Some Surahs of the Qur’an start with words composed of single letters. Could you please explain the meaning of these words? Such as Aleph, Lam, Meem.
Commentators on the Qur’an express several views about these single letters with which a number of Surahs open. Early commentators preferred not to make any judgements or confined themselves to saying that God knows best why He has included these letters in this particular fashion in the Qur’an. Other commentators suggest different view. However, the view which seems to be much more acceptable and pays due attention to what comes after these single letters is the one that suggests that the Qur’an has thrown a challenge to the Arabs who lived at the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him. They valued very highly beautiful style and literary achievement. Poets enjoyed great distinction in that society. Anyone who could make a literary use of the Arabic language was considered an asset to his tribe. The Qur’an is a book of surpassing excellence in many aspects, not least its literary style. The Qur'an challenges repeatedly the Arabs to produce anything like its style using any talent among them. That challenge was offered repeatedly and was never taken up by the Arabs at that time, which used their language most beautifully or by subsequent Arab generations. That at the same time the polytheists, who opposed the call of Islam, acknowledged readily the excellence of the Qur’an.
Those scholars say that part of the challenge thrown by the Qur’an is the fact that it is composed of the letters, which make up the Arabic language. Hence, God reminds the Arabs that His book is put in words using the letters of their language.
In support of this view, we find that the Surahs, which begin with such single letters always follow them with the mention of the Qur’an and the phenomenon of revelation and mention the sending of a message from God to mankind. This is a fact common to all these Surahs, (added: with the exception of Surahs Marium (19), Al-Ankbut (29), Ar-Rum (30) and Qalam (68) where single letters are not followed by the mention of Qur’an.] Hence, these letters may be linked to what comes immediately after them in any discussion of the Qur'an, and its revelation. What we have in these Surahs is a sort of implicit challenger to the Arabs who were first addressed by the Qur’an, and to all subsequent generations of unbelievers, who deny the fact that God sends messengers to convey to mankind messages outlining the way God wants them to conduct their lives. He is saying to them: This Qur’an is composed of words using the same letters, which you use in your daily speech. The words they make are the same words in your language. Nevertheless, you cannot make out of these words a single Surah in a fashion similar to that of the Qur’an.
It should be stressed here that the challenge was not merely concerned with the beauty of style which is characteristic of the Qur’an, but also with the subject matter. The Arabs and indeed all mankind could not have produced a system of legislation, which is prefect; complete and well balanced to establish a happy human life. It should be stressed that the challenge was never taken up and can never be taken up. God’s work is perfect and His book is a symbol of absolute perfection. How can man who is definitely imperfect, challenge the perfection of the Qur’an? This seems to be the view, which accounts logically the beginning a number of Surahs in the Qur’an with single letters.
I should perhaps add here that it is not correct to say that any combinations of these letters form any particular word or a name. It is for this reason that they are pronounced separately, not as a word. It is an error to suggest that the two letters Ta Ha or Ya Seen, which cover the beginning of two different Surahs combine to make up two names of the Prophet. The Prophet, peace be upon him, has several names but neither Taha nor the Ya Si'n is among them. ~
In the Qur’an, God attaches much importance to the heart, often referring to it as the place of faith and good action. Medical science considers a person’s heart as no more than a muscle that carries out a mechanical function. It has nothing to do with people’s idea, beliefs or sensations. These are related to the brain. Please comment.
It is true that the heart, as a body organ, is no more than a muscle, which is central to the blood circulation system within the human body. Its function is similar to a pump, and it receives blood and pumps it to either the lungs or the body. As such, the heart has nothing to do with beliefs, ideas or sensations. However, human languages have always spoken about the heart as the center of feelings, passion and thought. When people express their deep love, they say that it is “love from the bottom of their hearts”. People also express their conviction by saying that it goes deep into their heart. This does not apply to Arabic only, but to human languages generally.
The Qur'an is God’s book, which addresses human beings in one of their languages, Arabic. It does not merely use the vocabulary of that language, but also its grammar, style and modes of expression. Hence, when God describes hypocrites as having “sickness in their hearts” every Arabic speaking person understands it fully, without ever thinking that hypocrisy is a physical sickness that affects the heart, or influences its function of pumping blood into the circulation system.
[Added: There is a very well-known report that at the age of five, the Prophet, peace be upon him, was met by two men in white robes who placed him on the ground and caused an incision in his chest. They removed his heart and washed it in iced water, which they had in a gold pot. They removed a small black piece and said that it was Satan's element. There is another report, which suggests that the same thing was done to the Prophet, peace be upon him, when he was 50. However, this latter report is much less known than the earlier one. I have not heard that there were any more occasions in the life of the Prophet, peace be upon him, when he was operated on. We cannot say for certain that this report is absolutely authentic although it is invariably reported in the books, which relate the events of the Prophet's life. What we do know, however, is that evil is not concentrated in any particular spot within the human body so that the removal of that spot would mean that the person concerned would not entertain any evil. The thoughts of evil are initiated in man's minds just like good thoughts. To make a man pure of evil requires a total change of his character, so that he becomes one of the angels. This is not possible since Allah has not willed it to happen. [Also read, if you will, the article “Prophet’s Incision by Angels’” in Our Dialogue.] ~
I have two lists of verses, which require a reciter to perform a prostration when reading them. One of the lists was given to me by a scholar who is well versed in the Qur’an, and the other I downloaded from the Internet. The discrepancy between the two lists left me confused. Please clarify.
There is not much discrepancy between the two lists. Let me say first of all that prostration when reading these verses is recommended, not obligatory. When the second list specifies four of them as obligatory, this is not a very reliable view. Otherwise, there are 13 verses where prostration is agreed to be recommended by most scholars. More are added by one school of Fiqh or another, to make the number 14. The verses are as follows, with the first number indicating the Surah and the second indicating the verse:
7: 206; 13: 15; 16: 49; 17: 107; 19: 58; 22: 18; 25: 60; 25: 60; 27: 25; 32: 15; 41: 37; 53: 62; 84: 21; 96: 19.
Yet others add two more, which are 22: 77; and 38: 24.
On your lists the number of verses vary in certain Surahs. This is because the first list gives the verse where the mention of prostration occurs, while the second gives the number of the verse at the end of which the prostration takes place. Thus, the first list gives verse 49 in Surah 16, 107 in 17 and 25 in 27, while the second list gives the numbers as 50, 109 and 26 in these respective Surahs. These are the same positions, but you prostrate at the end of the verses mentioned in the second list