Alif . Lam . Mim are the names of the letters of the Arabic alphabet.
Here it is necessary to speak in general about such a topic as letters at the beginning of the suras of the Quran. 29 suras open with letters of the Arabic alphabet. They are called in Arabic al- hurūfū l- muqatta’a – “scattered letters”. For example, ” Alif . Lam . Mim”, as here. Or “Kaf. Ha. Ya . Ayn. Sad”, “Ha. Mim”. Three suras of the Quran open with only one letter – these are “Sad”, “Kaf” and ” Nun “.
There are many opinions about what these letters mean and why they are included. These opinions or understandings do not contradict each other, they can all work (and do work) simultaneously.
According to one of them, confirmed by some hadiths, these letters indicate the names of Allah. For example, regarding these letters with which the surah “Cow” opens, Sheikh Saduk brought from Sufyan ibn Saida:
I asked Imam Baqir (A) about the meaning of the verse “ Alif . Lam . Mim .” He said: “I – Allah, the King” ( ana llahu Malik ).
(“ Maani l- akhbar ”, S. 22).
Another understanding of this issue comes from the fact that the Quran is composed of letters, and the letters are, so to speak, the primary elements of the Quran. The entire Quran comes down to 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet, which form words, words form sentences, sentences form the verses of the Quran, and the verses form suras. And since, as we have already said more than once, the Quran corresponds to the entire universe, the written Book corresponds to the Book of Genesis, then the Quran through these letters encompasses everything that encompasses the action of the Creator. And the beginning of the suras of the Quran from letters hints at this: that the entire Quran is letters, and if you separate it into letters, you will find all the secrets, as well as the comprehension of the primary letters of the universe, that is, Ahl ul -Bayt and Imams is the comprehension of all secrets. And therefore Imam Reza says: ” He made them (letters) an action from Himself ” – that is, His action is performed through letters.
The third understanding (not contradicting the two previous ones, but complementing them) is that these letters at the beginning of the suras of the Koran indicate or hint at very specific realities, events and periods. For example, according to the hadith, the letter “Sad” at the beginning of the surah, which is called “Sad” – is the name of the “river under the Throne” from which the Prophet (S) washed himself during the miraj . That is, this is the first water or the first light, the matter of the worlds.
About the letters “Kaf. Ha. Ya . Ain. Sad” at the beginning of Surah “Maryam” Imam Mahdi (A) says:
“These letters are from the knowledge of the unseen that Allah revealed to His slave Zakariya . When Zakariya (A) asked Allah to teach him the five names ( ashabil qisa ), Jibra’il came down and told him about them. And when Zakariya (A) remembered Muhammad, Ali, Fatima and Hasan (peace be upon them), his sorrows and griefs went away. And when he remembered the name of Husayn (A), tears flowed from his eyes and his breathing quickened.
One day he turned to Allah: “O my Lord! What is wrong with me that when I remember four names, my sorrows are dispelled, but when I mention Husayn (A), tears flow from my eyes and my groans are heard?”
And Allah, great and holy is He, told him about the secret of this: “ Kaf. Ha. Ya . Ain. Sad .” And “kaf” is the name of “Karbala”, and “ha” is the destruction ( halaq ) of the prophetic family, and “ ya ” is Yazid , and he is the oppressor of Hussein (A), and “Ain” is thirst ( atash ), and “sad” is his patience ( sabr ).
And when Zakaria heard this, he did not leave the mosque for three days, and forbade people from entering to him, and he cried and grieved… And then he said: “O Allah, grant me a son with whom my eyes will delight in my old age, and then increase my love for him, and then cause me the same suffering for his loss that Your beloved Muhammad (S) will experience for the loss of Hussein (A)!”
And Allah gave him Yahya (A) and made him suffer by losing him, and the period of his wife’s pregnancy with Yahya (A) was six months, and with Husayn (A) the same amount .”
(“Kamalu din” Saduq , p. 345).
Here we see a reference to the events of Karbala and Ashura as the greatest tragedy in the history of the universe.
” Nun ” at the beginning of the surah “Writing pen”, as Imam Kazim (A) says, is the name of Muhammad (S), as well as the letters ” Ya.Sin ” at the beginning of the surah of the same name. And it also came in the hadith that “Ha.Mim” is the name of Muhammad (S) in the book of the prophet Hud (A).
