The mysterious letters (''muqaṭṭaʿāt'', ar, حُرُوف مُقَطَّعَات ''ḥurūf muqaṭṭaʿāt'', "disjoined letters" or "disconnected letters") are combinations of between one and five
Arabic letters figuring at the beginning of 29 out of the 114 chapters (
surah
A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...
s) of the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
just after the
Bismillāh Islamic phrase.
The letters are also known as ''fawātiḥ'' () or "openers" as they form the opening verse of their respective surahs.
Four chapters are named for their ''muqaṭṭaʿāt'':
''Ṭā-Hā'',
''Yā-Sīn'',
''Ṣād'' and
''Qāf''.
The original significance of the letters is unknown.
Tafsir
Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
(
exegesis
Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...
) has interpreted them as abbreviations for either
names or qualities of God or for the names or content of the respective surahs. The general belief of most Muslims is that their meaning is only known to Allah.
Inventory
''Muqatta'at'' occur in Quranic chapters 2–3, 7, 10–15, 19–20, 26–32, 36, 38, 40–46, 50 and 68. Multiple letters are written together like a word, but each letter is pronounced separately.
Structural analysis
![Qur'anic initial letters en](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Qur%27anic_initial_letters_en.PNG)
There are 14 distinct combinations; the most frequent are ''ʾAlif Lām Mīm'' and ''Ḥāʾ Mīm'', occurring six times each.
Of the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet, exactly one half appear as muqatta'at, either singly or in combinations of two, three, four or five letters. The fourteen letters are:
''ʾalif'' أ,
''hā'' هـ,
''ḥā'' ح,
''ṭā'' ط,
''yā'' ي,
''kāf'' ك,
''lām'' ل,
''mīm'' م,
''nūn'' ن,
''sīn'' س,
''ʿain'' ع,
''ṣād'' ص,
''qāf'' ق,
''rā'' ر.
The six final letters of the
Abjadi order
The Abjad numerals, also called Hisab al-Jummal ( ar, حِسَاب ٱلْجُمَّل, ), are a decimal alphabetic numeral system/alphanumeric code, in which the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet are assigned numerical values. They have been us ...
(''thakhadh ḍaẓagh'') are unused.
The letters represented correspond to those letters written without
Arabic diacritics
The Arabic script has numerous diacritics, which include: consonant pointing known as (), and supplementary diacritics known as (). The latter include the vowel marks termed (; singular: , ').
The Arabic script is a modified abjad, where sh ...
plus
''yāʿ'' ي.
It is possible that the restricted set of letters was supposed to invoke an archaic variant of the Arabic alphabet modeled on the
Aramaic alphabet
The ancient Aramaic alphabet was adapted by Arameans from the Phoenician alphabet and became a distinct script by the 8th century BC. It was used to write the Aramaic languages spoken by ancient Aramean pre-Christian tribes throughout the Fertil ...
.
Certain co-occurrence restrictions are observable in these letters; for instance, ''ʾAlif'' is invariably followed by Lām. The substantial majority of the combinations begin either ''ʾAlif Lām'' or ''Ḥāʾ Mīm''.
In all but 3 of the 29 cases, these letters are almost immediately followed by mention of the Qur'anic revelation itself (the exceptions are surat
al-ʻAnkabūt,
ar-Rūm and
al-Qalam
The Pen ( ar, القلم, ''al-qalam'') is the sixty-eighth chapter (sūrah) of the Qur'an with 52 verses ( āyāt). Quran 68 describes God's justice and the judgment day. Three notable themes of this Surah are its response to the opponents' o ...
); and some argue that even these three cases should be included, since mention of the revelation is made later on in the surah. More specifically, one may note that in 8 cases the following verse begins "These are the signs...", and in another 5 it begins "The Revelation..."; another 3 begin "By the Qur'an...", and another 2 "By the Book..." Additionally, all but 3 of these suras are
Meccan surat (the exceptions are surat
al-Baqara
Al-Baqara, alternatively transliterated Al-Baqarah ( ar, الْبَقَرَة, ; "The Heifer" or "The Cow"), is the second and longest chapter (''surah'') of the Quran. It consists of 286 verses ('' āyāt'') which begin with the " mysterio ...
h,
Āl ʾImrān and
ar-Raʻd.)
