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  Temmuz 21

  THE DISCONNECTED LETTERS (MUQATTA‘AT) IN SURAH MARYAM: كهيع (Kāf-Hā-Yā-‘Ayn-Ṣād)
  ص (Ṣād)
  In his exegesis, the renowned Islamic scholar al-Tabari conveyed the following view regarding the disconnected letters, citing Abdullah ibn Abbas, Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, and Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud: “Each letter is part of a noun or a verb. Each of these letters conveys a meaning distinct from that of the others!”1 Al-Tabari did not believe that Allah had revealed letters to the Arabs that they could not comprehend—that is, that the disconnected letters constituted a “secret”; in his view, claiming such a thing amounted to accusing Allah of addressing people in a language they did not understand, and accusing the Prophet of failing to fulfill his duty of explaining the Quran.2
  In this article, I will attempt to determine which nouns or verbs these letters might represent as abbreviations by exploring the potential relationship between the disconnected letters at the beginning of Surah Maryam and the surah’s content.
  1 Önen H. Dirayet in al-Tabari’s Exegesis. Ankara University, Institute of Social Sciences, Doctoral Thesis, 2012.
  2 Aydın A. Ibn Jarir al-Tabari’s Understanding of the Quran and Preferences in Interpretation. Ankara University, Institute of Social Sciences, Doctoral Thesis, 2004.
  The letter Kāf (ك) is derived from the depiction of a “palm.”3 The word kaff (كَف) is also used in the Quran—specifically in verses 13:14 and 18:42—to mean “palm.” Furthermore, in Arabic, there are various verbs derived from this root that signify "to want" or "to request" (such as tekeffefe and istekeffe). Surah Maryam also begins with the prayer of the Prophet Zechariah:
  “A mention of your Lord’s mercy upon His servant Zechariah! Recall when he called out to his Lord with a secret call. He said: ‘My Lord! Indeed, my bones have weakened and my hair has turned white. My Lord, I have never been wretched in my prayers to You. Truly, I fear for my kinsmen who will come after me. My wife has become barren. Grant me, from Your presence, an heir—one who will be an heir to me and to the family of Jacob—and make him pleasing [to You]!’”
  3 Benner JA. The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible. Hebrew Letters, Words and Roots Defined Within Their Ancient Cultural Context. Jeff A. Benner, 2005.
  The letter He (ه) is derived from the image of “a man with his arms raised upwards,” as if pointing to something or someone.4 It signifies “Look!” It is a depiction of someone extending their arms and sighing—saying “look at this”—when they see something significant, thereby pointing to that object. Due to this meaning, much like the English definite article “the,” the Hebrew letter He precedes words to render them “definite.” In this context, it carries meanings such as revealing, disclosing, making evident, and bringing to light. In Arabic, it signifies “he/she/it” (as a third-person pronoun) and is also used in demonstrative pronouns. The scholar of the Arabic language and Quranic recitation, al-Maliki (d. 702/1302), stated that in pronouns such as huwa, hiya, hum, and hunna (he, she, they), the core pronoun is the letter hā (ه), while the letters wāw, yā, mīm, and nūn are introduced to indicate the vowel markings.5
  In Arabic, the meaning of the word āyah (verse/sign) is extremely close to the meaning conveyed by the letter hā. This word is used for anything whose reality is evident and signifies a clear, manifest sign or mark (Mufradāt).
  Consulting dictionaries reveals meanings such as a mark, a sign, an indication, a lesson, or a miracle, all derived from roots implying the setting of a mark, intending, or directing oneself toward something.
  In Surah Maryam, following his prayer, Zechariah asks God for an āyah (sign/indication): “He said: ‘My Lord! Appoint a sign for me!’ He said: ‘...’”
  John (Yahya, peace be upon him) was born to an elderly man and a barren woman. Jesus (Isa, peace be upon him) was born without a father. Both are signs (āyah) from God. The indication associated with the letter hā may also apply to these two prophets.
  4Benner JA. The Ancient Hebrew Language and Alphabet: Understanding the Ancient Hebrew Language of the
  Bible Based on Ancient Hebrew Culture and Thought. Jeff A. Benner, 2004.
  5TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, entry for hā, vol. 14, p. 336.

  ىح
  يي

  Surah Maryam continues—after Zechariah’s prayer and the aforementioned sign—by describing the attributes of the prophet John (Yahya, peace be upon him). This leads us to the conclusion that the letter ye (ي)—appearing after the letters kaf and he—might be an abbreviation for the name of the Prophet John (Yahya). As we stated at the beginning of the article, the muqatta'at (disjointed letters) can be abbreviated forms of specific names. This practice was also common in ancient Arabic poetry.6 In the science of rhetoric, this is known as iktita. In iktita, an abbreviation is formed by dropping one or two letters from the end of a word or, at times, by pronouncing only the initial letter.

  The letter ayn among the muqatta'at at the beginning of Surah Maryam—much like the letter ye—may also be an abbreviation (iktita). Indeed, following the account of the miraculous birth of the Prophet John (Yahya), the Surah proceeds to narrate the miraculous birth of the Prophet Jesus (Isa); thus, there is a remarkable harmony between the sequence of the muqatta'at at the beginning of the Surah and the Surah's content.
  6 TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, entry on iktita, Vol. 22, p. 59.