The letters ” ha ” and ” mim ” are the two middle letters in the name “Muhammad”, and the middle letters constitute the essence of the name in Arabic. And it is significant that with these letters (Ha. Mim) seven surahs of the Quran begin – from the surah “The Believer” to the surah “The Sands” . Seven surahs in a row begin with “Ha. Mim”. This also points to the reality of Ahl ul -Bayt, because they are fourteen, two times seven, and seven is the basis of their reality, hence the “ seven repeated ” (which we have already discussed), and hence the seven days of the week, each of which is related to them. The first five in this number seven are the five ashabi al-kisa , the sixth is Imam Mahdi (A), and the seven are the remaining Imams between Hussein and Mahdi (A), who are in the same position. And in the hadith it is stated: when they asked who from Ahl ul -Bayt (A) above, they replied: The Messenger of Allah (S) is above all, then Ali (A), then Fatima (A), then Hasan (A), then Hussein (A). After Hussein (A) comes Mahdi (A), and after him are the rest of the Imams (that is, the Imams between Hussein and Mahdi), who are on an equal position. And these are the seven positions, the “ seven repeated ,” corresponding to the seven verses of Surah Fatiha and the seven days of the week.
And the fact that the same name – “Ha. Mim” – was repeated seven times in seven suras indicates that they are all one and the same reality, and they are all one and the same name, as Imam Ali (A) says: ” The first of us is Muhammad, the last of us is Muhammad, the middle of us is Muhammad, and all of us are Muhammad .”
Also, the letters “Ta. Ha”, which stand at the beginning of the sura of the same name, indicate Ahl ul -Bayt: “The family of Ta.Ha and Ya.Sin “. And ” Ta” here is an indication of Fatima Zahra (A), because the letter ” Ta ” is the middle letter in her name. And ” Ha ” is the letter of Ali (A) and at the same time the last letter in the name Allah and the first letter in the name of Allah huwa (He).
And many things are connected with the letter ” ha “. Ha is the letter of Ali (A), because its numerical value is 5, and if you pronounce or write this letter in full, that is, exactly as ” ha “, with alif , you get 6, and the letter that corresponds to the number 6 is wav . Thus, the letter ha flows into wav and together with it makes up the name of Allah ” Khuwa ” (He), the numerical value of which is 11. This same numerical value, taken in tens, is 110, and this is the numerical value of the name Ali (A).
So, all these realities, with which the letters at the beginning of the suras are connected, are related to each other and to these letters themselves, so that a huge number of meanings and secrets are hidden here, which we will talk about further as these lessons progress.
Now we will point out one important thing.
If you collect all the letters at the beginning of the suras ( al- khurufu l- muqattaa ) and remove the repeating ones from them, you will get fourteen letters, corresponding to the number of fourteen Immaculate. Here they are: ص ر ا ط ع ل ي ح ق ن م س ك ه
(Remove duplicates from them) — that is, for example, if the letter “ mim ” occurs several times at the beginning of different suras, then we leave it only once – And so with all the rest letters).
And also the number of these letters corresponds to the number of the word ” yad ” – hand, which is 14. And therefore the meaning of “hand of Allah” in all the verses of the Quran is the Fourteen Immaculate. ” The hand of Allah is upon their hands ” (48: 10). And, by the way, the fact that the total number of suras that begin with separate letters is 29, may be an indication of the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet, that is, two times 14, plus a dot, which is the basis of all letters.
These fourteen letters can only be put together into one phrase, and no other : علي حق نمسكه — that is: “The Way of Ali – the truth is, we hold on to him . “
And this points to that the reality and the interior of the Quran – this is not what else but the fourteen lights of Ahl ul -Bayt, of which it (the Quran) is the external expression, and these fourteen lights – these are the primary letters from which the essence is composed Koran.
As it is said in the first verses of the Surah “Azhar”: ” Ha mim. I swear by the clear scripture! ” – and the writing is clear here — Imam Ali (A), as he said: “ This is — The Koran is silent, and I – the speaking Quran .” — ” We made it the Arabic Quran – maybe you will understand! “ – that is, they made a talking Quran – A this is Imam — the written Quran in Arabic. In other words, Allah made the written Quran in Arabic the external manifestation of this internal reality of Ahl ul -Bayt. — “ And he, verily, is in the Mother of the Book with Us – Ali is wise » — that is, the reality of Ali (A) is the Mother of the Book. This is also stated in The 12th verse of Surah “ Ya.Sin ”: ” And We have counted all things in the manifest Imam .” – that is, from the light of the Imamate comes everything in the universe.