''Lām'' and ''Mīm'' are conjoined and both are written with prolongation mark.
One letter is written in two styles. Letter 20:01 is used only in the beginning and middle of a word and that in 19:01 is not used as such. Alif Lām Mīm (الم) is also the first verse of
Surah
A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...
Al-Baqara
Al-Baqara, alternatively transliterated Al-Baqarah ( ar, الْبَقَرَة, ; "The Heifer" or "The Cow"), is the second and longest chapter (''surah'') of the Quran. It consists of 286 verses ('' āyāt'') which begin with the " mysterio ...
,
Surah
A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...
Al-Imran
Al Imran ( ar, آلِ عِمرَان, ; The Family of Imran his wife Hanth his daughter Hazrat Maryam and his grand son Hazrat Isa) is the List of chapters in the Quran, third chapter (sūrah) of the Quran with two hundred verses (''āyāt''). ...
,
Surah
A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...
Al-Ankabut
The Spider ( ar, العنكبوت, ) is the 29th chapter (''surah'') of the Quran with 69 verses ('' āyāt'').
Regarding the timing and contextual background of the believed revelation (''asbāb al-nuzūl''), it is an earlier "Meccan sura ...
,
Surah
A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...
Ar-Rum
Ar-Rum ( ar, الروم, translit=’ar-rūm, lit=The Romans) is the 30th chapter (sūrah) of the Quran, consisting of 60 verses ( āyāt). The term ''Rūm'' originated in the word ''Roman'', and during the time of the Islamic prophet Muhamma ...
,
Surah
A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...
Luqman
Luqman ( ar, لقمان, Luqmān; also known as Luqman the Wise or Luqman al-Hakim) was a wise man after whom Surah Luqman, the 31st sura (chapter) of the Quran, was named. Luqman ( BC) is believed to have been from Nubia or from Egypt.Ibn Kat ...
, and
Surah
A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...
As-Sajda
(السجدة), is the 32nd chapter (''sūrah'') of the Quran with 30 verses (''āyāt''). The name of the chapter has been translated as ۩ "Prostration" or "Adoration in Islam, Adoration". and is taken from the fifteenth verse, which menti ...
.
Interpretations
Acrophony
Abd Allah ibn Abbas
ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās ( ar, عَبْد ٱللَّٰه ٱبْن عَبَّاس; c. 619 – 687 CE), also known as Ibn ʿAbbās, was one of the cousins of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is considered to be the greatest mufassir of the Qur'an ...
and
Abdullah ibn Masud
Abdullah ibn Masūd, or Abdullah ibn Masood, or Abdullah Ben Messaoud ( ar, عبد الله بن مسعود, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʽūd; c.594-c.653), was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who he is regarded the greatest mufassir of Qu ...
, as cited by
Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati
Abū Ḥayyān Athīr ad-Dīn al-Gharnāṭī ( ar, أَبُو حَيَّان أَثِير ٱلدِّين ٱلْغَرْنَاطِيّ, November 1256 – July 1344 CE / 654 - 745 AH), whose full name is Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf bin ‘Alī ibn Yūsuf ...
in his ''Bahr al-Muhit'', are said to have favored the view that these letters stand for words or phrases related to God and His Attributes.
Sura content
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, a classical commentator of the Qur'an, has noted some twenty opinions regarding these letters and mentions multiple opinions that these letters present the names of the Surahs as appointed by God.
In addition, he mentions that Arabs would name things after such letters (for example, 'eye' as 'ع', clouds as 'غ', and whale as 'ن').
Amin Ahsan Islahi
Amin Ahsan Islahi ( ur, مولانا امین احسن اصلاحی; 1904 – 15 December 1997), was a Pakistani Muslim scholar best known for his Urdu exegesis of the Quran, ''Tadabbur-i-Quran'' "Pondering on the Quran", which he based o ...
supported al-Razi's opinion, arguing that since these letters are names for Surahs, they are proper nouns.
