Themysterious letters^[1] (muqaṭṭaʿāt,Arabic:حُرُوف مُقَطَّعَاتḥurūf muqaṭṭaʿāt, "disjoined letters" or "disconnected letters"^[2]) are combinations of between one and fiveArabic letters that appear at the beginning of 29 out of the 114 chapters (surahs) of theQuran just after theBismillāh Islamic phrase.^[3] The letters are also known asfawātiḥ (فَوَاتِح) or "openers" as they form the opening verse of their respective surahs.^[4]

Four (or five) chapters are named for theirmuqaṭṭaʿāt:Ṭā-Hā,Yā-Sīn,Ṣād,Qāf, and sometimesNūn.

The original significance of the letters is unknown.Tafsir (exegesis) has interpreted them as abbreviations for eithernames or qualities of God or for the names or content of the respective surahs. The general belief of most Muslims is that their meaning is known only to God. The Arabic word for "Gayab" is غَائِب (ghāʔib), meaning "absent" or "missing". In the context of Al-Ghayb (الغيب), it refers to the unseen, hidden, or concealed. It can also be used to describe something that is lost or vanished, divine, which is known as "Gayb". Some people refer to it as angelic numerology or to the very significant, divine hidden meaning of the letters. However, this is one of the profound secrets of the Quranic divine openings.

Muqatta'at occur in Quranic chapters 2–3, 7, 10–15, 19–20, 26–32, 36, 38, 40–46, 50 and 68. Furthermore, thecodex of Ubayy ibn Ka'b additionally had Surah 39 begin withḤā Mīm, in line with the pattern seen in the next seven surahs.^[5] Multiple letters are written together like a word, but each letter is pronounced separately. They are 78 in total, at the beginning of 29 surahs, occurring in 14 distinct combinations. Fourteen out of 28 (or 29, countinghamza) letters of theArabic alphabet are represented.

Abd Allah ibn Abbas andAbdullah ibn Masud, are said to have favored the view that these letters stand for words or phrases related to God and His Attributes.^[6][7]

Christoph Luxenberg inThe Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran (2000)proposed that substantial portions of the text of the Qur'an were directly taken from Syriac liturgy. His explanation of the disjoined letters is that they are remnants of indications for the liturgical recitation forthe Syriac hymns that ended up being copied into the Arabic text.^[8] Devin J. Stewart argues the letters are integral to the text and establish a rhyme and a rhythm, similarly to rhyming chants such as, intended to introduce spells, charms or something connected to the supernatural.^[9]

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, a classical commentator of the Qur'an, 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, 'eye' as 'ع', clouds as 'غ', and whale as 'ن').^[10][11]Amin Ahsan Islahi^{[year needed]} supported al-Razi's opinion, arguing that since these letters are names for Surahs, they are proper nouns.Hamiduddin Farahi similarly attachessymbolic meanings to the letters, e.g. Nun (ن) symbolizing "fish" identifying the sura that mentionsJonah, or Ta (ط) representing "serpent" introducing suras that mention the story of ProphetMoses and serpents.^[12]

Ahsan ur Rehman (2013) claims that there are phonological, syntactic and semantic links between the prefixed letters and the text of the chapters.^[13]

Theodor Nöldeke (1860) advanced the theory that the letters were marks of possession, belonging to the owners of Qur'anic copies used in the first collection byZayd ibn Thābit during the reign of theCaliph 'Uthmān. According to Nöldeke, the letters ultimately entered the final version of the Qur'an due to carelessness. It was also possible that the letters were monograms of the owners. Nöldeke later revised this theory, responding to Otto Loth's (1881) suggestion that the letters had a distinct connection with the mystic figures and symbols of the JewishKabbalah. Nöldeke in turn concluded that the letters were a mystical reference to the archetypal text in heaven that was the basis for the revelation of the Qur'an.^[14] However, persuaded by Nöldeke's original theory,Hartwig Hirschfeld (1902) offered a list of likely names corresponding to the letters.^[15] Keith Massey (1996), noting the apparent set ranking of the letters and mathematical improbability that they were either random or referred to words or phrases, argued for some form of the Nöldeke-Hirschfeld theory that the "Mystery Letters" were the initials or monograms of the scribes who originally transcribed the sūras. Though, Massey explains that "the letters, which appear alone (qaf, nun), may not have the same purpose as the collection themselves", he furthermore admits that the "Mystery Letters" in Surah 42 violate his proposed ranking-theory,^[16] thus offering 2 possible scenarios for his theory.^[16]

The Hebrew Theory^[17] assumes that the letters represent an import fromBiblical Hebrew. Specifically, the combinationAlif-Lam would correspond to HebrewEl "god".Abbreviations from Aramaic or Greek have also been suggested.

