Surah, Ayah, Juz and Hizb: How the Quran Is Divided
Learn how Quran chapters, verses and reading portions fit together. Look up 2:142, find the start of Juz 30 and compare markers across editions.
A surah is a chapter of the Quran, and an ayah is a verse. A juz is one of 30 portions used to pace reading or recitation. In a widely used scheme of 60 hizbs, each juz contains two hizbs. A reference such as 2:142 gives a chapter and verse. A label such as Juz 2 gives a stretch of reading whose first verse, in this case, is 2:142 in the Quran.com edition.
Four terms and what each one tells you
| Term | What it identifies | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Surah | A named chapter in the standard 114-chapter sequence | Al-Baqarah is Surah 2 |
| Ayah | A verse identified by its position within a surah | 2:142 is verse 142 of Al-Baqarah |
| Juz | One of 30 reading portions | Juz 2 begins within Al-Baqarah |
| Hizb | One of 60 smaller reading portions in the scheme used here | Hizb 3 opens Juz 2 in continuous numbering |
Chapter and verse numbers work together. Reading portions run on a parallel track through the same text. That is why the same line of a Quran reader can carry a chapter name, a verse number, a juz number and a page number. Each label answers a different question. Someone checking a quotation needs the chapter and verse. Someone dividing a reading session into manageable stretches will usually start from a portion marker.
How to read a surah and ayah reference
In Quran 2:142, the first number identifies Surah 2, Al-Baqarah, and the second identifies verse 142 within it. Find the chapter name or number in the contents, then follow its verse numbers. The count starts again with the next chapter. A verse may extend over several lines of print, and a long line can contain parts of more than one verse. Look for the verse number at the marker where the verse ends or use the navigation in a digital edition.
A named chapter can also stand on its own as a reference. Al-Fatihah is chapter 1 and has seven numbered verses in the Quran.com display. A reader looking for all seven can open the chapter directly. Someone who needs to share the fifth verse can give the more specific reference 1:5. When comparing translated passages, include the translation or edition as well. Two translators can make different wording choices for the same verse.
Chapter titles can appear in English translation or in several transliterations. Al-Baqarah, al-Baqara and The Cow point to the same entry, chapter 2, in a standard contents list. The numbers are especially helpful when a handout and an app use different spellings. A range such as 2:142–145 means verses 142 through 145 of that chapter. For a range crossing into another chapter, write both complete references so the final number has a clear chapter attached to it.
Why a juz can begin partway through a surah
The 30 juz divisions give readers portions of roughly comparable length, while the chapters vary considerably in length. A long chapter can span several portions. In the Quran.com sequence, Juz 1 opens with Al-Fatihah and continues into Al-Baqarah. Juz 2 begins at 2:142, and Juz 3 begins at 2:253. All three contain part of Al-Baqarah. If a teacher assigns the whole chapter, the second juz alone covers only one stretch of it.
The opposite pattern appears near the end. Juz 30, often called Juz Amma, opens at 78:1 in An-Naba and continues through the final chapter, An-Nas. Many short chapters fit inside that portion. Opening the menu item numbered 30 under Surah in the same reader takes you to Ar-Rum. Opening item 30 under Juz takes you to An-Naba. The two menus number different units.
When you resume a reading session in the middle of a juz, write down the next verse to read as well as the portion number. “Juz 2, resume at 2:145” brings you back to the right place on another device. If a group is reading one chapter together, agree on the verse at which the group will start and end. This also makes it easier to follow when the group uses more than one printed edition.
How a hizb and its quarter markers work
In the 60-hizb system described by Indonesia’s Quran text verification office and represented in Quran Foundation navigation, a juz contains two hizbs. With continuous numbering, Juz 1 contains Hizbs 1 and 2, Juz 2 contains Hizbs 3 and 4, and Juz 30 contains Hizbs 59 and 60. If a study group says “the second hizb of Juz 2,” it means Hizb 4 in continuous numbering.
A rub al-hizb is a quarter of a hizb. Four such quarters fit in each hizb, so there are eight quarters in each juz in this scheme. An edition may mark the beginning of a hizb and the points a quarter, a half and three quarters of the way through it. The Indonesian verification guide gives an eight-pointed sign as one design and notes that editions can vary the graphic. The sign at the line shows where to look, while a label in the margin can tell you which boundary it is. Consult the key in your own copy if the ornament has no accompanying explanation.
