Is there a narration by Warsh from Nafi' in which the numbering of verses in Surat Al-Baqarah is as follows: "Alif-Lam-Mim. That is the Book, in which there is no doubt, a guide for those who fear Allah (1)", and "Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence (253). Neither slumber overtakes Him nor sleep..." the verse (254)? And does this mean that Ayatul-Kursi consists of two verses, not one?

The science of counting the verses of the Quran is one of the types of Quranic sciences that scholars have paid attention to, and they have differed on many of its points. The counting of verses is a divinely ordained science received from the Lawgiver, and there is no room for analogy in it. The difference among the early Muslims in counting verses may be attributed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) sometimes pausing at the end of verses for instruction, and sometimes continuing for completeness, leading the listener to think that it was not a verse division. Scholars have unanimously agreed that the number of verses in the Quran is six thousand, then they differed on what exceeded that. The people of Medina, Mecca, Al-Sham, Basra, and Kufa differed in counting the verses.

Regarding the counting of (Alif, Lam, Mim) as a verse, the Kufans counted it as a verse wherever it occurred, due to its resemblance to what follows it, and based on narrations from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). The others did not count it as such because this tradition did not reach them, and because it does not resemble other verses in length or measure.

As for Ayatul Kursi, they differed on whether to count it as one verse or two. The first Madinan, the Shamis, and the Kufans counted it as one verse due to the apparent wording of the hadiths. The rest counted it as two verses: the first being (Allah! There is no god but He—the Ever Living, the Sustainer of existence) and the second from (Neither slumber overtakes Him) to (the Most Great). The virtue of Ayatul Kursi remains associated with both verses, according to the opinion that counts it as two verses.