Secrets of Muqatta’at in Ahadith of Prophet (s)

Unlock the Secrets of The     Muqatta’at(Disjoined)/Fawatih (Openers) Letters   

About one-quarter of the Quranic Surahs (29 Chapters) are preceded by
mysterious letter-symbols called Huroof Muqatta’at (disjoinedletters) or occasionally called Fawatih (openers) because they appear at the beginning of the relevant surahs (chapters of Quran). 

It is related that Abu Bakr as Siddiq said:

في كل كتاب سر، وسره في القرآن فواتح القرآن

For every book there is a secret and all of its secrets are in the Qur`an
in the opening letters of the chapters

Al Hasan said:
“The Quran has knowledge of everything and the knowledge of the Quran is in the Huroof, which are the letters in the beginning of the chapters.

And Ibn Abbas said:
“The beginning opening letters of the chapters are taken from the names of Allah.

Abu Aliyyah agreed and said:
“There is not a letter except it is a key for one of the names of Allah.”

And he quoted from Ibn Abbas:
“Without a doubt, the opening of the chapters using the huroof is Allah`s Greatest Name.”

• ا  Alif is the key for His name Allah,
  
• ل   Lam for Latif,
• م  Meem for Malik,
• ص  Sadh for Sadiq,
• ر  Ra for Rabb,
• ك  Kahf for Karim,
• ط  Ta for Tayyib,
• س  Seen for Sam’i,
• ح  Ha for Hamid,
• ق  Qaf for Qadir,
• ن  Noon for Noor,
• ه   Ha for Hadi,
• ع  ‘Ayn for ‘Alim and
• ي  Ya for Y’aqin.

As-Sadhy said:
“…When Allah wants to make someone a Wali (Saint), he teaches him from ‘ilm ladduni (heavenly Knowledge), then he becomes a knowledgeable Wali.

And he endows him from 99 names, with a name which opens it. This is not open for the scholar by investigation or research.

Then He elevates him to the knowledge of internal and external meanings of the names. The external is what is related to Allah.

And after that He teaches him the internal aspects which are the singular huroof (letters) which are 14 letters,
{14^th Letter is نNoon. Quran says in Surah alQalam chapter 68:1:
   ن ۚ وَالْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُ‌ونَ ﴿١﴾“Noon. wal qalam” Noon and by the Pen}
which occurs in the opening chapters and they are luminous letters. Thereafter he (wali) understands them, Allah teaches him اِسْمِ اَعْظَمْ the Greatest Name in which if he were to make supplication with he would be answered and if he ask by it, he will be given.”

Al Yafi said in ad-Durr anNadhin:

Dhun-Nun said, “اِسْمِ اَعْظَمْAllah’s Greatness Name is the speed in which when asked by it, he is answered and it is seven letters. And in the Umm al-Qur’an (Mother of Quran) Ch. 1 Surah al-Fatiha), there are seven verses that consist of all the letters of the `alphabets` except seven letters;

ز، خ، ظ، ث، ش، ج، ف
Fa, Jeem, Sheen, Tha, Za, Kha, Za

(al-Yafi continues): For each of these letters is a specific day from the days of the week, and a spiritual custodian and a special name for it.”

Arabic Letter	English	Day of the Week	Spiritual Custodian	Special Name	Name in Arabic
خ	Kha	Sunday	Angel Rawfa’il	Khabir	خبير
ش	Sheen	Monday	Angel Jibril (Gabriel)	Shakir	شاكر
ز	Za	Tuesday	Angel Samsama’il	Zaki	زكي
ظ	Zaa	Wednesday	Angel Mika’il	Zahir	ظاهر
ث	Tha	Thursday	Sirfaya’il	Thabit	ثابت
ج	Jeem	Friday	‘Anya’il	Jabbar	جبار
ف	Fa	Saturday	‘Azra’il	Fatir	فاطر