And also in the next verse of the Surah “The Cow” we read:
” Alif . Lam . Mime. That scripture – no in he has doubts — a guide for God-fearing .”
This verse is always mistranslated. The original says: zalika l- kitab – “THAT “scripture”, and not “THIS scripture” ( haza l- kitab ). Allah says: ” That is the scripture ,” and not “this “scripture” because here we mean the “speaking Quran”, that is, the Imam (A), and not “this scripture”, that is, the silent Quran that people hold in their hands. Ali ibn Ibrahim Qummi reported that Imam Sadiq (A) said: ” The scripture that is mentioned here, – this is Ali, and no in he has doubts — ” guide for the god-fearing ” – an explanation for our Shiites » (” Tafsir ” Kummi , volume 1, pp. 43).
So, the letters at the beginning of the surahs of the Quran point to the Fourteen Immaculate Ones (A), and they are ciphers or symbols in which the deeds and events related to them are hidden – their virtues, the times of their emergence, their concealment, their emergence from concealment, the states of their enemies, and so on. All this is hidden in these letters, and some of it the Imams have revealed to us, and the rest will be revealed only after the emergence of their Qaim (A).
Let us cite some hadiths on this matter.
Sheikh Saduq reported that Imam Baqir (A) said:
Hoi and Abu Yasir, the children of Akhtab , and some of the Jews of Najran came to the Messenger of Allah (S) and said to him: “Is it among what you proclaim, is not ” Alif . Lam . Mimˮ found ?” He said: “Yes.” They asked: “Has Gabriel come to you with this from Allah?” He said: “Yes.” They said: “Prophets were also sent before you, and we haven’t seen that someone from they reported on the duration of their kingdom and the lifespan of their ummah .” And Khoi ibn Akhtab said: ” Alif means one, lam – thirty, and a mime — forty (this is what we said about abjad . This was with the Arabs before Islam, this is the tradition of the prophets, which was known to them from Isamail and the previous prophets and successors). In total, it comes to seventy-one years. I am surprised at someone who accepts a religion whose term – seventy one year!”
Then he approached the Prophet (S) and asked: “O Muhammad! Is there “Are there any other letters besides these?” He said, “Yes. Alif . Lam . Mim. Sad.” He said, “This is more complicated. Alif means one, lam – thirty, mime – forty, and a garden – ninety. Total one hundred sixty. one”.
Then he asked, “Is there more letters? The Messenger of Allah (S) said: “Yes. Alif . Lam . Ra.” He said: “This is more difficult. Alif – one, million – thirty, ra – two hundred.” And then he asked: “Is there more letters? The Messenger of Allah (S) said: “Yes. Alif . Lam . Mim. Ra.” He said: “This is more complicated. Alif means one, Lam – thirty, mime – forty, ra — two hundred”.
Then those who came with him said: “You have confused us, and we don’t understand that What do you mean?’ They stood up and left him. And Yasir, Khoi’s brother , said to him: ‘How do you know that Muhammad has been given all this and more than This?”
And Imam Baqir (A) said: “This verse was revealed about them: “ He – He Who sent down to you the Book; It contains verses arranged in order that – mother of the book; and others – allegorical. Those those in whose hearts there is deviation, – they follow what is in him figuratively, seeking confusion and seeking an interpretation of this ˮ (3: 7). And in fact these verses (those that they interpreted) have other meanings, and Not the one they “We came up with it.”
He also narrated that Imam Askari (A) said (reported in Maani l- akhbar ):
The Quraysh and the Jews accused lies of the Koran and said: “This is – It is obvious sorcery. He invented it.” And Allah said: ” Alif . Lam . Mim. That is the scripture .” — that is: O Muhammad, this book which We have sent down to you consists of various letters, among which are – alif , lam and mim, and this book is written in your language and from the letters of your alphabet . (This is what we were talking about: the scattered letters indicate that the Quran is composed of letters.) Bring something like it, if you are truthful, and call upon all your companions to help you in this! And then He explained that they are not capable of this, saying: “ Say: “If If people and jinn had gathered to create something similar to this Koran, they would would not have created something like this, although would be one of they were helpers to othersˮ (17: 88).
