Volume Seven
Surah Yusuf
His saying, the Almighty and Majestic: "Alif-Lam-Ra."
[The First Aspect]
11312 - My father narrated to us, [saying] Abu Ghassan narrated to us, [saying] Sharik narrated to us, [saying] ‘Ata’ ibn al-Sa’ib narrated to us, Sharik said: I do not consider it to be from anyone other than Abu al-Duha—meaning Muslim ibn Subayh—from Ibn ‘Abbas, [regarding] "Alif-Lam-Ra," he said: I am Allah, I see. It was also narrated from al-Dahhak something similar.
The Second Aspect:
11313 - ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn narrated to us, [saying] Hudbah ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab narrated to us, [saying] ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Waqid narrated to us, from his father, from Yazid al-Nahwi, from ‘Ikrimah, from Ibn ‘Abbas, [regarding] "Alif-Lam-Ra," [he said]: The letters of the Most Merciful (al-Rahman) are separated. I narrated this to al-A’mash, and he said: You possess something like this and did not tell us?
11314 - al-Hajjaj ibn Hamzah narrated to us, [saying] Yahya ibn Adam narrated to us, [saying] Mindal al-‘Anazi narrated to us, from ‘Ata’ ibn al-Sa’ib, from Sa’id ibn Jubayr, that he said: "Alif-Lam-Ra" and "Ha-Mim-Nun" is [an abbreviation for] al-Rahman, separated. It was also narrated from Salim ibn ‘Abd Allah something similar.
The Third Aspect:
11315 - My father narrated to us, [saying] Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-A’la narrated to us, [saying] Muhammad ibn Thawr narrated to us, from Ma’mar, from Qatadah, [who] said: "Alif-Lam-Ra" is one of the names of the Qur’an.
The Fourth Aspect:
11316 - My father narrated to us, [saying] ‘Uthman narrated to us, [saying] Yahya ibn Abi Za’idah narrated to us, [saying] Ibn Jurayj said: Mujahid said: [regarding] "Alif-Lam-Ra," he said: These are the opening letters with which Allah opens the Qur’an. He [Ibn Jurayj] said: I asked, "Did you not used to say they are names?" He replied, "No."
His saying, the Almighty: "These are the verses..."
11317 - Abu Bakr ibn Abi Musa narrated to us, [saying] Harun ibn Hatim narrated to us, [saying] ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Hammad narrated to us, [saying] Asbat narrated to us, from al-Suddi, from Abu Malik, [regarding] his saying: "These" [tilka], meaning: these.