It is said that اِسْمِ اَعْظَمْ Allah’s Greatest Name is contained therein these letters. In the book

مَنْبَعْ اُسُولْ اَلْحِكْمَهْ Manbah Usul alHikmah, that Shaykh asSunusi used to make du’a by it by saying:

By the right “Bi Haqq”:
Za زKha, خ,   Zaظ,    ThaثSheen, ش,   Jeemج,   Faف

As far as the Huroof that occurs in the beginning of the chapters, there are 29 which are:

• الم  ALif Lam Meem,
• المر  ALif Lam Meem Ra,
• المص  Alif Lam Meem Sad,
• الر  Alif Lam Ra,
• حم  Ha Meem,
• حم  Ha Meem Ayn Sin Qaf,
• كهيعص  Kaf Haa Ya Ayn Sad,
• يس  Ya Seen
• طه  Ta Haa,
• طس  Ta Seen,
• طسم  Ta Seen Meem,
• ق  Qaf, and
• ن  Noon.

Its Singularities are the following:
ا  Alif, ل  Lam, م  Meem, ح  Ha,ر  Ra, ك  Kahf, ه  Ha,ي  Ya, ع  Ayn, س  Seen, ق  Qaf, ص  Sadh, ط  Ta, and ن  Noon.

14 MUQATA’AT (Abbreviated) Letters
Arabic letter	ل	ك	ي	ط	ح	ه	ا
Heavenly    Value	LAAM= 30	KAHF= 20	YAA=10	TA= 9	HA= 8	HAA= 5	ALIF= 1
Arabic letter	ر	ق	ص	ع	س	ن	م
Heavenly    Value	RA= 200	QAF= 100	SADHH= 90	AYN= 70	SEEN= 60	NOON= 50	MEEM=40

Opinions about Huroof Muqatta’at (Disjoined Letters)

It numbers 14 letters and they are what are called illumination. It is half of the arabic alphabet by count The scholars differ in its interpretation, it is reported that:

•     Ibn Abbas said, “The scholars are unable to grasp its meanings.”
•    Ash-Sh’abi said, “It is the secret of Allah, so don’t seek it.^[1]

Secret ofكهيعص  (Kahf Haa Ya ‘Ayn Sadh)
Abu Talib al-Maliki said in his Provisions of the Hearts, Imam Ali (ra) used to make this supplication:

Oh كهيعص ﴿١﴾  Kahf, Haa, Ya, ‘Ayn, Sadh, (Surah Mariam 19:1) I seek refuge in you from the sins that constitutes wrath, or reverses blessings or removes protection or withholds the rain from falling or increases enemies against me. O Allah, help us against ourselves.

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Iyyadh said:كهيعص  Kahf Haa Ya ‘Ayn Sadh means that:

• ك  Kahf is for كافي  Kafi (the Sufficient),
• ه  Ha is from هادي  Hadi (the Guide),
• ي  Ya is from يعقين  Yaqin (Certainty),
• ع  ‘Ayn is from عليم  ‘Aleem (Knower), and
• ص  Sadh is for صادق  Sadiq (Truthful).
• As-Sayyin al-Murtadha az-Zubaydi said:
  They are the names of Allah but some differ with others on which ones. It is also a   sign to the attributes.
• It is said in the commentary of al-Watajini that the Huroof are symbolic meanings of the chapters of the Qur’an and that none knows its meanings except the the Rabbaniyun.
•  At-Tirmidhi said: the opening of the chapters has signs that are condensed (within the letters), no one knows them except Hakims of the ummah.

