Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: ((Q)).

The Shaykh : So we say that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) began this surah, Surah Q, with the letter Q. This letter is a phonetic letter, one of the phonetic letters that start with alif and end with ya; starting with alif, ba, ta, tha, and so on, ending with ya. Does this phonetic letter have a meaning derived from the requirements of the Arabic language, or does it not have a meaning? The answer to that is that it does not have a meaning; it does not have a meaning derived from the requirements of the Arabic language, because phonetic letters are isolated letters that have no meaning in themselves. And on this basis, all the phonetic letters found at the beginnings of the surahs have no meanings. The evidence for that is the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): meaning the Qur'an, in a clear Arabic language. So He said: another verse. And based on that, we say that these letters—qaf, sad, nun, alif-lam-mim, alif-lam-ra, alif-lam-ra—do not convey a meaning in themselves according to the requirements of the Arabic language, so they have no meaning. But a question will arise in the heart: is there something in the Qur'an that has no meaning? The answer is that it is not possible for there to be something in the Qur'an that has no meaning, because if we assumed that, there would be something in the Qur'an that is idle talk, and there is no idle talk in the Qur'an. But these letters, even though they have no meaning in themselves, have a great significance, and that is to establish the complete challenge to the Arabs who lied to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and said about the Qur'an that this is nothing but the speech of men. It is said: if it is the speech of men as you claim, then bring forth the like of it; bring forth a surah; bring forth a report like it. Although he did not bring anything strange to your tongue, but rather he came with the letters from which you construct your speech. From where is the speech of the Arabs constructed? From the twenty-eight phonetic letters, no more. All the speech of the Arabs is composed of these twenty-eight phonetic letters. The Qur'an did not go beyond these twenty-eight letters. The Qur'an did not go beyond these twenty-eight letters. And yet it baffled the Arabs; they were unable to bring forth the like of it. And what we have mentioned is what Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted at the beginning of Surah al-Baqarah from Mujahid, that these phonetic letters that are at the beginnings of some surahs have no meaning in themselves, but they have a significance. And for this reason, you will not find a surah that begins with these phonetic letters except that the Qur'an is mentioned after them, except rarely. So when Allah the Exalted says: we say it is a phonetic letter that has no meaning in itself, but it has a significance, which is to establish the challenge to these opponents and deniers, such that it is said to them: this Qur'an is from the letters from which you construct your speech, and yet it baffled you, and you were unable to bring forth the like of it.