Huruf Muqatta'at (Disjointed Letters in the Qur'an): Difference between revisions

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In [[Arabic]] language, these letters are written together like a word, but each letter is pronounced separately. None of these combinations actually form a meaningful Arabic word. These letters appear joined together. Muqatta'at have been and continue to be a topic of intense research and academic discussions in [[Islam]]ic literature and Qur'anic studies.

#''' 'Alif Lām Mīm'''   as in Surah Al Baqara and Surah Al Imran among others

#''' 'Alif Lām Rā' '''     Sura Yunus and Surah Hud

#''' 'Alif Lām Mim Rā' ''' Sura Ar Raa'd

#'''  Ḥā' Mīm'''         Surah Ha Mim Sajda

#''' Kāf Ḥā' Yā' `Ayn Ṣād''' Surah Maryam

== Context ==

Certain co-occurrence restrictions are observable in these letters; for instance, ''alif'' is invariably followed by ''lam''. The substantial majority of the combinations begin either ''alif lām'' or ''hā mim''.  See the diagram for fuller information.

== Classical Islamic Opinions ==

Tomes have been written over the centuries on the possible meanings and probable significance of these 'mystical letters' as they are sometimes called. Opinions have been numerous but a consensus elusive. There is no report in the [[hadith|Ahadith]] or [[Sirat Rasul Allah|Sirat]] of [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] having used such expressions in his ordinary speech, or his having thrown light as to its usage in the Qur'an. And, more importantly, none of his [[Sahabah|Companions]] seemed to have asked him, regarding it. This apparent lack of inquisitiveness is cited as proof that the usage of such abbreviations were well known to the Arabs of the time and were in vogue long before the advent of Islam.

As plausible as it may sound this opinion does not find favor among other classical commentators because the possible combinations of letters are virtually infinite and the Attributes they represent seem to be chosen arbitrarily

=== The Classical Islamic Fallacy ===

The classical Muslim scholars considered the text of the Qur'an to be unchanged. Thus, they were not willing to admit that the muqattā'at were possibly added after the Ahadith were compiled, or, at least, were little known. That is, the absence of evidence was really evidence of absence.

== Modern Islamic Research ==

In 1974, an Egyptian biochemist named [[Rashad Khalifa]] claimed to have discovered a mathematical code in the Qur'an based on these initials and the number 19<ref>Rashad Khalifa, ''[http://submission.org/miracle/visual.html Quran: Visual Presentation of the Miracle]'', Islamic Productions International, 1982. ISBN 0-934894-30-2</ref>, which is mentioned in Surah 74:30<ref>[{{Quran-url-only|74|30}} Qur'an, Chapter 74, Verse 30]</ref> of the Qur'an.  (However, Günter Lüling claims that the number is really 7, as in the 7 gates of the Christian [[Hell]].  See [http://www.christoph-heger.de/Surah_74_30.htm "Above it are neither nineteen nor seventeen."])  According to his research, these initials which prefix 29 chapters of the Qur'an occur throughout their respective chapters in multiples of this very number, nineteen. He has noted other mathematical phenomena throughout the Quran, all related to what he describes as the "mathematical miracle of the Qur'an."  Although subsequently dismissed as a heretic by Muslim scholars, his work did receive some acclaim by notable sources:

See "[[The Miracle of 19]]" for a thorough refutation of Khalifa's work.

Amin Ahsan Islahi stated that Arabs used to use such letters in their poetry and since Qur'an addressed them in their own linguistic style, it was only appropriate for Qur'an to use the same style. He agrees with Rāzi and mentions that since these letters are names for Surahs, being proper nouns they are not bound to have a meaning. At the same time, he cites research from Hamiduddin Farahi, a Qur'anic scholar from the Indian subcontinent, on how these letters must be appropriately chosen according to the content and theme of the surahs. Farahi links these letters back to Hebrew alphabet and suggests that those letters not only represented phonetic sounds but also contained a symbolic meaning to them, and Qur'an perhaps uses the same meanings when choosing the letters for surahs. For instance, in support of his opinion, he presents the letter Nun (ن), which symbolizes fish and Surah Nun mentions Jonah as 'companion of the fish'. Similarly, the letter Ṭa (ط) represents a serpent and all the Surahs that begin with this letter mention the story of Moses and serpents.<ref>{{cite book|author=Islahi, Amin Ahsan|title=Taddabur-i-Quran|publisher=Faraan Foundation| year=2004| pages=82-85}}</ref>  

Yūsuf `Alī in Appendix 1 of his translation of the Qur'an<ref>Yūsuf `Alī, `Abdullah, ''The Holy Qur'ān: Text, Translation and Commentary'', New Revised Edition, Amana Corporation, Brentwood, MD, USA, 1989. ISBN 0-915957-033-5</ref> adduced some statistical evidence regarding the Muqatta`āt (p. 124). This is in addition to some pedantry about the miracles in the Qur'an and the false statement that "vocal sounds arise from the expulsion of air from the lungs" (p. 122). This is clearly false in the case of the [[w:glottal stop | glottal stop]], which is a cessation of breath. In English, this is known as "cutting", reflecting the "cutting" of the airflow from the lungs. Moreover, other languages use sounds produced by inhalation, such as the click languages of Africa and [[w:Sindhi | Sindhi]] in Yusuf `Ali's native India.

! Letters

! Surahs

| 'Alif Lām Mīm

| 2, 3, 29-32

| 'Alif Lām Mīm Ṣād

| 7

| 'Alif Lām Rā'

| 10-15

| 13

| Kāf Hā' Yā' `Ayn Ṣād

| 19

| Ṭā' Hā'

| 20

| Ṭā' Sīn Mīm

| 26, 28

| Ṭā' Sīn

| 27

| Yā' Sīn

| 36

| Ṣād

| 38

| Ḥā' Mīm

| 40-46

| `Ayn Sīn Qāf

| 42

| Qāf

| 50

| Nūn

| 68

==Secular View ==

The secular view begins with three lines of evidence:

From 1 and 2, we can conclude that the muqatta`āt were written in the original, defective Arabic script without any diacritics to distinguish consonants or vowels. Moreover, they were written after the Ahadith and Sirat were compiled, or, at least, were unknown to the writers of those works.

From 3, we can conclude that the muqatta`āt date to or shortly after the recension of the Qur'an that produced its modern, longest-to-shortest organization.

The question now becomes what do the muqatta`āt represent? We have two hypotheses:

If hypothesis 1 were true, we would expect no muqatta`āt between the ranges of other muqatta`āt and no overlaps. This is refuted by:

1. The presence of 'Alif Lām Mīm Ṣād (sura 7) and 'Alif Lām Rā' (suras 10-15) between the ranges of 'Alif Lām Mīm (suras 2-3 and 29-32). Even if 'Alif Lām Mīm Ṣād is really 'Alif Lām Mīm, the presence of 'Alif Lām Rā' refutes the hypothesis.

2. The presence of two sets of muqatta`āt in Surah 42. This appears to indicate the work of two scribes.

Thus, we conclude that the muqatta`āt are scribal initials. The consecutive appearances of some sets indicates that some scribes were given consecutive surahs to copy.