Surah Al-Baqara (2) — Ayah 1

1. Alif, Lam, Meem [1].

Virtues of Surah Al-Baqarah:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “When Surah Al-Baqarah is recited in a house, Satan leaves that house.” [مسلم، كتاب صلوة المسافرين و قصرها، باب استحباب الصلوة النافلة فى بيته۔۔۔ الخ]
He also said: “Recite the two radiant ones (the two shining Surahs, i.e., Al-Baqarah and Aal-e-Imran). On the Day of Resurrection, they will come as if they are two clouds, or two canopies, or two flocks of birds, and they will argue (for forgiveness) on behalf of those who recited them. (Therefore) recite Surah Al-Baqarah. To acquire it is a blessing, and to abandon it is regret, and false forces (such as magic, etc.) cannot confront it.” [مسلم، كتاب فضائل القرآن و مايتعلق به باب فضل قراءة القرآن و سورة البقرة]

Time of Revelation and Circumstances of Revelation:

Among the Madinan Surahs, this is the very first Surah. Eighty-six (86) Surahs were revealed in Makkah, and in the chronological order of revelation, this is number 87. Although most of this Surah was revealed in the early Madinan period, some of its verses were revealed much later, for example, the verses prohibiting interest, which were revealed at the end of 10 AH.

Background of the Revelation of Surah Al-Baqarah:

Upon reaching Madinah, the first task the Messenger of Allah ﷺ undertook was the construction of Masjid Nabawi, so that all Muslims could gather five times a day to perform prayers and deliberate on their issues. The second important matter was the settlement and livelihood of the Muhajirun, for which he established the bond of brotherhood (Mu’akhah) between the Muhajirun and the Ansar, an example of which is not found anywhere else in the world. The third important issue was the defense of the small, nascent Islamic state of Madinah. Now, besides the polytheists of Makkah, other polytheist tribes were also determined to wipe out the Muslims from existence. Even within Madinah, the Jews became enemies of the Muslims because the coming Prophet was sent from the descendants of Sayyiduna Ismail ؑ instead of Sayyiduna Ishaq ؑ. There were three Jewish tribes settled in Madinah: Banu Qaynuqa’, Banu Nadir, and Banu Qurayzah, who were divided among themselves and, by becoming allies of the two famous polytheist tribes of Madinah, Aws and Khazraj, kept inciting them to fight each other. The Prophet ﷺ first invited the Jews to a common interest, which was the defense of Madinah. The important clauses of this were:
(1) If Madinah is attacked from outside, Muslims and Jews will jointly defend it.
(2) Both Muslims and Jews will bear the expenses proportionally.
(3) In case of any dispute between Muslims and Jews, the decision will rest with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Apparently, it seemed impossible for the Jews to accept such conditions, as they had full control over the economy and politics of Madinah. However, it was due to Allah’s special favor and their mutual discord that the Jewish tribes, one after another and at different times, kept accepting this agreement. Thus, when this state stood on its own feet, besides Muslims and disbelievers, a third group of self-interested people also came into existence, who were called hypocrites (Munafiqun). At the beginning of this Surah, these three groups (Muslims, disbelievers, and hypocrites) are mentioned, and this is its time of revelation.

[1] Discussion on the Disjointed Letters (Huruf Muqatta’at):

At the beginning of 29 Surahs of the Quran, such letters have been used. Among them, the following three are single-lettered:
(1) Surah Sad: ص وَالْقُرْآنِ 38
(2) Surah Qaf: ق وَالْقُرْآنِ 50
(3) Surah Nun: ن وَالْقَلَمِ 68

And 9 are two-lettered, among which:
(4) Al-Mu’min 40: حٰم تَنْزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ
(5) Surah Ha Mim As-Sajdah 41: حٰم تَنْزِيلٌ مِّنَ
(6) Az-Zukhruf 43: حٰم وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ
(7) Ad-Dukhan 44: حٰم وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ
(8) Al-Jathiyah 45: حٰم تَنْزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ
(9) Al-Ahqaf 46: حٰم تَنْزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ
(10) Ta Ha 20: طه مَا أَنْزَلْنَا
(11) An-Naml 27: طٰس تِلْكَ آيَاتُ
(12) Ya Seen 36: يٰس وَالْقُرْآنِ

And 13 are three-lettered, which are:
(13) Yunus 10: الٓر تِلْكَ آيَاتُ
(14) Hud 11: الرٰ كِتَابٌ أُحْكِمَتْ
(15) Yusuf 12: الرٰ تِلْكَ آيَاتُ 101, Ibrahim 14: الرٰ كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَا 17, Al-Hijr 15: الم تِلْكَ آيَاتُ
(18) Al-Baqarah 2: الم ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ
(19) Aal-e-Imran 3: الم اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ
(20) Al-Ankabut 29: الم أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ
(21) Ar-Rum 30: الم غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ
(22) Luqman 31: الم تِلْكَ آيَاتُ
(23) As-Sajdah 32: الم تَنْزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ
(24) Ash-Shu’ara 26: طٰسم تِلْكَ آيَاتُ
(25) Al-Qasas 28: طٰسم تِلْكَ آيَاتُ

And the following 2 are four-lettered:
(26) Al-A’raf 7: المص كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ
(27) Ar-Ra’d 13: المرٰ تِلْكَ آيَاتُ