Hamiduddin Farahi
Hamiduddin Farahi (18 November 1863 – 11 November 1930) was an Indian Islamic scholar known for his work on the concept of ''nazm'', or coherence, in the Quran.
He was instrumental in producing scholarly work on the theory that the verse ...
similarly attaches symbolic meanings to the letters, e.g. Nun (ن) symbolizing "fish" identifying the sura dedicated to
Jonah
Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th cent ...
, or Ta (ط) representing "serpent" introducing suras that mention the story of Prophet
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
and serpents.
Ahsan ur Rehman (2013) claims that there are phonological, syntactic and semantic links between the prefixed letters and the text of the chapters.
Scribal intrusion or corruption
Among Western orientalists,
Theodor Nöldeke
Theodor Nöldeke (; born 2 March 1836 – 25 December 1930) was a German orientalist and scholar. His research interests ranged over Old Testament studies, Semitic languages and Arabic, Persian and Syriac literature. Nöldeke translated several ...
(1860) advanced the theory that the letters were marks of possession, belonging to the owners of Qur'ānic copies used in the first collection by
Zayd ibn Thābit during the reign of the
Caliph 'Uthmān. The letters ultimately entered the final version of the Qur'ān due to carelessness. It was also possible that the letters were monograms of the owners. Nöldeke later revised this theory, responding to Otto Loth's (1881) suggestion that the letters had a distinct connection with the mystic figures and symbols of the Jewish
Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
. Nöldeke in turn concluded that the letters were a mystical reference to the archetypal text in heaven that was the basis for the revelation of the Qur'ān. However, persuaded by Nöldeke's original theory,
Hartwig Hirschfeld
Hartwig Hirschfeld (; 18 December 1854 – 10 January 1934) was a Prussian-born British Orientalist, bibliographer, and educator. His particular scholarly interest lay in Arabic Jewish literature and in the relationship between Jewish and Ara ...
(1902) offered a list of likely names corresponding to the letters. Keith Massey (1996), noting the apparent set ranking of the letters and mathematical improbability that they were either random or referred to words or phrases, argued for some form of the Nöldeke-Hirschfeld theory that the "Mystery Letters" were the initials or monograms of the scribes who originally transcribed the sūras. Though, Massey explains that "the letters, which appear alone (qaf, nun), may not have the same purpose as the collection themselves", he furthermore admits that the "Mystery Letters" in Surah 42 violate his proposed ranking-theory,
thus offering 2 possible scenarios for his theory.
The Hebrew Theory assumes that the letters represent an import from
Biblical Hebrew
Biblical Hebrew (, or , ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite branch of Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Israel, roughly west of ...
.
Specifically, the combination ''Alif-Lam'' would correspond to Hebrew
El "god".
Abbreviations from Aramaic or Greek have also been suggested.
Bellamy (1973) proposed that the letters are the remnants of abbreviations for the
Bismillah. Bellamy's suggestion was criticized as improbable by
Alford T. Welch Alford T. Welch is a Professor of Religious Studies at Michigan State University. Welch got his Ph.D. degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Edinburgh in 1970. He also holds a M.Div. degree on Biblical language, literature and N ...
(1978).
Christoph Luxenberg
''The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran: A Contribution to the Decoding of the Language of the Koran'' is an English-language edition (2007) of ''Die syro-aramäische Lesart des Koran: Ein Beitrag zur Entschlüsselung der Koransprache'' (2000) b ...
in ''
The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran
''The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran: A Contribution to the Decoding of the Language of the Koran'' is an English-language edition (2007) of ''Die syro-aramäische Lesart des Koran: Ein Beitrag zur Entschlüsselung der Koransprache'' (2000) b ...
'' (2000)
proposed that substantial portions of the text of the Qur'an were directly taken from Syriac liturgy. His explanation of the disjoined letters is that they are remnants of indications for the liturgical recitation for the Syriac hymns that ended up being copied into the Arabic text.
