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

'''Al-ḥurūf al-muqaṭṭaʿa''' (Arabic: {{ia|الحروف المقطعة}}) or '''disjoined letters''' consist of one or more letters with which twenty nine [[sura]]s of the [[Qur'an]] open after [[Bism Allah al-Rahman al-Rahim]]. These letters are recited separately, such as {{ia|ألم}} at the opening of [[Qur'an 2]] is recited as "alif – lam – mim."

Except suras of al-Baqara (Qur'an 2) and [[Al 'Imran]] (Qur'an 3), all other suras opening with disjoined letters are [[Makki]] (they were revealed in Mecca). Some of the suras opening with disjoined letters include: [[Qur'an 7]] (al-A'raf), [[Qur'an 10]] (Yunus), [[Qur'an 12]] (Hud), [[Qur'an 19]] (Maryam), [[Qur'an 20]] (Taha), [[Qur'an 28]] (Qisas), [[Qur'an 40]] (Ghafir), and [[Qur'an 68]] (Qalam).

The disjoined letters consist in one or more letters with which twenty nine suras of the Qur'an open after Basmala. They are recited separately, such as {{ia|ألم}} (alif – lam – mim), {{ia|یس}} (ya – sin), {{ia|ص}} (sad). They are also called "muqatta'at"<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 89, p. 373</ref> (the disjoined) and "fawatih al-suwar" <ref>Ṭabarī, ''Jāmiʾ al-bayān ʿan taʾwīl āyāt al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 206.</ref> (openings of the suras).

Suras opening with such letters are all Makki, except Qur'an 2 and Qur'an 3,<ref>Sakhāwī, ''Jamāl al-qurrāʾ wa kamāl al-ʾiqrāʾ'', vol. 2, p. 591.</ref> which were revealed in early years after the migration of Muslims to [[Medina]].<ref>Suyūtī, ''Al-Durr Al-manthūr'', vol. 2, p. 714.</ref> According to [[Kufi]] enumeration of Quranic verses, which is transmitted from [[Imam Ali b. Abi Talib (a)]],<ref>Shāṭibī, ''Manẓūma nāẓīmat al-zuhr '', P. 6.</ref> the disjoined letters are independent verses in some suras, <ref>suras al-Baqara, Al Imran, al-A'raf.</ref> and are parts of a verse in others. <ref>Suras Yunus, Hud.</ref>

Quranic scholars and researchers have offered different interpretations and accounts of the disjoined letters. Moreover, independent books were written about such letters, such as ''al-Huruf al-muqatta'a fi l-Qur'an'' by [[Abd al-Jabbar Sharara]], ''Awa'il al-suwar fi l-Qur'an al-karim'' by [[Ali Nasuh Tahir]], and ''I'jaz-i Qur'an: tahlil-i āmāri-yi huruf-i muqatta'a'' (the miracle of the Qur'an: a statistical analysis of the disjoined letters) by Rashad Khalifa. However, some Muslim scholars appeal to certain hadiths <ref>Ṭūsī, ''Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurān'', vol. 1, p. 48; Fakhr al-Rāzī, ''Al–Tafsīr al-kabīr'', </ref> to show that such letters are secrets of which only God is aware, and thus, they refrain from any comments on the disjoined letters.<ref>Shalṭūt, ''Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-karīm'', p. 54.</ref>

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>Suyūtī,''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>

*'''A secret between God and the Prophet (s):''' some scholars, such as  Allama Tabataba'i and [[Sayyid Mahmud Taliqani]], believe that the disjoined letters are secrets between God and the Prophet (s), that God has concealed from others.<ref>Ṭaliqānī, ''Partuwī az Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 49; Ṭabāṭabāeī,''Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurān'',  vol. 18, p. 9. </ref> The view is attributed to [[Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a)]]. <ref>Majlisī,''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 89, p. 384.</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; Suyūtī,''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; Ṭabarsī, ''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; Suyūtī,''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.<ref>Ṭūsī, ''Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurān'', vol. 1, p. 48-49; Ṭabarsī, ''Majmaʿa al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurān'', under the sura 2, verse 1.</ref> It is also attributed to Zayd b. Aslam<ref>Ṭabarī,''Jāmiʾ al-bayān ʿan taʾwīl āyāt al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 206, under the sura 2, verse 1.</ref> as well as [[Khalil b. Ahmad]] and [[Sibawayh]].<ref>Fakhr al-Rāzī, ''Al–Tafsīr al-kabīr'', under the sura 2, verse 1.</ref>

*'''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.<ref>Ṭabarī,''Jāmiʾ al-bayān ʿan taʾwīl āyāt al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 206, under the sura 2, verse 1; Ṭabarsī, ''Majmaʿa al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurān'', under the sura 2, verse 1; Ṭūsī, ''Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurān'', vol. 1, p. 47.</ref> 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!"<ref>Suyūtī,''Al-Itqān fī ʿalūm al-Qurān'', vol. 3, p. 27-28.</ref>

