# How to Cite the Quran in APA, MLA and Chicago

Cite the Quran by surah and verse and name the translation you quoted. Ready-made APA, MLA and Chicago examples for the translation on this site.

## How do you cite the Quran?

Refer to a passage by its surah and verse number, as in Quran 2:255, and name the translation you quoted, because translations word the same verse differently. APA 7 lists the translation in the reference list and cites it in the text as (The Qur'an, year, 2:255). MLA lists it in the works cited under its title and gives the surah and verse in the text. Chicago cites it in notes or in the text and leaves it out of the bibliography.

## The part every style shares: surah and verse

A Quran reference is two numbers, the surah and the verse: 2:255 is the 255th verse of the second surah, Al-Baqarah. These numbers are the same in every printing that follows the Kufan verse count, which nearly all modern copies do, so they point to the same verse whatever edition a reader has. Page numbers do not: they change from one printing to the next.

## APA 7

APA 7 treats the Quran as a book with no author, entered in the reference list under its title with the translator. For the Pickthall translation as published on this site, the reference is: The Qur’an (M. M. Pickthall, Trans.). (2026). QuranOnline. https://quranonlineread.com/quran/ (Original work published 1930). In the text, give the title, both dates and the verse: (The Qur’an, 1930/2026, 2:255). If you read a printed copy, use its publisher and year instead.

## MLA 9

MLA enters the Quran in the works cited under its title, followed by the translator and the edition. For this site: The Qur’an. Translated by Marmaduke Pickthall, QuranOnline, 2026, quranonlineread.com/quran/. In the text, give the title and the reference, with chapter and verse separated by a period: (The Qur’an, 2.255). Some instructors accept a colon; follow theirs if they say so.

## Chicago

The Chicago Manual of Style cites sacred texts in notes or in the running text, not in the bibliography. Write Qur’an, in roman type, followed by the surah and verse with a colon — Qur’an 2:255 — and name the translation in the first note, for example: Qur’an 2:255 (trans. Pickthall). Religious studies publications often follow the SBL Handbook of Style instead, so check the journal's own guidelines.

## Linking to a single verse

Every verse on this site has a permanent anchor, so a citation can point straight to it. Quran 2:255 is at quranonlineread.com/quran/al-baqarah/#v255, and the copy-link button beside each verse gives its address.

## Common questions

**Do I need to put the Quran in my reference list?**

In APA 7 and MLA 9, yes: list the translation you used. In Chicago style, no: sacred texts are cited in notes or in the text only. Your instructor's or publisher's rules take precedence over all three.

**Should I write Quran, Qur'an or Koran?**

Use the spelling of the edition you cite or the one your style guide prefers. Qur'an and Quran are the most common in current English; Koran appears in older titles, including Pickthall's own, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran.

**Do I italicise the Quran?**

In the reference list or works cited, the title of the edition is italicised as a book title. In running text, most style guides leave the names of scriptures in roman type.

**How do I cite several verses?**

Give the range with an en dash: Quran 2:255–257. For verses in different surahs, give each reference separately: Quran 2:255; 3:18.

## See this on the site

- [Quran 2:255 — the example cited on this page](https://quranonlineread.com/quran/al-baqarah/#v255)
- [Sources and licences for the text and translation](https://quranonlineread.com/quran/credits/)
- [All 114 surahs, with an anchor on every verse](https://quranonlineread.com/quran/)

## Related

- [How to Read a Quran Reference Like 2:255](https://quranonlineread.com/learn/understanding-verse-references/)
- [Uthmani and IndoPak Script: What Differs](https://quranonlineread.com/learn/uthmani-and-indopak-scripts/)

## Source

Published by: QuranOnline
Canonical page: https://quranonlineread.com/learn/how-to-cite-the-quran/
Last updated: 2026-10-26T04:20:27.389Z
Editorial policy: https://quranonlineread.com/about/#editorial