•  Ibn al-‘Arabi said:               .
  You must know that all the letters (Huroof muqatta’at)in the beginnings of the    chapters are the names of Angels. I have related them in some occurrences. There are none among the Angels that appeared (to me) except that it informed me on knowledge I didn’t know about before. In general, they are my Shaykhs. If I uttered any of those letters, it is equivalent to calling out and the angel answers it because it’s directed to them.
• Ash-Shaykh Abu al-Hasansaid:    
  “ حمHa Meem are two secrets from yours and a light which issues from you.” And he also said, “By the sanctity of 70 {from reality of YaSeen; Ya (10) + Seen (60) = 70, Value of ‘Ayn is 70, ‘Ayn (Vision) and Allah’s name ‘Aleem is Knowledge: and 80 is Fa and Fa is for Fatiha}and it secrets are from you to the Muhammad (saw).”
• (The author said) The meaning of this is that these letters are symbols and signs between Allah and His Prophet (saw).
•  Al-Bakhi said in the commentary of the Hizb al-Bahr by ash-Shaykh Abu al-Hasan on the number 70 and 80 that’s mentioned before, “It is the number of the letters which are described in the opening (illuminating) chapters, the 29 letters.
•  One of the Grand Shaykhs of the Shaduli said, “I saw in a dream something in a way I differed from the scholars when Allah says, كهيعص  Kahf Ha Ya ‘Ayn Sadh, and Allah made me say, “It’s a secrets between Allah and the Messenger of Allah (saw).” It is as if Allah said about the Messenger of Allah (saw),
•     “You are the cave (fromك    Kahf) of existence^[2], which all existence seeks refuge to,

•     (for theه  Ha), the Mulk and the Malakut are for your pleasure. {Hay=Hayat is Life}
•     (fromي  Ya) source {beseech}
•     (from ع  ‘Ayn) for all, you are my attributes { ‘Aleem is by word, word is the Proof}
•     (from ص  Sadh, attributes) who obeys you, obeys Allah. You are our lives, our king, our trust and our imminence”

Ibn Sultan said of this, “The scholars didn’t agree on the meaning of this. So I said, “Let us go to the Messenger of Allah (swt) and he said, “What ibn Sultan said is the truth. In general, everything that is said regarding the illuminating letters, are based on the degree of his unveiling and what level he is in.”

Prophet (saw)’s Teaching of the Abjad Table

Jabir bin ‘abd-Allah bin Rabbah said:
Abu Yasir bin Akhtab was among a group of Jews and passed by the Messenger of Allāh and he (saw) was reciting Surah Al Fatiha {Ch. 1},
ذَالِكَ الْكِتَابُ  .الم  Alif Lam Meem, This is the Book… {Surah AlBaqara Ch.2:1-2}

Then his brother Hayy bin Akhtab went to the Jews and said, “By Allah, I heard Muhammad recite what was revealed to him. They said, “You heard this? He said, “Yes.” So he walked with this group to the Messenger of Allah and they said, “Did Jibril bring you this from Allah?                                     .
He (saw) said, “Yes.

They said, “Allah has brought before you Prophets. We only know a prophet by the extent of his reign. And what was the extent of his nation. One of them brought what was with him and said:

 Alif is one 1,
         Lam is thirty 30 and
         Meem is forty 40 and

         This is 71 years.

Do you wish to enter the religion of a Prophet when only the extent of his reign and the age of his nation are only 71 years?

Then he came to the Messenger of Allah (saw) and said, “O Muhammad, is there anything else besides this? 
He (saw) said, Yes!
He said, “What is it?

He (saw) recited: المص Alif Lam Meem Sadh.
He said, “This is more!

        Alif is one 1,
        Lam is thirty 30 and
       Meem is forty 40 and
       Sadh is Ninety 90, and

       This is 161 years.

He said, “O Muhammad is there more?
He (saw) said: “Yes!
He said: “What is it?

He (saw) said: الرAlif Lam Ra.
He said, “This is more!

          Alif is one 1,
Lam is thirty 30 and         
Ra is two hundred 200,

        Which is 231 years.

He said, “O Muhammad (saw) is there more?”
He (saw) said, “Yes!
He said, “What is it?   

    He (saw) said: المر Alif Lam Meem Ra.