Bellamy (1973) proposed that the letters are the remnants of abbreviations for theBismillah.^[18] Bellamy's suggestion was criticized as improbable byAlford T. Welch (1978).^[19]

There have been attempts to givenumerological interpretations. Loth (1888) suggested a connection toGematria.^[20]Rashad Khalifa (1974) claimed to have discovered a mathematical code in the Qur'an based on these initials and thenumber 19, namely theQuran code or known as Code 19. According to his claims, these initials occur throughout their respective chapters in multiples of nineteen.^[21] The number 19 is directly mentioned in the 30th verse ofSurah Al-Muddaththir to refer to the 19 keeper angels ofHell.^[22]

TheBáb used the muqaṭṭaʿāt in hisQayyúmu'l-Asmáʼ.^[23][24] He writes in an early commentary and in hisDalá'il-i-Sab'ih (Seven Proofs) about ahadith fromMuhammad al-Baqir, the fifthShiʻi Imam, where it is stated that the first seven surat's muqaṭṭaʿāt have a numerical value of 1267, from which the year 1844 (the year of the Báb's declaration) can be derived.^[25][26]

Sufis across Islamic sects have a tradition ofmystical interpretation of the Quran, in keeping with broaderBatini (esoteric) study and practice. The mysterious letters are a point of much speculation among Sufi scholars, particularly among those sects called theBatiniyya. The details differ between schools of Sufism, but one interpretation regards the letters as an extension to theninety-nine names of God, with some authors offering specific "hidden" meanings for the individual letters.^[27]

AnIsmailighulat sect known asHurufism, based on akabbalistic system ofletter-based and numerological mysticism, attributed especial importance to the mysterious letters. Although the Hurufis were widely regarded as a hereticalghulat sect, and had little direct influence on Islamic theology, their ideas did have a wider impact on aesthetics and literature, as seen in the works of poets likeNasimi,Fuzuli, andShah Ismail I of Safavid Persia.

In 1857–58,Baháʼu'lláh, founder of theBaháʼí Faith, wrote hisCommentary on the Isolated Letters (Tafsír-i-Hurúfát-i-Muqattaʻih, also known asLawh-i-Áyiy-i-Núr,Tablet of the Light Verse).^[28][29] 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 thePoint was created. The Point then turned into anAlif (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. Baháʼu'lláh gives various interpretations of the letters "alif, lam, mim", mostly relating to Allah, trusteeship (wilayah) and the prophethood (nubuwwah) of Muhammad. He emphasizes the central role of thealif in all the worlds of God.^[28]

By removing the duplicate letters (leaving only one of each of the 14 initials) and rearranging them, one can create the sentence "نص حكيم قاطع له سر " which could translate to: "A wise and conclusive text has a secret".^{[citation needed]}Whoever wants to start magic or witchcraft should lose their "iman" often referring to the tree inside of the believer's faith that stops you from doing crime and doing suicide. One Western mystical interpretation of the muqattaʿat is given byRudolf von Sebottendorf in his workDie Praxis der alten türkischen Freimauerei; von Sebottendorf interprets them asmantra-like formulas (Formel) to be meditated upon (in association with certain gestures) during a set of elaborate meditation exercises. He claims that these exercises are the basis ofFreemasonry andalchemy, and that they are practiced by a secret society of Sufis; Muhammad is said to have learned these exercises from a hermit named "Ben Khasi", taught them to the innermost circle of his successors, and incorporated them into the text of the Qur'an in order to preserve them unchanged in perpetuity. Commentators, however, note that the practices recommended by von Sebottendorf "bear little resemblance to either Sufism or Masonry".^[30]

There are 14 distinct combinations; the most frequent areʾAlif Lām Mīm andḤāʾ Mīm, occurring six times each. Of the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet, exactly one half appear as muqatta'at, either singly or in combinations of two, three, four or five letters. The fourteen letters are:ʾalif أ,hā هـ,ḥā ح,ṭā ط,yā ي,kāf ك,lām ل,mīm م,nūn ن,sīn س,ʿain ع,ṣād ص,qāf ق,rā ر.The six final letters of theAbjadi order (thakhadh ḍaẓagh) are unused. The letters represented correspond to those letters written withoutArabic diacritics plusyāʿ ي.^[31]It is possible that the restricted set of letters was supposed to invoke an archaic variant of the Arabic alphabet modeled on theAramaic alphabet.^[32]

Certain co-occurrence restrictions are observable in these letters; for instance,ʾAlif is invariably followed by Lām. The substantial majority of the combinations begin eitherʾAlif Lām orḤāʾ Mīm.

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 suratal-ʻAnkabūt,ar-Rūm andal-Qalam); and some argue that even these three cases should be included, since mention of the revelation is made later on in the surah. 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 areMeccan surat (the exceptions are suratal-Baqarah,Āl ʾImrān andar-Raʻd.)

Lām andMīm are conjoined and both are written with prolongation mark.One letter is written in two styles.^[33][34] Letter 20:01 is used only in the beginning and middle of a word and that in 19:01 is not used as such. Alif Lām Mīm (الم) is also the first verse ofSurahAl-Baqara,^[35]SurahAl-Imran,^[36]SurahAl-Ankabut,^[37]SurahAr-Rum,^[38]SurahLuqman,^[39] andSurahAs-Sajda.^[40]

• Al-Fatiha (the first surah in the Quran)
• Al-Mu'awwidhatayn (the last two surahs in the Quran)
• Al-Musabbihat (surahs beginning with God's glorification)

• Dayeh, Islam (2009)."Al-Hawamim: Intertextuality and Coherence in Meccan Suras". In Neuwirth, Angelika; Sinai, Nicolai; Marx, Michael (eds.).The Qurʾān in Context. Brill. pp. 461–498.

• A comprehensive exposition of the theories surrounding the Muqatta'at
• The consonant şād in three Qur'anic chapters: Sād, Mary and al-A'rāf

• Quran
• Arabic words and phrases
• Bahá'í terminology
• Language and mysticism
• Quranic verses
• Muqattaʿat suras

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