Alif Laam Meem

Alif Laam Meem

MashaAllah how perfect is the Quran. 

Before declaring that His speech is “without  doubt, a guide to the pious” the Most Gracious starts with what many construe to be Mystic letters as if in response to the Celestial Pen mentioned in the first revelation. (S Alaq):

In that God declares that He taught by the (Celestial) Pen, taught man(kind) that which he did not know. 

Indeed the Quran as a revelation is a question on many levels. What does God mean by prefacing the statement that this is from a book without doubt, a guide to the pious, by those letters?

On one level the Quranic revelation was response to the supplication of Ibrahim (as) for God to send a Messenger to the unlettered people of the Arabian peninsula. The Umiyoon whom he said had never received a message before, precisely because all other messages were heavenly books, sent down. 

And the Umiyoon were a people without writing, without a circumscribed alphabet of letters, and therefore without the knowledge of books. Theirs was a verbal tradition, of stories and poetry. 

And that necessitated the sending down of The Recitation, literally al-Quran. 

Such a phenomenal event that the Quran declares that if it had been sent down upon a mountain, then the mountain would rent asunder, and fall in upon itself, in awe of the Most Gracious. 

Then we see the dual nature of those beginning letters. 

1- That whilst it is a recitation kept alive on the tongues, and in the hearts of the believers, the Most Gracious wanted it to be written down, studied and deliberated upon so He begins with the circumscribed  letters: Alif Laam Meem: and not with their respective sounds: Aaa Laaa Maaa. 

So much so that the Messenger (saw) declared a reward for every Alif Laam and Meem recited even though we cannot really fathom their outward meaning. 

That they are there, as is much of the Qur’an, to develop mankind, to act as a spur and here specifically to teach us the written Arabic language. 

For that is another miracle of the Quran, even aside from it’s protection. We know that the order of compilation of the revelation was as much a part of it as the words themselves. And that it was compiled and that the writing styles evolved to make it easier to read. 

Remember that the original texts had no harakaat, no vowel sounds and no dots to distinguish a “ba” from say a “noon”. 

The script functioned in those earlier days as a tool for memory, as a mnemonic. 

Alhamdolillah thot the Most Gracious made clear the need to write it down and deliberate upon it simply by starting with those three letters and then following them with an undoubted statement of fact. 

And therefore to literally teach the whole of mankind by the pen, that which we did not know. 

The pen then, on this level of understanding, is the command to study, and write and deliberate. 

Indeed when we deliberate and write, something magical happens, and words flow and ideas develop just by the very act of writing. 

Furthermore it is the writing of it that caused its words and ideas to spread far beyond the confines of Arabia. 

2- And then too He prefaces certainty with doubt. That we cannot know with full certainty what He means by these letters, but we can know that something will follow that changes everything. 

And so He annexes the letters that we cannot fully fathom, with words that we can test to see whether they bear truth or underly falsity. 

And so He says that certainty always follows on from doubt for those who believe, and spend out of what the Most Gracious has given to them - of their wealth, whether it be monetary, time or knowledge. 

And that what follows is something majestic  that we need to struggle with to understand, by virtue of His declaration that it is from a book, without a shadow of doubt. 

Indeed just as the cosmos is a sign that points to the Most Gracious, so to does the Quran with its ayahs and signs that demand deliberation. 

And it is these that advanced mankind, wholesale, on an upward path. 

And it is these that when we each deliberate upon them will advance each of us upon the upward paths. 

And indeed God knows best. 

And knowledge is kindled through study and reflection. Not lectures, nor talks, nor this above. 

The Reflection (events invitation)

This Wednesday evening after Dinner from 9:30pm I’ll be holding a taster session on how our reflection on the Quran will progress. 

The ultimate reason for these sessions is to provide a structure so that the reflection can progress along avenues that we can each benefit from, but most of all myself. 

Alhamdolillah Allah t’ala has blessed me with something of this ability, and yet I would never pay claim to being a knowledgeable man. 

But as Allah t’ala calls such people doors in His scripture. Then I would hope to unlock doors for you that you might yourself push through. 

The reflection should never be about providing answers, but about each of our individual relationships both with God and with His speech. 

