The Miraculous Nature of the Letters in the Qur’an
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أﻋﺠﺎز اﻟﺤﺮوف اﻟﻤﻘﻄﻌﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘﺮان
SHAYKH MUHAMMAD IBN SĀLIH AL-UTHAYMEEN
THE MIRACULOUS NATURE OF THE
LETTERS THAT APPEAR AT THE
BEGINNING OF CERTAIN CHAPTERS
IN THE QUR’AN12
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ﺍﻟﺮﲪﻦ ﺍﻟﺮﺣﻴﻢﺑﺴﻢ ﺍ
Allah—exalted be He—states,
ٓ
١ ال ٓم
1. Alif, Lām, Meem. [Al Baqarah:1]
Three letters from the Arabic alphabet: وﻣﯾم، وﻻم،( أ ِﻟفAlif, Lām, Meem). These letters are not read
according to the way they are written, but rather according to the appellation of each letter: ،أ ِﻟف
وﻣﯾم،( وﻻمAlif, Lām, Meem). The scholars of Islam differ with regard to the nature of these letters
and with regard to the wisdom behind compiling these letters. These scholarly views number many
but they can be reduced to four views.
The first view is that these letters collectively carry meaning. However, those who advocate this
view differ with regard to their specific meanings. Do they signify a name of Allah, a name of a
chapter or even point to the duration of this Muslim nation etc.?
1 Translated by Abu Ameenah AbdurRahman Bennett.
2 Taken from the Shaykh’s Qur’anic explanation (Tafseer) of Surah al-Baqarah (v.1).
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The Miraculous Nature of the Letters in the Qur’an
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The second view is that these are just alphabetical letters that have no meaning whatsoever.
The third view is that they have meaning but they are known best by Allah. So, based on this
view, we are certain that they carry meaning but Allah knows best regarding their meaning. They
say this because it is not possible that anything contained in the Qur’an be revealed without
meaning.
The fourth view is that we refrain from delving into the matter and that we do not go beyond
reciting them. We say that Allah knows best about these letters whether they have meaning or not.
And even if they do have meaning, we do not know their meanings.
The most correct of all of these views is the second view, and it is the view that they are
alphabetical letters that carry no meaning whatsoever. This view was authentically reported from
Mujāhid [ibn Jabr], 3 and the proof used to corroborate this view is that the Qur’an was revealed in
the language of the Arabs and that these [assembled] letters have no meaning in the Arabic
language, just as when we say “alif, bā, tā, thā, jeem, hā…” because likewise they are just letters
of the alphabet. As for the reason Allah chose these particular letters to the exclusion of the others
and then arranged them in their given order then we have no knowledge regarding this.
So this is with respect to the letters themselves. However, with regard to the wisdom behind
revealing these letters then based on the view that they carry meaning, the wisdom here would
be that they signify certain meanings and the same would apply wherever else these letters are
found in the Qur’an. With regard to the views that hold they carry no meanings, Allah knows
best about their meanings or we should refrain from delving into the matter then the wisdom
behind these letters according to these scholars—which is the preponderate view and the view of
Ibn al-Qayyim, Shaykh al-Islam and the view chosen by his student al-Hāfidh adh-Dhahabi and a
big contingent of the people of knowledge—is that these letters points to the miraculous nature
and inimitability of the Qur’an. These letters symbolise that this Qur’an does not come with words
or letters that are beyond human capability and scope. These letters are none other than the letters
3[TN]: Mujāhid ibn Jabr was a Tābi’ee (a successor of the Companions) and a main student of Abdullah ibn
‘Abbās.
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that we as humans use to speak with, but in spite of that, humans are incapable of producing
anything like the Qur’an.