        Alif is one 1,
        Lam is thirty 30 and
       Meem is forty 40 and
Ra is two hundred 200,

             And this is 271 years.”

They said, “We are confused about your matter, O Muhammad, we have absolutely no idea what you’ve been given.” Then they stood to leave and Abu Yasir said to his brother and the rabbis with him,

“Perhaps it is not known to you because it is all for Muhammad, 71, 61, 100, 231, 271 is 734 and more that was not calculated” They said, “This is confusing to us.”

Secret of Huroof Muqatta’at in Surahs (Chapters) of Quran

a. Three surahs (Chapters) are pre-fixed with only one letter:

1. Surah ص  Sadh (The Letter ص  “Sadh”) chapter 38 withص  Sadh
2.Surah ق  Qaf (The Letter ق  “Qaf”) chapter 50 with ق  Qaf
3. Surah Al Qalam (The Pen) chapter 68 with نNoon

b. The combination of two letters occurs in 10 surahs:

Three of them occur only once each:

1. طه  Ta Haa, Ch. 20 – Surah Taha (Ta Ha) (Prophet Muhammad’s (s) Name)
2. طس  Ta Seen, Ch. 27 – Surah An Naml (The Ant)
3. يس  Ya Seen, Ch. 36–Surah YaSeen (YaSeen) (Prophet Muhammad’s (s) Name)

حم   Ha Meem, occurs in seven consecutive Surahs 40-46:
1. Ch. 40 – Surah Ghafir (The Forgiver)
2. Ch. 41 – Surah Fassilat (Explained in Detail)
3. Ch. 42 – Surah Ash Shura (The Consultation)
4. Ch. 43 – Surah Az Zukhruf (The Ornaments of Gold)
5. Ch. 44 – Surah Ad Dukhan (The Smoke)
6. Ch. 45 – Surah Al Jathiya (The Crouching)
7. Ch. 46 – Surah Al Ahqaf (The Wind-Curved Sandhills)

c. Thereare three combinations of three letters, each occurring in 13 surahs.

الم  Alif Lam Meem, occurs in six surahs
1. Ch. 2 – Surah Al Baqara (The Cow)
2. Ch. 3 – Surah ‘Ali ‘Imran (Family of ‘Imran)
3. Ch. 29 – Surah al ‘Ankabut (The Spider)
4. Ch. 30 – Surah Ar Rum (The Romans),
5. Ch. 31 – Surah Luqman (Luqman)
6. Ch. 32 – Surah As Sajda (The Prostration)

الر  Alif Laam Ra, occurs in Five consecutive Surahs 10 – 15:
1. Ch. 10 – Surah Yunus (Jonah),
2. Ch. 11 – Surah Hud (Hud)
3. Ch. 12 – Surah Yusuf (Joseph)
4. Ch. 14 – Surah Ibrahim (Abraham)
5. Ch. 15 – Surah Al Hijr (The Rocky Tract)

طسم  Ta Seen Meem,  occurs in twoSurahs:
Ch. 26 – Surah Ash Shu’ara (The Poets)Ch. 28 – Surah Al Qasas (The Stories)

d. Combination of four letters occurs twice:
المص  Alif Lam Meem Sadh, Ch. 7 – Surah al A’raf (The Heights)
المر  Alif Lam Meem Ra, Ch. 13 – Surah Ar Ra’d(The Thunder)

e. Combination of five letters occurs twice:

كهيعص  Kahf Haa Ya Ayn Sadh, Ch. 19 – Surah Maryam (Mary)
حمعسق  Ha Meem Ayn Seen Qaf, Ch. 42 – Surah Ash Shura (the Consultation)

SurahAl-Shura chapter 42 has a double combination of abbreviated letters oneset of two letters followed by one set of three letters.
حم  Ha Meem – Ch. 42:1 – Surah Ash Shura (The Consultation)
عسق  ‘Ayn Seen Qaf, Ch. 42:2 – Surah Ash Shura (The Consultation)

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