Basmalah Word Count

This is the opening verse of the Quran. It occurs 114 times in the Quran (19×6) and appears at the beginning of 113 Suras of the Quran. This statement consists of exactly 19 letters and has been written this way since the earliest manuscripts.

Here is one of the oldest manuscripts from the University of Birmingham, which is carbon-dated to potentially during the prophet’s life.

If we split the letters of the Basmalah, we can more clearly see this.

Interestingly, Basmalah containing exactly 19 letters was not a point of contention until the discovery of the mathematical miracle of the Quran and its common denominator of the number 19. After its discovery, many individuals came out of the woodwork to attempt to discredit this miraculous finding, claiming that Bismillah did not contain 19 letters despite what anyone with eyes can see.

A simple proof that the number of letters of Basmalah was not disputed until the mathematical miracle of the Quran is that for generations individuals used to write 786 as an alternative to writing the actual text of Bismillah. They did this because, in Arabic, every letter represents a sound and a number, similar to Roman numerals. The number assigned to each letter is its “Gematrical Value.” The numerical values of the Arabic alphabet are shown below.

Here is how the gematrical value of Bismillah results in a total of 786.

Additionally, the four words in this statement occur in multiples of 19. Let’s start with the three names of God used in this verse: Allah (God), Al-Rahman (The Most Gracious), and Al-Rahim (The Most Merciful).

Allah = 2,698 = 19×142

The word “Allah” ( الله ), which translates to “God” in various forms, occurs 2,698 times in the Quran (19×142). This excludes the 112 occurrences in the non-numbered verses. The full count can be found here.

Most Gracious = 57 = 19×3

The word “l-raḥmāni” ( ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ), which translates to “Most Gracious” in its various forms, occurs 57 times in the Quran (19×3). This excludes the 112 occurrences in the non-numbered verses. It is also worth noting that the word nor the name “rahman” ( رَّحْمَـٰنِ ) never occurs in the Quran without the definite article.

Count	Sura	Verse	Word	Arabic	Translation
1	1	1	3	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	Most Gracious,
2	1	3	1	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	Most Gracious,
3	2	163	8	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	Most Gracious,
4	13	30	17	بِٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	in (the) Most Gracious.
5	17	110	6	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنَ	(the) Most Gracious.
6	19	18	4	بِٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	in (the) Most Gracious
7	19	26	13	لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	to (the) Most Gracious
8	19	44	8	لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	to (the) Most Gracious
9	19	45	8	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious,
10	19	58	26	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious,
11	19	61	5	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(the) Most Gracious
12	19	69	9	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious
13	19	75	8	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(the) Most Gracious
14	19	78	6	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious
15	19	85	5	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious
16	19	87	8	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious
17	19	88	3	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(the) Most Gracious
18	19	91	3	لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	to (the) Most Gracious
19	19	92	3	لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	for (the) Most Gracious
20	19	93	9	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(to the) Most Gracious
21	19	96	8	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(the) Most Gracious
22	20	5	1	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(The) Most Gracious
23	20	90	13	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(the) Most Gracious,
24	20	108	9	لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	for (the) Most Gracious,
25	20	109	9	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(the) Most Gracious,
26	21	26	3	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(the) Most Gracious
27	21	36	15	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious
28	21	42	7	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious?”
29	21	112	6	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	Most Gracious,
30	25	26	4	لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	for (the) Most Gracious.
31	25	59	14	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(The) Most Gracious,
32	25	60	5	لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	to (the) Most Gracious.”
33	25	60	8	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(the) Most Gracious?
34	25	63	2	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious (are)
35	26	5	6	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious
36	27	30	7	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	Most Gracious,
37	36	11	7	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنَ	(the) Most Gracious
38	36	15	9	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(the) Most Gracious
39	36	23	7	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(the) Most Gracious
40	36	52	10	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(the) Most Gracious,
41	41	2	3	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious,
42	43	17	6	لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	for (the) Most Gracious
43	43	19	6	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious,
44	43	20	4	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(the) Most Gracious,
45	43	33	10	بِٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	in (the) Most Gracious
46	43	36	5	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious,
47	43	45	11	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious
48	43	81	4	لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	that (the) Most Gracious
49	50	33	3	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنَ	(the) Most Gracious
50	55	1	1	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(The) Most Gracious
51	59	22	12	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	Most Gracious,
52	67	3	10	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious
53	67	19	11	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(the) Most Gracious.
54	67	20	10	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(the) Most Gracious?
55	67	29	3	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(the) Most Gracious;
56	78	37	6	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ	(The) Most Gracious,
57	78	38	12	ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ	(the) Most Gracious,

Most Merciful = 114 = 19×6

The word “l-rahim” ( ٱلرَّحِيمِ ), which translates to “Most Merciful” in its various forms, occurs 114 times in the Quran (19×6). This excludes the 112 occurrences in the non-numbered verses.