This becomes the most evident example of something being miraculous and inimitable because if
the Qur’an contained other letters and words which were not a part of human speech, the Qur’an
would not be a real miracle. Yet, even though these are the very same letters we speak with, we
cannot replicate the Qur’an [due to its inimitable nature]. Thus, the wisdom is to demonstrate the
inimitability of the Noble Qur’an in its most demonstrable form. The scholars said that what
further demonstrates this is that all these chapters that begin with these collated letters in each
one, with the exception of a few, the Qur’an is mentioned straight afterwards. In fact, even in these
chapters wherein the Qur’an is not mentioned, particularities pertaining to the Qur’an are
mentioned. For example, Allah—exalted be He—states,
ٓ ٓك
١ هيع ٓص
1. Kaf, Ha, Ya, 'Ayn, Sad. [Maryam:1]
There is no mention of the Qur’an after these letters. However, there is mention of some of the
particularities of the Qur’an and here it is the stories of those from the past:
ٓ َ َ َ
٢ ت َر ّ�ِك � ۡب َدهُۥ َز� ِر َّ�ا َۡ ۡ
ِ �ذِك ُر َر
[This is] a mention of the mercy of your Lord to His servant Zakariya. [Maryam:2]
This is also the case in the Chapter ar-Room. Allah—exalted be He—states,
ُ ٱلر ُ ٓ
٢ وم ِ غل َِب١ ال ٓم
ُّ ت
1. Alif, Lam, Meem. 2. The Byzantines have been defeated. [Ar Rum]
In this chapter there is no mention of the Qur’an but straight away the chapter mentions something
from the particularities of the Qur’an, and in this case, it is informing about something that is still
yet to happen in the future:
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َ ۡ ََ ُ ِ َۡ َ َۡ ٓ ُ ٓ
٣ �ض َوهم ّ ِم ۢن َ� ۡع ِد غلب ِ ِه ۡم َس َيغل ُِبون ُ ٱلر
� ِ� أد� ٱ٢ وم ِ غل َِب١ ال ٓم
ُّ ت
1. Alif, Lam, Meem. 2. The Byzantines have been defeated [Ar Rum:2] 3. In the
nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will overcome. [Ar Rum:3]
In another chapter, Allah states,
َ ُ َ ۡ ُ َ ۡ ُ َ َّ َ َ ْ ٓ ُ ُ َ َ ْ ٓ ُ َ ۡ ُ َ ُ َّ َ َ َ ٓ ٓ
٢ أحسِب ٱ�اس أن ي��وا أن �قولوا ءامنا وهم � �فتنون١ الم
1. Alif, Lam, Meem 2. Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and
they will not be tried? [Al 'Ankabut:2]
Once again, there is no mention of the Qur’an; however, there is something from the stories of
the Qur’an which are a particular feature of the Qur’an:
َ ۡ َّ َ َ ۡ َ َ َ ْ ُ َ َ َ َّ ُ َّ َّ َ َ ۡ َ َ َ ۡ ۡ َ
َ � ٰ ِذب
٣ � ٱل ن م ل ع� و وا ق دص ِين
�ٱ �ٱ ن م ل عي ل ف ۖم ه ِ ل ب � ِن
م َ �َولَ َق ۡد َ� َت َّنا َّٱ
ِين
ِ ِ
3. But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident
those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars. [Al 'Ankabut:3]
And so, this view, which is the chosen view of Shaykh al-Islam and the chosen view of a big group
of scholars, is the preponderant view. The wisdom is to demonstrate to the highest degree the
miraculous and inimitable nature of the Qur’an since the Book of Allah never came with any new
letter system, but in spite of that, the most well-versed in the Arabic language were incapable of
meeting the challenge of the Qur’an even though they were the rhetoricians and the most eloquent
in the Arabic language.
Some other scholars were of the view that the wisdom was to stimulate the listeners. So when the
Qur’an was recited and the Speech of Allah Alif, Lām, Meem was read, it were as if Allah were
saying, “Give ear and listen…”, and this was for the polytheists. However, this view requires
further investigation because if this were the case, these letters surely would have introduced each
chapter but most of the chapters of the Qur’an are not introduced by these letters. So the correct
view is that the wisdom relates back to the demonstrating the miraculous and initiable nature of
the Qur’an.
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