In this digital age, Muslims have been cowed down into a position where mentioning the Quranic numbers have become a heresy. The questions, in fact, should not end there. why is it that after 1,400 years of constant study we have not been able to solve the mystery of the following verses. Yes, there are a number of speculative "explanations" but nothing that can live up to the test of time. The verses are:
"And We have certainly given you, seven of the often repeated and the great Quran. Quran 15:87
And We constructed over you seven strong, Quran 78:12
"And [by] the even and the odd" Quran 89:03
"Over it (is) nineteen" Quran 74:30
These four verses reference quantitative values and nothing else. Forget the Huruf-e-Muqatta'at (abbreviated letters or letter symbols), the conventional interpretation has even failed to get to the bottom of these linguistically sound and grammatically correct verses.
Elsewhere in the Quran, whenever numbers are mentioned in verses by themselves, the context is at least implied within the respective verses and then clarified in either a preceding verse or a subsequent verse.
For example:
They are murmuring among themselves, "Not you remained except (for) ten."
In this case, the very next verse gives it additional context by mentioning the word "day" which points to a time period, the theme of the narration.
But in the case of the four above verses, God revealed these verses and then left them to stand alone by themselves. You can speculate from here to the moon but you will not be able to come up with any conventional interpretation that comes anywhere near certainty. And without certainty, a guide loses its main objective, to inform.
In the case of Quran 74:30 one can argue that it is referring to 19 angels and nothing else because of the following verse where the reference is made to the number of Angels. But the remaining three verses stubbornly remain unresolved. Even in the case of Quran 74:30 God goes beyond the count of angels and reference the number itself and makes it a point of reflection. Many will mindlessly quote Quran 3:7 and feel satisfied. The reality is that Quran 3:7 doesn't mean what people wish it to mean and the other unanswered question is: why would God include verses in the Quran that cannot be explained? Not then and not (1,400 years later) now.
Let us delve a bit deeper. Let's look at some other verses where God mentions a number but then makes the context clear in the same verse. An example is the following verse wherein the context is hell's gates, God does it as follows:
It has seven gates, and through each gate, they shall come in separate bands Quran 15:44
God doesn't mention the gates of Hell and then in the next verse says "over it are seven"
When God wants to refer to a specific number of Angels and nothing else then God does so in the same verse in clear terms:
On its fringes will be angels, eight of them, bearing their Lord's throne aloft. Quran 69:17
And elsewhere 1000, 3000 and 5000 angels are mentioned in the same respective verses
Similarly, when God mentions even three separate numbers in the same verse the context is very clearly in place within the same verse:
He created you from a soul single. Then He made from it its mate. And He sent down for you of the cattle eight kinds. He creates you in (the) wombs (of) your mothers, creation after creation, in darkness[es] three. That (is) Allah your Lord; for Him (is) the dominion. (There is) no god except He. Then how are you turning away? Quran 39:6
The first number one rendered as a one is for a soul, the eight is for the types of cattle and the three is for the layers of darkness. Again there is no over it are 1 and 2 and 3 in a separate verse (s).
Even when God splits the numbers the context is very clear. The age of Noah is mentioned as 1000 less 50 and the time the sleepers spent in the cave as 300 plus 9. Contexts once again are made clear in the same respective verses.
The only exception I could find where the context was not in the same verse, with the exception of the four in question, is Quran 37:147. But we notice that not only is the context the whole story spread over many verses but the number itself is also open-ended:
And We sent him to a hundred thousand or more. Quran 37:147
God's words are never devoid of meaning and it is our duty to not settle for mere convenience. Our duty is to reflect and follow the argument wherever it will take us. In the same spirit, we should not be discouraged just because someone else made a hash of it.
Of course, those who are able to count till 20 without taking off their socks have much better explanations for these verses and the Huruf-e-Muqatta'at 
But seriously, there are always going to be naysayers but that never stopped the wheels of progress. We cannot simply dream up a “logical” explanation and feel satisfied that we have cracked it. In a bid to sell less than satisfactory take some even resort to the sectarian tactics of essentially declaring Muslims as kafirs.
The case in point is the flouted “meaning” behind the warning in verse Quran 74:31. Muslims who oppose their take because of better alternative explanations of Quran 74:30 are labeled to have “disease in their hearts”. How does that work? First up, the measure of satisfying one’s Muslimness lies in the belief in one God, His books, His angels, His prophets and the last day for now. Ultimately, the final word understandably lies with God alone. One doesn't become a kafir or develop the disease by putting forward explanation for God's verses. As opposed to merely raising a question as God mentions in the verse. Using the verses to cement belief in God is the opposite of either becoming a Kafir or develop the disease of the heart. And one is definitely not going astray.
For the naysayers, please move away from the fixation on one shared trait between two subjects and assume equivalence. Please pay attention to the order of magnitude. A candle and the sun both produce light, but they are not the same. Bringing up the mere presence of “patterns” in other texts doesn’t negate the complexity and the magnitude at work in the Quranic patterns. The claim of equivalence doesn't bear because the similarity is based on oversimplification and/or ignorance of additional factors.
To fully understand these game-changing verses, we will have to drop our irrational position that Quran cannot contain the Universal language of mathematics. Especially, when God’s creation is nothing if not measurable and quantifiable.
Full disclosure: I have nothing to do with Rashad Khalifa followers or believe that we must drop verses of the Quran to make the numerical patterns work.
Those interested in exploring the field are welcome to refer to my post on the issue:
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