He said: ” Alif . Lam . Mim. ” – this is the Quran, which is revealed through alif , lam , mim. This is — the book which I informed Musa and the other prophets after him, and They informed the people of Israel that I would reveal it to you, O Muhammad, — the great book in Arabic: “ It does not come to there is no lie in front of her, nor behind her — the revelation of the Wise, the Praiseworthy ” (41: 42)…
Imam Sadiq (A) said: “ Alif — a letter of letters indicating the word “ Allahˮ . Lam indicates the word “ Kingˮ ( malik ), Great, Destroying. And through mime He pointed at what He is – Glorious ( majid ), Praised ( mahmud ) in all His “in affairs.”
And He made this an argument against the Jews, for Musa ibn Imran (A) and all other prophets of the people of Israel took from they have a covenant and agreement that they will believe in Muhammad the Arab, an ummi (not taught by anyone), sent with prophethood in Mecca, and then making hijra to Medina, and What he will come with a book, some of whose suras will open with separate letters, and which his ummah will learn and will recite it standing, sitting, walking and in any position, and Allah will make it easy for them to remember it. (That is, a covenant was taken from the Jews that they would believe in this Book, the suras of which will begin with letters. And the letters here are an indication of the Ahl ul -Bayt, because the Jews were the first to be given the covenant to follow the Ahl ul -Bayt, as we will further examine in detail).
And they mentioned it together with him his brother and successor Ali ibn Abi Talib (A), who will take his knowledge from him and will become Imam after him and will destroy anyone who will oppose Muhammad (S), with his sharpened sword, and will defeat anyone who will argue with him, with insurmountable arguments. And that he will fight with the slaves of Allah for tanzil (acceptance of the Revelation) until he forces them to accept it, whether they wish it or not. or not, and that after the death of Muhammad (S) many of those who outwardly accepted religion will depart from it it and distort its interpretation and pervert it, and he will fight with him for tawil (the correct interpretation of Revelation), and Iblis, who seduced them, will be humiliated, expelled and defeated.
Allah granted Prophethood to Muhammad (S) in Mecca, and then he migrated and manifested it in Medina. And He sent down the Quran to him and made the beginning of its greatest surah, “ Alif . Lam . Mim .” “ That scripture .” – that is, the book about which I informed the previous prophets and told them that I would send it down upon you, O Muhammad, — « no in he has doubts » – that, about what the prophets informed their umms , it happened, and A blessed book was sent down upon Muhammad (S), which no lie will ever destroy: he and his ummah in all states.
However, the Jews will try to distort it and give it a false interpretation, and they will try to find out the life span of this ummah and her kingdom, but Allah hid it from them. And one day a group of Jews came to him, and the Messenger of Allah (S) ordered Ali to talk to them. They said: “We know the life span of the Ummah of Muhammad (S). It is seventy-one years, for alif means one, lam – thirty, and a mime – forty.” Ali (A) asked: “And what What will you do with “ Alif . Lam . Mim. Sadˮ ?” They said, “That’s – one hundred and sixty-one years old.” He asked: “And what What will you do with “ Alif . Lam . Raˮ ?” They said, “That’s – two hundred and thirty-one years.” Ali (A) asked: “And what What will you do with “ Alif . Lam . Mim. Raˮ ?” They said, “That’s – two hundred and seventy-one years.” Ali (A) asked: “So all this belongs to him or something one of these? ” Then their opinions were divided, and one of They began to say: “He belongs to something one of these.” And others said: “All this belongs to him, and then it will be seven hundred and thirty-four years, and after that the power will return to us again, “to the Jews.”
Ali (A) said: “Any from the books of Allah I told you about this, Or do you rely on your own opinion?” And here they also dispersed. Some said: “The Book of Allah says so,” and others said: “No, this is our opinion.” Ali (A) said: “Show the same book of Allah which said would be that you claim! ” But they couldn’t do it. And some of They asked others: “What are our arguments if we rely on our own opinion?” Others said: “Our arguments are that such is the calculation of these words.”
Ali (A) said: “How can this be an argument if these letters do not indicate anything about what did you make it up? If someone will tell you that they do not indicate for the duration of the reign of Muhammad (S), and per number of dinars or dirhams in our homes, or the amount of your debts, or on that each of you are cursed by the number of these letters – then what are you “will you say?”
They said: “O Abu Hasan! There is no indication in these letters of that which you said. But if our opinion is wrong, then with such your opinion can’t be right on the same basis. Don’t rejoice. the same as that which showed the impossibility for us to give arguments in favor of our opinion! If you we have no argument in favor of that we say, and so do you have no argument in favor of what you “Speak.”
