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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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What is the wisdom behind the mention of the disjointed letters at the beginnings of the chapters of the Qur'an, even though they have no meaning?

Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : How can letters come without having any meaning? The answer to this objection is that we say: they do not have a meaning in themselves, but they have a very great significance, which is that this Qur'an, which has baffled you, O eloquent and articulate Arabs, did not come with new things from what you use to compose your speech; rather, it came with the letters from which you compose your speech. Had it come with new letters not customary in your speech, you would have said, "We have no ability to deal with this." But it came with the letters from which you compose your speech, and yet it baffled you. For this reason, you will not find a Surah beginning with these alphabetic letters except that it is followed by a mention of the Qur'an or what is related to the Qur'an. Let us review the verses with you: Surat al-Baqarah
This is the Book about which there is no doubt آلم * ذلك الكتاب لا ريب فيه
[Al-Baqarah 2:2]
, Surat al-A'raf, Al-Imran
(2) Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence. (3) He has sent down upon you, [O Muhammad], the Book آلم * الله لا إله إلا هو الحي القيوم نزّل عليك الكتاب
[Ali 'Imran 3:2-3]
, Surat al-A'raf
(1) Alif, Lam, Meem, Sad. (2) [This is] a Book revealed to you, [O Muhammad] - so let there not be in your breast distress therefrom - that you may warn thereby and as a reminder to the believers. آلمص * كتاب أنزل إليك فلا يكن في صدرك حرج منه
[Al-A'raf 7:1-2]
, Yunus
Alif, Lam, Ra. These are the verses of the wise Book آلر * تلك آيات الكتاب الحكيم
[Yunus 10:1]
, Hud
Alif, Lam, Ra. [This is] a Book whose verses are perfected آلر * كتاب أحكمت آياته
[Hud 11:1]
, al-Ra'd
Alif, Lam, Meem, Ra. These are the verses of the Book; and what has been revealed to you from your Lord is the truth آلمر* تلك آيات الكتاب والذي أنزل إليك من ربك الحق
[Ar-Ra'd 13:1]
, Ibrahim
Alif, Lam, Ra. [This is] a Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that you might bring mankind out of darknesses into the light آلر * كتاب أنزلناه إليك لتخرج الناس من الظلمات إلى النور
[Ibrahim 14:1]
, al-Hijr.
The student: Yusuf

The Shaykh : Yusuf:
Alif, Lam, Ra. These are the verses of the clear Book. آلر * تلك آيات الكتاب المبين
[Yusuf 12:1]
Al-Hijr:
Alif, Lam, Ra. These are the verses of the Book and a clear Qur'an. آلر * تلك آيات الكتاب وقرآن مبين
[Al-Hijr 15:1]
...
The student: Maryam

The Shaykh : Yes?
The student: Maryam.

The Shaykh : Maryam:
(1) Kaf, Ha, Ya, 'Ayn, Sad. (2) [This is] a mention of the mercy of your Lord to His servant Zechariah كهيعص* ذكر رحمت ربك عبده زكريّا
[Maryam 19:1-2]
And this does not happen except by revelation,
(1) Ta, Ha. (2) We have not sent down to you the Qur'an that you be distressed طه * ما أنزلنا عليك القرآن لتشقى
[Taha 20:1-2]
(1) Ta, Seen, Meem. (2) These are the verses of the clear Book. طسم * تلك آيات الكتاب المبين
[Ash-Shu'ara 26:1-2]
Ta, Seen. These are the verses of the Qur'an and a clear Book طس * تلك آيات القرآن وكتاب مبين
[An-Naml 27:1]
(1) Ta, Seen, Meem. (2) These are the verses of the clear Book. طسم * تلك آيات الكتاب المبين
[Ash-Shu'ara 26:1-2]

The student: Al-Ankabut

The Shaykh : Al-Ankabut:
(1) Alif, Lam, Meem (2) Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tried? (3) But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars. آلم * أحسب الناس أن يتركوا أن يقولوا آمنا وهم لا يفتنون ولقد فتنا الذين من قبلهم فليعلمنّ الله الذين صدقوا وليعلمنّ الكاذبين
[Al-'Ankabut 29:1-3]
This does not contain a mention of the Qur'an, but it contains jihad in the cause of Allah, by which the Qur'an is honored and people are forced to accept its rulings.
(1) Alif, Lam, Meem. (2) The Byzantines have been defeated (3) In the nearest land. آلم * غلبت الروم في أدنى الأرض
[Ar-Rum 30:1-3]
It does not contain a mention of the Qur'an, but it contains what relates to matters of the unseen in the future, and this does not happen except by revelation, and so on. So these alphabetic letters have a great significance, which is that this Qur'an, which baffled you, O Arabs, did not come with new letters, but rather it came with letters from which you compose your speech, and yet you were unable to produce anything like it.
Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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