And some of them said: They are disjointed letters taken from names and verbs, each letter of them having a meaning different from the meaning of the other letter.
238- Abū Kurayb narrated to us, he said: Wakīʿ narrated to us — and Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ narrated to us, he said: My father narrated to us — from Sharīk, from ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, from Abū al-Ḍuḥā, from Ibn ʿAbbās: “Alif Lām Mīm”, he said: I am God, I know best (1).
239- It was narrated to me on the authority of Abū ʿUbayd, he said: Abū al-Yaqẓān narrated to us, from ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, regarding His statement: “Alif Lām Mīm”, he said: I am God, I know best.
240- Mūsā ibn Hārūn al-Hamdānī narrated to me, he said: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād al-Qannād narrated to us, he said: Asbāṭ ibn Naṣr narrated to us, from Ismāʿīl al-Suddī, in a report he mentioned, from Abū Mālik, and from Abū Ṣāliḥ, from Ibn ʿAbbās — and from Murra al-Hamdānī, from Ibn Masʿūd — and from people among the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him): “Alif Lām Mīm”, he said: As for “Alif Lām Mīm”, it is a letter derived from the letters of the alphabet of the names of God, majestic be His praise.
241- Muḥammad ibn Maʿmar narrated to us, he said: ʿAbbās ibn Ziyād al-Bāhilī narrated to us, he said: Shuʿba narrated to us, from Abū Bishr, from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbās regarding His statement: “Alif Lām Mīm”, “Ḥā Mīm”, and “Nūn”, he said: A disjointed name (2).
Some of them said: They are letters of an established alphabet.
242- It was narrated to me on the authority of Manṣūr ibn Abī Nuwayra, he said: Abū Saʿīd al-Muʾaddib narrated to us, from Khuṣayf, from Mujāhid, he said: The openings of the surahs, all of them — “Qāf”, “Ṣād”, “Ḥā Mīm”, “Ṭā Sīn Mīm”, “Alif Lām Rā”, and others — are an established alphabet.
Some of them said: They are letters, each letter of which comprises various different meanings.
243- Al-Muthannā ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ṭabarī narrated to me, he said: Isḥāq ibn al-Ḥajjāj narrated to us, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Jaʿfar al-Rāzī, he said: My father narrated to me, from al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, regarding the statement of God, exalted be His mention: “Alif Lām Mīm”, he said: These letters, out of the twenty-nine letters, are those around which all tongues revolve. There is not a single letter among them except that it is the key to one of His names, and there is not a single letter among them except that it is in His blessings and trials, and there is not a single letter among them except that it is in the duration of a people and their appointed times. And Jesus, son of Mary, said: “How wondrous! They speak using His names and live on His provision, so how can they disbelieve?” He said: The Alif is the key to His name: “Allāh”, the Lām is the key to His name: “Laṭīf”, and the Mīm is the key to His name: “Majīd”. The Alif is the blessings of God, the Lām is His subtlety, and the Mīm is His glory. The Alif is one year, the Lām is thirty years, and the Mīm is forty years.
This translation was produced with AI assistance and is part of an ongoing human-review process. Found a mistake? Use the feedback option in the reader menu.
244- Ibn Ḥumayd narrated to us, he said: Ḥakkām narrated to us, from Abū Jaʿfar, from al-Rabīʿ, something similar (3).
Some of them said: They are letters from Abjad numerals — we disliked mentioning the one from whom that was reported, since the one who narrated it is among those whose narration and transmission are not relied upon. And the narration containing a statement similar to that has already passed on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas (4).