Primarily what you would learn from these sessions is not to provide people with solutions, but to help them each with their own journeys through their Qurans and ultimately with their own lives. 

To become doors for them, that they might become doors for still others. 

So that you can see and feel the benefit of such an approach first hand I would start the deliberation with something that I know, through reflection, to be Sahih. 

It is not documented, nor can it be found in any book.

So deliberate first upon

*“the man from the furtherest part of town”*

who is mentioned in S YaSin. 

Who is the man?

Who is he referring to?

Who were the three Messengers?

Read the first part of S YaSin and deliberate. And if you come to the session then I will act as a door for you that you might feel the beauty of the revelation. 

My one proviso is that when I teach you, you would likewise teach another in the same manner. Providing hints and guidance, but not the answer. 

Shafi 

RSVP

*Date-* Wednesday 11th May

*Time* from 9:30pm till 11pm

*Address-* REDACTED

*Please inform me if you are coming so that I can arrange for mint tea and snacks*

The Father of our Nation

Over the past few days we have heard many different knowledgeable people tell us about the essence of Islam. 

For sure the Messenger (saw) said that Islam Is Yemeni, meaning that it is all about being considerate and having good manners. And that he was sent to perfect good manners. 

We have also been reminded that he (saw) was in the words of his wife, Bibi Aisha (ra), the walking Quran. 

As I have reiterated many times before the unusual thing about the revelation of the Quran was twofold- it’s non physical nature, and then the fact that it was often sent down after the fact, and in response to the events that occurred during his lifetime. This to teach us the correct interpretation of things. 

So therefore it’s primary impact on the Messenger (saw) would have been on his values. That it was sent to teach us how to interpret the events of our lives, and what to value. 

As we approach the month of Hajj it is pertinent to recall the father of our Nation: Ibrahim (as). And whilst the focus of our deliberations are often upon his and his family’s sacrifice and their consummate submission to God, his life prior to that still factors largely in our scripture. 

His people were idolators (worshiping hand crafted stones) and are reputed to have believed in the stars, and that is why he is said to have feigned illness and intimated that the stars had affected him. 

It is obvious from the story that he was a man of deep contemplation. 

And that even here he did not lie, but allowed his people to suppose what they wished to believe. 

But what is outstanding is the depth of knowledge that can be gleaned from true and deep contemplation. 

We see a like occurrence within another chapter of the Quran devoted to Luqmaan the wise. Luqmaan was neither a prophet  nor a Messenger, and we know this because we are nowhere told that he was. And yet once again through sheer contemplation he is able to garner the central truth of Islam: that associating others with Allah is the greatest of oppressions, from which all other oppressions tend to follow. 

And then also, and incredibly,  the necessity of prayer to the extent that he even advises his son(s) to pray. 

This may sound obvious, but actually when you think about it a bit, this means that his conviction was a deeply held reality. That he knew that he was on the Haqq, and had not a shadow of doubt about it. 

This profound belief is so clear in Ibrahim even before he became a prophet, for when the angel of the fire appeared to him, he is not a astounded nor taken aback but instead refuses his help. 

It is at the appearance of the angel that it could be argued that he attains the station of prophethood since it is here that he is shown something of the hidden world. 

But before that it is sheer rational thought and contemplation that leads him not just to know that there is a hidden World, but that there is One who created and has the authority to do as He wishes (the Sovereign of the Universe) and then to put his trust fully in Him. 

This both from solely contemplating the signs within God’s creation. 

Imagine then when we are gifted both God’s speech and His religion, both ripe with yet more signs. 

And we fail to contemplate them. 

How sorry we are when we feel that God will not guide us, and that His care will only extend to us when we pay due obeisance to those we believe are in the know. 

Maybe it is this that explains the saying of the Messenger (saw) to seek knowledge even if it is to China. 

For it is the traveller that is under the special care of the Most Gracious, and His infinite care extends to those that contemplate in the hope of earning His pleasure. 

*END*

Knowledge is sought through study and contemplation. 

Not lectures and talks, nor this above. 

I write to stimulate thought, and therefore do not posit full texts or arguments as I wish for you to pursue these yourselves. 

My argument stands or fails based upon your pursuit.