Ali (A) said: “Our words and your words are not equal, and our argument — the miracle of this book.” And then he called to the camels that were with the Jews: “O camels! Bear witness about Muhammad and his successor!” The camels said: “You have spoken the truth, O successor of Muhammad, and these Jews have lied!” Ali said: “O garment of the Jews! Bring testimony about Muhammad and his successor!” Then their own clothes spoke and said: “You have spoken the truth, O Ali! We bear witness that Muhammad – the Messenger of Allah, and you – his successor. There is no blessed place where there was Muhammad’s foot, so that you do not put your foot there. You – two brothers who were one light of Allah, and your virtues are the same – except that after him there will be no “prophet.”
And the Jews were amazed, and some of them believed, and others were overcome by their misfortune. And this – as Allah said: ” There is no he has doubts » – And this is as Muhammad (S) and the successor of Muhammad (S) said his words from the words of the Lord of the worlds. ” Guide for the God-fearing ” – explanation and healing for the God-fearing Shiites of Muhammad (S) and Ali (A), so that they fear any kind of disbelief (kufr) and leave sins and fear the disclosure of the secrets of Allah and the secrets of His righteous slaves – successors after Muhammad (S). And they were afraid of this and revealed knowledge only for worthy.
( Maani Akhbar “, S. 24).
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid Barki reported from Abu Labid Bahrani :
A man came to Imam Baqir (A) in Mecca and asked about the words of Allah: “ Alif . Lam . Mim. Sad ” (that is, already regarding the Surah “The Sublimity”, because it opens with these letters). He answered him, but I forgot what he answered.
When that man came out, the Imam (A) said to me: “That was the tafsir of this in the outer part of the Quran. Should I tell you about the tafsir of this in the inner part ( batn ) of the Quran?”
I asked: “Does the Quran have an outside and an inside?”
He said: “Yes, the Book of Allah has an external and an internal, and the obvious, and the abrogating, and the abrogated, and the firm, and the allegorical, and the sunnah, and the examples, and the separating, and the uniting, and the letters, and that which is realized. Whoever thinks that the Book of Allah is unclear has destroyed himself and destroyed others.”
And then he said: “ Alif is one, lam is thirty, mim is forty, sad is ninety.”
I said, “That makes one hundred and sixty-one.”
He said: “O Abu Labid ! When the year one hundred and sixty-one comes, Allah will take away the power from these people.”
(“ Mahasin ”, p. 270).
Apparently this refers to the Umayyads. Around this time in the Hijri calendar, the Umayyads were defeated and destroyed by the Abbasids.
Ayashi brought from Heysam Jufi by Abu Labid Bahrani that Imam Baqir (A) said:
O Abu Labid ! Of the descendants of Abbas, twelve will rule. After eight of them, four will be killed, and one of them will become ill, so that his throat will become covered with pus, and he will die from it. They are a group with short lives, and their term is short, and their deeds are vile. Among them is an wicked man who will be called ” Hadi “, “Natiq” and ” Gavi “.
O Abu Labid ! Indeed, in the scattered letters of the Qur’an (letters at the beginning of the suras) there is hidden great knowledge. Allah sent down: ” Alif . Lam . Mim. That is the Book …” (2:1), and Muhammad (S) arose (with revelation), so that his light became manifest and his word became established. And he was born when he was born, and (then) one thousand seven hundred years (or seven hundredths of a year) and three years passed.
You will find a clear explanation in the scattered letters of the Qur’an if you count them without repetition. There is no letter of these letters whose days will not end without a Qa’im from among the Hashemites coming at that end .”
And then he said: “ Alif is one, lam is thirty, meem is forty, sad is ninety. In total, one hundred and sixty-one. The beginning of the exit of Husayn ibn Ali (A) was at “ Alif . Lam . Meem. Allah … ˮ (3: 1-2). When the term was completed, the Qaim (rebel) from the Abbasid family came out, and this is at “ Alif . Lam . Meem. Sadˮ . And our Qaim will come out at the end of this through “ Alif . Lam . Raˮ . So understand this, contain it and hide it!”
( Tafsir Ayashi , Vol. 2, p. 8).
What does this mean? Obviously, this is not said so that we try to somehow calculate the time of the Imam’s emergence from concealment, although such attempts were also made. However, the hadiths clearly say that no one knows the time of Zuhur , and no one can predict or foretell it in advance.
