Al-Huruf al-Muqatta'a: Difference between revisions

The disjoined letters are variously interpreted as a secret between God and the Prophet (s), <ref>Shalṭūt,''Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-karīm'', p. 54.</ref> ambiguous ([[mutashabihat]]) parts of the dignified Qur'an, names of the suras, letters of [[oath]], signs of the miracle of the Qur'an, [[God's Greatest Name]], and devices for alerting, among other things. According to Ibn al-Hajar al-Asqalani, since there is no reliable report of the [[companion]] ever asking the Prophet (s) about the disjoined letters, one might conclude that their meaning was obvious and undeniable for them.<ref>Sīūtiī,''Al-Itqān fī ʿalūm al-Qurān'', vol. 3, p. 30-31.</ref> However, according to Allama Tabataba'i, the above interpretations are not valid, because they do not go beyond speculations and are not supported by evidence.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāeī,''Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurān'',  vol. 18, p. 8.</ref>

*'''Mutashabihat (ambiguities) of the Qur'an:''' [[al-Fakhr al-Razi]] and [[al-Suyuti]], [[Sunni]] scholars, believe that the disjoined letters are ambiguities of the Qur'an of which only God is aware.<ref>Fakhr al-Rāzī, ''Al–Tafsīr al-kabīr'', under the sura 2, verse 1; Sīūtiī,''Al-Itqān fī ʿalūm al-Qurān'', vol. 3, p. 24.</ref> This is confirmed by some hadiths transmitted by Shiite [[muhaddith]]s as well.<ref>Ṭūsī, ''Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurān'', vol. 1, p. 48; Ṭabarsi, ''Majmaʿa al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurān'', under the sura 2, verse 1.</ref>

*'''Names of Suras:''' according to [[Shiite]] and Sunni [[exegete]]s, such as [[al-Shaykh al-Tusi]], [[al-Tabrisi]], and al-Suyuti, the disjoined letters are names of the suras; Thus, titles of suras are the disjoined letters with which they open with.<ref>Ṭūsī, ''Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurān'', vol. 1, p. 48-49; Ṭabarsi, ''Majmaʿa al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurān'', under the sura 2, verse 1; Sīūtiī,''Al-Itqān fī ʿalūm al-Qurān'', vol. 1, p. 662. </ref> The view is deemed the best account of the disjoined letters by al-Shaykh al-Tusi and al-Tabrisi. It is also attributed to Zayd b. Aslam as well as [[Khalil b. Ahmad]] and [[Sibawayh]].

*'''Letters of oath:''' according to [[Ibn 'Abbas]] and 'Ikrima, the disjoined letters are letters of oath, believing that God has taken an oath to these letters which are His own names. Al-Suyuti has justified the account with a hadith from [[Imam Ali (a)]] in which he addresses God by saying, "O kaf-ha-ya-'ayn-sad {{ia|کهیعص}}, forgive me!"

*'''A sign of the miracle of the Qur'an:''' one of the oldest and best-known interpretations of the disjoined letters is that God has opened twenty nine suras of the Qur'an with these letters to imply that the Qur'an is made up of the same letters with which other Arabs talk, and if they believe that the Qur'an is not a miracle, then they should bring something like the Qur'an with these same letters. The view appears in some Shiite texts as well. It was favored by [[Sayyid Qutb]], a Sunni scholar.