And the following 2 are five-lettered:
(28) Maryam 19: كهيعص ذِكْرُ رَحْمَةٍ
(29) Ash-Shura 42: حٰم عسق كَذَٰلِكَ يُوحَى إِلَيْكَ

In the collections of hadith, there is no such connected and authentic hadith mentioned that sheds light on the meanings and concepts of these letters. Therefore, including them in the category of ﴿وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَاْوِيْلَهٗٓ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ﴾ is most appropriate. The opinions found regarding them are as follows:

1. One opinion is that these letters are the names of Allah Almighty. But from authentic hadith, it is known that Allah Almighty has ninety-nine names, and among those names, these letters are not mentioned.
2. Another opinion is that these are the initial parts of the names of Allah Almighty, and by combining them, some name of Allah is formed. For example, by combining الر and حم and ن, الرحمٰن is formed. This interpretation also does not seem correct because even in الرحمٰن, there is an alif between م and ن, which can be omitted in writing by using a standing fatha, but in pronunciation, it cannot be omitted. Moreover, this forms one word, and if further effort is made, perhaps one or two more words can be formed, but to combine all the letters in such a way that the names of Allah are formed seems impossible.
3. One opinion is that these are the names of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and in this regard, especially ﴿طٰهٰ﴾ and ﴿يٰس﴾ are mentioned. This interpretation is not correct because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself mentioned his names as: Muhammad, Ahmad, Mahi (the one who erases disbelief), Hashir, and Aqib. [بخاري، كتاب التفسير، تفسير سورة صف]
Also, it is mentioned in Bukhari that in the Abyssinian language, the meaning of Ta Ha is “O man!” or a person from whose tongue no letter can come out, who speaks with pauses or stutters, and this is due to a knot in his tongue, and it is clear that the Messenger (God forbid) was not like this.
4. One opinion is that these letters are names of the Quran, whereas the Quran itself has mentioned its names, which are: Al-Kitab, Kitab Mubeen, Quran, Quran Majeed, Quran Kareem, Quran Azeem, Furqan, Dhikr, Tadhkirah, Hadith, and Ahsan al-Hadith. In the presence of these names, there is no need for such names whose meaning is not understood.
5. One opinion is that these letters are the names of the Surahs. This opinion is somewhat correct. For example: Sad, Qaf, Ta Ha, Ya Seen are also names of Surahs. Surah Al-Qalam is also called ‘Nun’. The mention of Hawameem (plural of Ha Mim) is also found in hadith. However, most of these Surahs became famous by other names, which are mentioned distinctively in these Surahs. Also, it should be kept in mind that many Surahs are also famous by two names.
6. One opinion is that these letters indicate the entire system of Prophethood. For example, in الم, alif refers to Allah, lam to Jibreel, and meem to Muhammad. This is also an interpretation that cannot be applied to all the disjointed letters.
7. One opinion is that these letters are a challenge to the disbelievers, that see, you also compose your speech from these very individual letters, yet there is such a difference between your speech and the speech of Allah that even if you all combine, you cannot produce a single Surah like the Quran. This interpretation is not correct in that, when the exact meaning of these words is not determined, then what kind of challenge is it?
8. One opinion is that by calculating the numerical values of these letters according to the Abjad system and adding them, there is an indication of the age of this Ummah or the time of the coming of the Day of Judgment. This interpretation is extremely unreasonable. Firstly, the Abjad calculation has no basis in Shari'ah. Secondly, it is impossible for a human to have such knowledge or such a means by which the specific time of the coming of the Day of Judgment can be calculated.
9. One opinion is that these letters are the initials or abbreviations of long sentences or names, and their meaning was known only to the Messenger, and no one else can know. In other words, these are matters of intimate confidence between the servant and the Lord. This is an interpretation about which we can only say «والله اعلم بالصواب»
10. And one opinion is that these letters are the secret mysteries of Allah Almighty, which, although based on solid realities, are beyond human capacity to comprehend. This is the interpretation to which we have alluded at the beginning, and this seems to be the most appropriate. In these words, some attributes of Allah Almighty are mentioned, the understanding of which is beyond human intellect, and no action is based on them.

As for the point that whenever the Companions ؓ did not understand something, they would immediately ask the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and since the Companions ؓ never asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about these letters, it is known that the use of disjointed letters was common in the Arabic language and the Companions ؓ also knew their meanings well. Then, some rare examples are also presented from Arabic literature, but this idea is not correct. When the complete explanations of the Quranic verses have reached us with full authenticity through the Companions ؓ from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, then why has the explanation and interpretation of these letters not reached us? Rather, the real fact is that the Companions ؓ understood well that these letters are such secrets or attributes of Allah Almighty that no one except Allah knows. Can you tell if any Companion ever asked him how Allah Almighty, when He is closer to each of us than our jugular vein, is then established on the Throne? Or when He descends to the lowest heaven at the time of dawn, then what does it mean to be closer than the jugular vein? Never. The exact same situation applies to these disjointed letters. Therefore, despite not knowing their meanings and concepts, they never inquired about them, because these letters belong to the category of Mutashabihat (ambiguous verses), and for us, it is sufficient to believe that these too are revealed from Allah, they are neither meaningless nor superfluous, but are based on solid realities. However, we are neither obliged to know their meanings and concepts, nor does any religious ruling depends on them.