We can look at it this way. We see that some suras, like the surah “The Cow” that we are now examining, open with the letters “ Alif . Lam . Mim.” In some other suras, the letter “mim” is removed and the letter “ ra ” is added instead : “ Alif . Lam . Ra.” And the Imam (A) says here that the exit of Qaim (A) is when “ Alif . Lam . Ra” is performed.
Perhaps “Ra” is added to ” Alif . Lam . Mim” in some suras as an indication of the worlds of descent and return, kausu nuzul and kausu suud , because “Ra” is 200 in abjad , and it is twice a hundred, and one hundred is the letter “Kaf”. And perhaps the Imam’s reference to ” Alif . Lam . Ra” as the exit of Qaim (A) is connected with this: the time of evil and tyranny must be fulfilled to the end, and only then will the Imam come out.
Now let us again turn to the tafsir of the letters “ Alif . Lam . Mim” at the beginning of Surah “The Cow”.
In tafsir Qummi reported that Imam Sadiq (A) said : “ Alif . Lam . Mim ” are some of the letters from the greatest name of Allah that are scattered throughout the Quran. Allah addressed the Prophet (S) and the Imams (A) with them (this name), and when they call upon Allah by it, they receive a response.
(“ Tafsir ” Kummi , vol. 1, p. 44).
What does this mean? We have already said that the greatest name is not a collection of letters in the literal sense, or rather, primarily not that. It is the highest reality – Ahl ul -Bayt. All creations are names of the Creator, because “ a name is that which indicates the one named ,” according to the hadith of Imam Reza (A), and all things indicate the One Who created them. So, all things are names, but among them is the greatest name, that is, the greatest or first creation, or, what is the same, the greatest proof of Allah or His greatest sign: “ And to Allah is the highest example ” (16:60).
Imam (A) says here: “ Alif . Lam . Mim ” are some letters from the greatest name of Allah, which are scattered in the Quran ” – that is, “ Alif . Lam . Mim” points to this highest reality, which we have spoken about. “ Alif ” points to the beginning of creation, to the Source and Will of the Creator, because “ Alif ” is the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, which has the simplest spelling (vertical line), and its numerical value is one (1). The word “Allah” begins with this letter.
So, on its highest plane, “ Alif ” is the ineffable mystery and the beginning of the word “Allah,” and on a lower plane, on the level of the manifest or limited creation, “ Alif ” is the symbol of the universal Mind ( Aqla ), which is the source of the Quran. And it is the letter of Qaim , because “ alif ” is qaim (standing). It is a standing, vertical line. So, Alif is the light of lights and the mystery of mysteries, and from it come all other letters, just as all creations come from the will of Allah.
And the whole Quran is in bismillah , as we have already mentioned, and in bismillah there are 19 letters, and this is the number “ wahid ” (one), and “ wahid ” is alif (because the numerical value of Alif is one). And that is why here, in the Surah “The Cow”, Alif comes immediately after the Bismillah .
This is what concerns the letter ” Alif ” in the verse ” Alif . Lam . Mim”. Now let’s move on to the letter ” Lam “. ” Lam ” here points to Ali (A), because it is the middle letter in this word (Ali), which carries the essence of the word.
And the third letter “Mim” is an indication of Muhammad (the middle letter in his name).
Another way to understand this verse is that all three letters point to the name Ali (A). “ Alif ” is an expression of the beginning, where everything comes from. “ Lam ” is 30, and “mim” is 40. From 30, from “ lama ”, to 40 is 10, and this corresponds to the letter “ ya ”, the last one in the name Ali. So we get “Ali”, and “mim” is here to express completeness and perfection, since its numerical value is 40, as we have already said. “ And We promised Musa thirty nights, and We completed them with ten, and the term of your Lord was fulfilled, which was forty nights ” (7: 142).
And the interesting thing is that in the first of the 29 suras of the Quran that begin with scattered letters, there is the letter “mim”, and in the last of them, there is the letter ” nun ” (this is the surah “Kalam”). The letters “mim” and ” nun ” have the following feature that distinguishes them from all other letters: their name begins and ends with the same letter: “m-i-m”, “n-u-n”. The same letter is at the beginning and end of the name of the letter. And the fact that in the first surah with scattered letters there is “mim”, and in the last one – ” nun “, indicates that the beginning is also the end. And ” Alif . Lam . Mim” is an indication of the beginning of creation, and ” Nun ” is an indication of its completion and return.