Count	Sura	Verse	Word	Arabic	Translation
1	1	1	4	ٱلرَّحِيمِ	Most Merciful.
2	1	3	2	ٱلرَّحِيمِ	Most Merciful.
3	2	37	11	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
4	2	54	26	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
5	2	128	17	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
6	2	143	45	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
7	2	160	11	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
8	2	163	9	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
9	2	173	25	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
10	2	182	16	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
11	2	192	6	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
12	2	199	12	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
13	2	218	16	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
14	2	226	13	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
15	3	31	14	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
16	3	89	11	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
17	3	129	16	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
18	4	16	14	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful.
19	4	23	54	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful.
20	4	25	58	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
21	4	29	23	رَحِيمًا	Merciful.
22	4	64	23	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful.
23	4	96	8	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful.
24	4	100	31	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful.
25	4	106	7	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful.
26	4	110	13	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful.
27	4	129	22	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful.
28	4	152	17	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful.
29	5	3	61	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
30	5	34	13	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
31	5	39	14	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
32	5	74	8	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
33	5	98	9	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
34	6	54	27	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.”
35	6	145	39	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.”
36	6	165	21	رَّحِيمٌۢ	Merciful.
37	7	153	14	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
38	7	167	19	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
39	8	69	11	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
40	8	70	24	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.”
41	9	5	26	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
42	9	27	12	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
43	9	91	26	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
44	9	99	27	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
45	9	102	17	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
46	9	104	16	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
47	9	117	27	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
48	9	118	31	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
49	10	107	24	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
50	11	41	11	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.”
51	11	90	8	رَحِيمٌ	Merciful,
52	12	53	15	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.”
53	12	98	9	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.”
54	14	36	15	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
55	15	49	6	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
56	16	7	14	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
57	16	18	10	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
58	16	47	8	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
59	16	110	18	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
60	16	115	22	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
61	16	119	19	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
62	17	66	14	رَحِيمًا	Merciful.
63	22	65	27	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
64	24	5	11	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
65	24	20	9	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
66	24	22	26	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
67	24	33	48	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
68	24	62	39	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
69	25	6	12	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful.”
70	25	70	16	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful.
71	26	9	5	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
72	26	68	5	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
73	26	104	5	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
74	26	122	5	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
75	26	140	5	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
76	26	159	5	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
77	26	175	5	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
78	26	191	5	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
79	26	217	4	ٱلرَّحِيمِ	Most Merciful.
80	27	11	11	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
81	27	30	8	ٱلرَّحِيمِ	Most Merciful.
82	28	16	13	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
83	30	5	8	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
84	32	6	6	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
85	33	5	28	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful.
86	33	24	16	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful.
87	33	43	13	رَحِيمًا	Merciful.
88	33	50	61	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful
89	33	59	21	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful.
90	33	73	15	رَّحِيمًۢا	Merciful.
91	34	2	17	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful,
92	36	5	3	ٱلرَّحِيمِ	Most Merciful,
93	36	58	5	رَّحِيمٍ	Merciful.
94	39	53	20	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.”
95	41	2	4	ٱلرَّحِيمِ	Most Merciful,
96	41	32	4	رَّحِيمٍ	Merciful.”
97	42	5	19	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
98	44	42	8	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
99	46	8	25	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
100	48	14	14	رَّحِيمًا	Merciful.
101	49	5	12	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
102	49	12	31	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
103	49	14	27	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
104	52	28	9	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.”
105	57	9	17	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
106	57	28	21	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
107	58	12	22	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
108	59	10	23	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.”
109	59	22	13	ٱلرَّحِيمُ	Most Merciful.
110	60	7	15	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
111	60	12	38	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
112	64	14	18	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
113	66	1	14	رَّحِيمٌ	Merciful.
114	73	20	78	رَّحِيمٌۢ	Merciful.

ISM (Name) = 19

The word “ism” (name) stands out from the other three words in the set due to its unique usage pattern and spelling variation in the Quran. It appears in two distinct forms: one with the initial alif (‎اسْم) and one without it, as seen in the construction “bism” (‎بِسْمِ), where the alif is dropped. What we find is that in the singular form—spelled with an alif and without any attached suffixes—the word occurs exactly 19 times in the Quran.

Count	Sura	Verse	Word	Arabic	Translation
1	5	4	23	اسْمَ	name
2	7	58	4	اسْمُ	name
3	7	59	7	اسْمُ	name
4	8	1	6	اسْمُ	name
5	8	18	18	اسْمَ	name
6	22	28	5	اسْمَ	name
7	22	34	6	اسْمَ	name
8	22	36	11	اسْمَ	name
9	22	40	25	اسْمُ	name
10	49	11	30	الِاسْمُ	the name
11	56	18	2	اسْمُ	name
12	57	14	2	بِاسْمِ	in (the) name
13	57	36	2	بِاسْمِ	in (the) name
14	69	52	2	بِاسْمِ	in (the) name
15	73	8	2	بِاسْمِ	in (the) name
16	76	25	2	اسْمَ	name
17	87	1	2	اسْمَ	name
18	87	15	2	اسْمَ	name
19	96	1	2	بِاسْمِ	name

Additional notes:

Professor Cesar Majul looked at the gematrical value of more than 400 attributes of God and found only four names that had gematrical values which are multiples of 19:

The only Divine Names whose gematrical values are divisible by 19 correspond exactly to the frequencies of occurrence of the Basmalah’s four words. The figure below illustrates this remarkable phenomenon:

Since Ism is not a name of God, if we look through the Quran, only one other attribute is used exactly 19 times in reference to God, which is Sheed (Witness).