by al-Kisai
al-Adad by 'Aasim al-Juhdari
al-Adad by Khalid bin Ma'daan
Kitab by Abu Ubaid bin Sallam
Adad Aai al-Quran by Abu Hafs al-Tabari
Add Aai al-Quran 'Ala Madhab Ahl al-Basra by Abu al-Abbas al-Kiali
al-Bayan fi Add Aai al-Quran by Uthman bin Saeed
...and others

None of them mentioned the number of verses to be 6666.

And Allah knows best.