Many mushafs display ayah numbers with Arabic-Indic digits: ٠١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩ correspond to 0123456789. For example, ٢٥٥ is 255. Recognise the number in the verse marker, then check the surah heading to form a complete reference. A digit on the page can also belong to a page or division label, so its location matters.

Practise with a number from your own copy

  1. Find an ayah marker and match each digit with the digit table in this guide.
  2. Read the complete number by place value, then confirm the chapter it belongs to.
  3. Save the surah and ayah together, and distinguish that reference from any page or division number nearby.

Learn the ten digit shapes

An original, researched editorial guide. Sources checked on 10 October 2026. Worked exercises are editorial suggestions; tool instructions identify their provider sources. The cover is an editorial illustration.

Ayah numbers in many printed Qurans use the digits ٠ ١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩. They represent 0 through 9. Learning those ten shapes lets you recognize a verse label such as ٢٥٥ as 255 and follow a numbered reference even when your phone and printed copy display different digit styles.

You can learn the numbers separately from learning to read the Arabic words. Begin by matching a few verse labels to a reference you already know. The goal is dependable navigation: finding the right ayah, recording it accurately and returning to it at the next lesson.

The ten digits

The Unicode Arabic chart identifies the Arabic-Indic digits used below. Some resources use a related set of extended Arabic-Indic digits, whose shapes can differ. This guide begins with one clearly identified set rather than mixing the sets in the same exercise.

  • ٠ = 0
  • ١ = 1
  • ٢ = 2
  • ٣ = 3
  • ٤ = 4
  • ٥ = 5
  • ٦ = 6
  • ٧ = 7
  • ٨ = 8
  • ٩ = 9

Write the pairs on a small card if they are new to you. Keep the card beside a passage with visible verse numbers. Looking between a real verse label and the card connects the shapes to the task you are trying to accomplish; a long page of copied numerals is optional.

Read a multi-digit number by place value

Treat ٢٥٥ as a number with hundreds, tens and units: ٢ is two, ٥ is five, and the final ٥ is five. Together they make 255. Likewise, ١١٢ is 112, and ١٨ is 18. Arabic words run from right to left, but you should not reverse the displayed digit sequence of these numbers.

To check yourself, convert one label into the digits you normally write, then convert it back using the card. For example, start with ١٤, write 14, and return to ١٤. If the two versions disagree, inspect each position individually. You can work slowly until the shapes become familiar.

Mixed-direction text can look awkward in messages and notebooks, especially when a colon or dash is nearby. Keep the number together and label it plainly. If a reference becomes visually confusing, write “surah 2; ayah 255” in words and digits instead of trying to solve a formatting problem by guessing the order.

Check the verse marker and the chapter heading

Many mushafs place an ayah number inside a decorative marker near the end of the ayah. Find the marker in your own edition and confirm its role with the legend or your teacher. The number identifies the ayah; its surrounding ornament helps distinguish it from other small marks on the page.

An ayah number on its own is incomplete as a reference. Pair it with the surah name or number. If you can read ٢٥٥ but have not checked the chapter heading, you have learned one part of the location. Our guide to verse references explains how those two parts work together.

Try Al-Ikhlas, chapter 112, as a small navigation exercise. Locate the first and last ayah labels in your chosen view. The task is to recognize the numbers and chapter heading, not to compare every decorative detail between the website and your printed copy.

A page number identifies another kind of location

A page number usually belongs to the page layout of the edition you are holding. It may appear in a margin or at the top or bottom of the page. An ayah number belongs to a passage within a chapter. Both can use the same digit shapes, so position and labelling matter.

Before copying a number from a photograph, look for the chapter heading and the ayah marker. A large number at the bottom of a page may be the page number. If the image is cropped too closely to tell, obtain the full page or ask the person who shared it for a chapter-and-ayah reference.

Other margin labels can mark reading divisions. Learn one label at a time from your edition's legend. You do not need to identify every symbol in order to begin recognizing ayah numbers. A teacher can help connect unfamiliar margin marks to the navigation system used in your classroom.

A short practice set

  • Read ٧, then compare your answer with 7.
  • Read ١٢, then compare your answer with 12.
  • Read ٣٠, then compare your answer with 30.
  • Read ١١٤, then compare your answer with 114.
  • Read ٢٥٥, then compare your answer with 255.

Now choose a real passage with a reference already printed in a digit style you recognize. Find the corresponding verse marker in your mushaf. This second step matters: converting a number on a practice card and locating an actual passage are related skills, but they are not the same task.

If two digit shapes keep becoming mixed up, practice those two together rather than repeating all ten at the same speed. Write a checked example of each in your notebook. You can also ask someone to point to a verse marker while you say the number and confirm it from the known reference.

Make the next lesson easier

Record today's stopping point using whichever digits you can write confidently, together with the surah name. If you add the Arabic-Indic form for practice, check it before relying on it as your only bookmark. A clear note is more useful than an elaborate one with an uncertain number.

With a little practice, the labels begin to become ordinary landmarks. You spend less time searching for the right line and more time reading it. Keep the digit card until you can recognize the numbers reliably, then use real passages to maintain the skill.

Unicode Arabic character chart — Digit identities checked against the Unicode chart; no chart images are reproduced. Worked exercises and memory cues are original suggestions.

Related reading

Continue with How to Read Quran Verse References: Surah and Ayah or Where Is Ayat al-Kursi? Al-Baqarah 2:255 Reading Guide.