Surah Al-A'raf Verse 1

989 This is a combination of four Abbreviated Letters. For Abbreviated Letters generally, see Appendix I (at the end of Surah 2). The combination here includes the three letters Alif, Lam, Mim, which occurred at the beginning of Surah 2, and are discussed in n. 25 to 2:1. The additional letter Sad occurs in combination here and in Surah 19, and by itself at the beginning of S. 38, and nowhere else. The factor common to S. 1, S. 19, and S. 38 is that in each case the core of the Surah consists in the stories (qasas) of the Prophets. In this Surah we have the stories of Noah, Hud, Salih, Lot , Shu'ayb, and Moses, leading up to Muhammad, and in S. 38, the stories of David, Solomon, and Job similarly lead up to Muhammad, occupying three out of the five sections. Surah 19 consists almost entirely of such stories. Can we understand Sad to stand for qasas, of which it is the most characteristic letter? In this Surah 7, we have also the spiritual history of mankind traced-the Beginning, the Middle, and the End, which, as explained in n. 25, might be represented symbolically by Alif, Lam, Mim. If so, this Surah, dealing with the Beginning, Middle, and End of man's spiritual story, and illustrating it by the stories of the Prophets, might well be represented symbolically by the letters, Alif, Lam, Mim, Sad. But no one can be dogmatic about these symbols. (R).