Numerology
There have been attempts to give
numerological
Numerology (also known as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, of the letters in ...
interpretations. Loth (1888) suggested a connection to
Gematria
Gematria (; he, גמטריא or gimatria , plural or , ''gimatriot'') is the practice of assigning a numerical value to a name, word or phrase according to an alphanumerical cipher. A single word can yield several values depending on the cipher ...
.
Rashad Khalifa
Rashad Khalifa ( ar, رشاد خليفة; November 19, 1935 – January 31, 1990) was an Egyptian-American biochemist, closely associated with the United Submitters International (USI), an organization which promotes the practice and study of Qu ...
(1974) claimed to have discovered a mathematical code in the Qur'an based on these initials and the
number 19, namely the
Quran code
The term Quran code (also known as Code 19) refers to the claim that the Quranic text contains a hidden mathematically complex code. Advocates think that the code represents a mathematical proof of the divine authorship of the Quran and that it ca ...
or known as Code 19. According to his claims, these initials occur throughout their respective chapters in multiples of nineteen. which is mentioned in Sura 74:30
The
Báb
The Báb (b. ʿAlí Muḥammad; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850), was the messianic founder of Bábism, and one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. He was a merchant from Shiraz in Qajar Iran who, in 1844 at the age of 25, claimed ...
used the muqaṭṭaʿāt in his
Qayyúmu'l-Asmáʼ.
[See the following source for more about Bábí letter symbolism: ] He writes in an early commentary and in his ''
Dalá'il-i-Sab'ih'' (Seven Proofs) about a
hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
from
Muhammad al-Baqir
Muḥammad al-Bāqir ( ar, مُحَمَّد ٱلْبَاقِر), with the full name Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, also known as Abū Jaʿfar or simply al-Bāqir () was the fifth Imam in Shia Islam, succee ...
, the fifth
Shiʻi Imam, where it is stated that the first seven surat's muqaṭṭaʿāt have a numerical value of 1267, from which the year 1844 (the year of the Báb's declaration) can be derived.
Mystical
Sufism
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
has a tradition of attributing mystical significance to the letters.
The details differ between schools of Sufism; Sufi tradition generally regards the letters as an extension to the
ninety-nine names of God
Names of God in Islam ( ar, أَسْمَاءُ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ , "''Allah's Beautiful Names''") are names attributed to God in Islam by Muslims. While some names are only in the Quran, and others are only in the hadith, th ...
, with some authors offering specific "hidden" meanings for the individual letters.
In 1857–58,
Baháʼu'lláh
Baháʼu'lláh (born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Persia, and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Bábí Faith. In 1863, in I ...
, founder of the
Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
, wrote his ''Commentary on the Isolated Letters'' (''Tafsír-i-Hurúfát-i-Muqattaih'', also known as ''Lawh-i-Áyiy-i-Núr'', ''Tablet of the Light Verse'').
In it, he describes how God created the letters. A black teardrop fell down from the Primordial Pen on the "
Perspicuous, Snow-white Tablet", by which the
Point
Point or points may refer to:
Places
* Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland
* Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States
* Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland
* Point ...
was created. The Point then turned into an
Alif (vertical stroke), which was again transformed, after which the Muqatta'at appeared. These letters were then differentiated, separated and then again gathered and linked together, appearing as the "names and attributes" of creation. Baháʼu'lláh gives various interpretations of the letters "''alif, lam, mim''", mostly relating to Allah, trusteeship (''wilayah'') and the prophethood (''nubuwwah'') of Muhammad. He emphasizes the central role of the ''alif'' in all the worlds of God.
By removing the duplicate letters (leaving only one of each of the 14 initials) and rearranging them, one can create the sentence "نص حكيم قاطع له سر " which could translate to: "A wise and conclusive text has a secret".
Chants
Devin J. Stewart argues the letters are integral to the text and establish a rhyme and a rhythm, similarly to rhyming chants such as, intended to introduce spells, charms or something connected to the supernatural.
References
External links
A comprehensive exposition of the theories surrounding the Muqatta'atThe consonant şād in three Qur'anic chapters: Sād, Mary and al-A'rāf
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muqatta'at
Quran
Arabic words and phrases
Bahá'í terminology
Language and mysticism
Quranic verses