Muqatta'at

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Muqatta`at (Arabic: مقطعات ‎, literally "abbreviated", translated as "abbreviated letters", also called Fawatih ( فواتح‎), "initial letters" or Hawamim ( حواميم‎), isolated, disconnected or broken letters, after the common letter combination Ha Mim) are letters appearing in the beginning of 29 suras (chapters) of the Qur'an. These letters are a subset of the Arabic alphabet.

1 Introduction
2 Context
3 Classical Research
4 Modern Research
5 Muqatta'at in the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Introduction

In Arabic language, these letters are written together like a word, but none of these letter combinations actually forms a meaningful word in the language, and thus the name. They have been a topic of intense research and academic discussions in the Islamic literature. Examples include "Alif Lam Ra" that appears in the first verse of surat Yunus: "Alif Lam Ra. These are the verses of the wise Book." and "Alif Lam Mim Ra" in surat Ar-Ra'd: "Alif Lam Mim Ra. These are the verses of the Book; and that which is revealed to you from your Lord is the truth, but most people do not believe." (Shakir translation)

The initial letter combinations themselves are restricted to combinations of 14 letters taken from the first 20 letters of the Arabic alphabet in its old numerical order (that is, alif ba jim dal...). These are: أ ح ر س ص ط ع ق ك ل م ن ه ي (alif, ha, ra, sin, sad, ta, ain, qaf, kaf, lam, mim, nun, ha, ya.)

[edit] Context

A tree diagram of the Qur'anic initial letters, labelled with the respective numbers of occurrences. To be read right to left.

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 lam or ha mim. See the diagram for fuller information.

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 suras 29, 30, and 68); and some argue that even these three cases should be included, since mention of the revelation is made later on in the sura. 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 Makkan suras (the exceptions are suras 2, 3, 13.)

The suras that contain these letters are: sura 2, sura 3, sura 7, sura 10, sura 11, sura 12, sura 13, sura 14, sura 15, sura 19, sura 20, sura 26, sura 27, sura 28, sura 29, sura 30, sura 31, sura 32, sura 36, sura 38, sura 40, sura 41, sura 42, sura 43, sura 44, sura 45, sura 46, sura 50, sura 68.

[edit] Classical Research

While there has been some speculation on the meaning of these letters, a majority of Muslim scholars believe that these letters' full meaning is beyond our understanding (Ibn Kathir, for instance, describes them as "among those things whose knowledge God has kept only for Himself".) However, in light of their observed distribution, one traditional hypothesis suggests that these letters represent a challenge to the doubting reader: this book is made of ordinary letters, but can you produce anything like it? The rare combinations Ya Sin and Ta Ha are commonly interpreted in Muslim tradition as names of Muhammad, an interpretation which their context makes natural, though not certain.

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, a classical commentator of Quran, 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, 'money' as 'ع', clouds as 'غ', and fish as 'ن'). ^[1]

[edit] Modern Research

Amin Ahsan Islahi, a renowned exegete of the Quran, has mentioned that Arabs used to use such letters in their poetry and since Quran addressed them in their own linguistic style, it was only appropriate for Quran to use the same style. He agrees with Razi 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 Quranic 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 Quran 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 Prophet Jonah as 'companion of the fish'. Similarly, the letter Tuay (ط) represents a serpent and all the Surahs that begin with this letter mention the story of Prophet Moses and serpents.^[2]

Western scholars have only occasionally attempted to explain them. In 1996, Keith Massey proposed new evidence for an older theory that the "Mystery Letters" were the initials or monograms of the scribes that had originally written the sura down.^[3] As evidence for this, he demonstrated that the letters themselves occur in a specific order, suggesting a hierarchy of importance. This idea has not yet gained wide acceptance. Other explanations similarly failed to satisfactorily explain the letters.

[edit] Muqatta'at in the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths

The Báb, who Bahá'ís see as the immediate forerunner of their religion, uses Muqatta'at in his Qayyúmu'l-Asmá'.^[4]

In 1857-58, Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith, wrote his Commentary on the Isolated Letters (Tafsír-i-Hurúfát-i-Muqatta'ih, also known as Lawh-i-Áyiy-i-Núr, Tablet of the Light Verse).^[5]^[6] 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 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. Bahá'u'lláh gives various interpretations of the letters "alif, lam, mim", mostly relating to Allah, Trusteeship (wilaya) and the prophethood (numuwwa) of Muhammad. He emphasizes the central role of the alif in all the worlds of God.