*'''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.<ref>Suyūtī,''Al-Itqān fī ʿalūm al-Qurān'', vol. 1, p. 665.</ref> The view appears in some Shiite texts as well.<ref>''Al-Tafsīr al-mansūb ila al-īmam al-Ḥasan b. ʿAli al-ʿAskarī (a)'', p. 62; Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 89, p. 377.</ref> It was favored by [[Sayyid Qutb]], a Sunni scholar.<ref>Sayyid Quṭb ,''Fī Ẓilāl al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 38. </ref>

*'''God's Greatest Name:''' according to Quranic exegetes of the early years of Islam, [[Ibn Mas'ud]]<ref>Suyūtī, ''Al-Durr Al-manthūr'', vol. 1, p. 57.</ref> and Ibn 'Abbas,<ref>Ṭabarī,''Jāmiʾ al-bayān ʿan taʾwīl āyāt al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 206, under the sura 2, verse 1.</ref>  these letters are God's Greatest Name.<ref>Suyūtī,''Al-Itqān fī ʿalūm al-Qurān'', vol. 3, p. 27. </ref> [[Sa'id b. Jubayr]] believed that the disjoined letters are God's names which are disjoined.<ref>Ṭabarī,''Jāmiʾ al-bayān ʿan taʾwīl āyāt al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 207, under the sura 2, verse 1.</ref> The view is attributed to some [[Imams of the Shia]] as well.<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 89, p. 375.</ref>  

*'''Alerting devices:''' according to some people, each of the disjoined letters function as alerting devices (just like "hey" or "look" in English). Thus, since [[polytheist]]s would turn away from the Qur'an and not listen to it or make noises when the Qur'an was recited,<ref>sura. 41, verse, 26.</ref> God opened certain suras with disjoined letters to attract their attentions, alert them, make them silent, and motivate them to listen to the Qur'an.<ref>Ṭūsī,''Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurān'', vol. 1, p. 48; Suyūtī,''Al-Itqān fī ʿalūm al-Qurān'', vol. 3, p. 31.</ref> It was objected why ordinary alerting devices in Arabic (such as "ala" or "ama") were not used, instead. Proponents of the view respond to the objection by saying that the Qur'an is a word dissimilar to human words. Thus, it opened with unordinary alerting devices to make the effect more profound.<ref>Suyūtī,''Al-Itqān fī ʿalūm al-Qurān'', vol. 3, p. 31.</ref>

*'''Numerical interpretation:''' some Quranic exegetes take the disjoined letters to be signs with symbolic meanings based on the numerical values of Arabic letters, known as "abjad numerals" (in Arabic, "'add abi jad" or "hisab al-jumal").<ref>Ṭabarī,''Jāmiʾ al-bayān ʿan taʾwīl āyāt al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 209-210, under the sura 2, verse 1.</ref> Influenced by the [[Jew]]s, they tried to offer numerical interpretations of the disjoined letters in order to predict when governments were established or fell, how long ethnicities and groups would last, and in particular, how long the Islamic nation would last.<ref>Suyūtī,''Al-Itqān fī ʿalūm al-Qurān'', vol. 3, p. 31; Ṭaliqānī, ''Partuwī az Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 46-47.</ref> To reject such interpretations, Ibn al-Hajar al-'Asqalani appeal to Ibn 'Abbas's prohibition of abjad numerals as a kind of magic, not based in the [[Shari'a]].<ref>Suyūtī,''Al-Itqān fī ʿalūm al-Qurān'', vol. 3, p. 31.</ref>

* Ālūsī, Maḥmūd b. ʿAbd Allāh. ''Rūḥ al-maʿānī''. Egypt: Idāra al-Ṭibāʿa al-Munīrīa, [n.d].

* ''Al-Tafsīr al-mansūb ilā al-Imām al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī al-ʿAskarī (a)''. Qom: Madrisa al-Imām al-Mahdī, 1409 AH.

* Sayyid Quṭb, Ibrāhīm Ḥusayn. ''Fī Ẓilāl al-Qurʾān''. Beirut: 1386 AH/1967.

* Shalṭūt, Maḥmūd.''Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-karīm''. Tehran: 1379 Sh.

* Shāṭibī, Qāsīm b. Fīrah al-. ''Manẓūma nāẓīmat al-zuhr ''. Edited by Ashraf Muḥammad Fuʾad Ṭalʿat. Egypt: Īsmāʿaīlīyya, 1427 AH/2006.

* Suyūtī,ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Abībakr al-. ''Al-Itqān fī ʿulūm al-Qurān''. Edited by Muḥammad Abu l-faḍl Ibrāhīm. Cairo: 1967.

* Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. Hasan. ''Majmaʿa al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurān''. Edited by Hashīm Rasūlī Maḥallātī and Faḍl Allāh Yazdī Ṭabāṭabāʾī. Beirut: 1408 AH.

* Ṭaliqānī, Maḥmūd. ''Partuwī az Qurʾān''. 4th edition. Tehran: Shirkat-i Sahāmī-yi Intishār, 1362 Sh.