Then turned she to the rest of the learned men present and said'O masterswhich of you is the readerversed in the seven readings and in syntax and lexicography？'Thereupon the professor arose and seating himself before hersaid'Hast thou read the Book of God the Most High and made thyself throughly acquainted with its verses and its various parts，abrogating and abrogatedequivocal and unequivocalMeccan and Medinan？ Dost thou understand its interpretation and hast thou studied itaccording to the various versions and readings？'
'Yes，'answered she；and he said'Whatthenis the number of its chaptershow many are Meccan and how many Medinan？ How many verses and decades does it containhow many words and how many letters and how many acts of prostration and how many prophets and birds are mentioned in it？'It contains a hundred and fourteen chapters，'replied she'whereof threescore and ten were revealed at Mecca and forty and four at Medinasix thousand three hundred and thirty-six versessix hundred and twenty-one decadesseventy-nine thousand four hundred and thirty-nine words and three hundred and twenty-three thousand and six hundred and seventy letters；and to the reader thereoffor every letteraccrue ten benefits. The acts of prostration it contains are fourteen in numberand five-and-twenty prophets are named thereinto witAdamNoah，AbrahamIshmaelIsaacJacobJosephElishaJonahLot，SalihHoudShuaibDavidSolomonDhoulkiflIdrisEliasYehyaZachariasJob，MosesAaronJesus and Mohammedthe peace of God and His blessing be on them all！ Moreovernine birds [or flying things] are mentioned in the Korannamelythe gnatthe bee，the flythe antthe hoopoethe crowthe locustthe bustard and the bird of Jesus（on whom be peace）to witthe bat.'（Q.）'Which is the most excellent chapter of the Koran？'
（A.）'That of the Cow.'（Q.）'Which is the most magnificent verse？'（A.）'That of the Throne；it has fifty wordsin each fifty blessings.'（Q.）'What verse hath in it nine signs [or wonders]？'（A.）'That in which quoth God the Most High'Verily，in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of night and day and the ship that runneth in the sea with what profiteth mankind and in what God sendeth down from heaven of water and quickeneth therewith the earthafter its dearthand spreadeth abroad therein all manner cattleand the shifting of the winds and the cloudspressed into service betwixt heaven and earthare signs for folk who understand.'（Q.）