The vocabulary for smaller reading units varies across publishing and manuscript traditions. The British Library’s manuscript survey describes marks for eighths of a juz in an Acehnese copy. Those are an example of a book giving readers more stopping places. When assigning “a quarter” to someone else, add whether it is a quarter of a juz or of a hizb and, where possible, give the starting verse.
When two editions mark a boundary differently
Page numbers depend on the layout of a mushaf, a written or printed copy of the Quran. For example, Quran.com displays both 3:92 and 3:93 on page 62 in the edition it shows on those verse pages. It places 3:92 in Juz 3 and starts Juz 4 at 3:93. A new juz can therefore begin on the same page as the end of the previous one.
A difference in the assigned start verse is a separate question. The Indonesian standard mushaf’s verification guide records Juz 4 beginning at the words corresponding to 3:92, one verse earlier than the boundary in the Quran.com listing. Both references are still within Ali Imran. If an instructor tells a class to start at Juz 4 and the first student begins a verse earlier, comparing the two editions’ juz lists may resolve the discrepancy. For an assignment or reading group, give the first and last verses alongside the juz number when the choice of boundary matters.
When a note gives just a page number, ask which print layout it follows. A page can be helpful for locating a place in a shared classroom edition, and a chapter-and-verse reference is more portable between a large-print copy, a bilingual edition and a phone. The opening formula shown before the first numbered verse of An-Naba in Quran.com’s display is another reason to read the actual verse labels. For the formula itself, see the guide to the basmala.
How readers found divisions in handwritten copies
Reading divisions can be physically built into a book or marked within it. The Met’s survey of early Qurans discusses manuscripts divided into thirty sections and the use of small rosettes and other marks to guide readers to verse endings. A multi-volume set can let a reader pick up a whole portion as a separate book. Within a single volume, the markers provide a way to return to a stopping place without having to count leaves.
A nineteenth-century Quran from Patani in the British Library, Or 15227, marks the beginning of Juz 28 at the start of Al-Mujadilah with a decorated marginal device. The library describes a layout used in manuscripts of this region with a juz spread across ten folios, or twenty pages, and verses ending at the foot of each page. A Javanese copy from about 1800, Add. 12312, locates the start of Juz 2 with semicircular ornaments at the outer edges of the opening and three stacked red circles in the text. The outer markers draw the reader to the spread, and the inner mark shows the position within it.
A catalogue may describe the same opening using a shelfmark and folio numbers. “14v–15r” on the Javanese example refers to the facing sides of two leaves, not a verse range. In such a record it helps to note both the location in the object and the passage in the text. The guide to manuscript provenance and catalogue descriptions explains how shelfmarks and other manuscript evidence help identify a particular copy.
Which reference to use when reading or sharing a passage
Use chapter and verse when the exact passage is the point. Use a juz or hizb when assigning a reading portion. If the assignment comes from a recorded recitation, note the opening verse as well as the track name. An audio file labelled by juz can start within a chapter, while a recording of a complete surah starts at the beginning of that chapter. The guide to memorisation and recitation titles explains the people credited for these recordings.
Try opening 2:142 two ways. Start with Al-Baqarah in the chapter index and jump to ayah 142. Then open Juz 2 in the portion index and compare the first numbered verse. The displayed text should take you to the same place in the example edition. Next open 3:92 and 3:93 in the same reader. Those consecutive verses share a chapter and a page but have different juz labels. The two checks show exactly what each part of the reference can tell you.
Sources and editions
- TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam, Sûre and Âyet describe the chapter and verse terminology.
- Quran.com’s chapter index gives the numbered chapter order. Its linked chapter, verse and juz pages show the exact lookups used in the examples.
- Indonesia’s LPMQ verification guide, sections on juz and hizb and Table 2, documents the standard Indonesian mushaf’s reading boundaries and marks.
- Quran Foundation’s page layout guide shows why a page reference must name the layout and lists the numbered navigation units.
- The British Library’s survey of Southeast Asian juz markers identifies the Patani and Java copies and describes their placement of ornaments.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s survey of early Qurans gives examples of multi-part manuscripts and verse markers.
