Muqaṭṭaʿāt

Muqaṭṭaʿāt (Arabic: مُقَطَّعات ) are unique letter combinations that begin certain surahs (chapters) of the Qur’an. Muqatta`āt literally means abbreviated or shortened. Their meanings remain unclear and are considered to be Divine secrets. They are also known as the “abbreviated letters”, “the disjointed letters” or “the mystic letters”

They are also known as fawātiḥ (فواتح) or “openers” as they form the opening verse of their respective surahs 

In the Arabic language, these letters are written together like a word, but each letter is pronounced separately. Muqatta’at have been and continue to be a topic of intense research and academic discussions in Islamic literature and Qur’anic studies.

In these words of Abu Bakr (radiAllahu anhu),: 

“In every divine writ (kitab) there is [an element of] of mystery - and the mystery of the Qur’an is [indicated] in the openings of [some of] the surahs.” 

Of the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet, exactly one half appear as muqattaat, either singly or in combinations of two, three, four or five letters. The fourteen letters are: أ ح ر س ص ط ع ق ك ل م ن ه ي (alif, ha, ra, sin, sad, ta, ain, qaf, kaf, lam, mim, nun, ha, ya).

The complete Muqatta’at letters and their appearance in the Quran

1. Chapter 2, The Cow: ʾAlif Lām Mīm
2. Chapter 3, Āl-Imran: ʾAlif Lām Mīm
3. Chapter 7, Al-Aʿarāf: ʾAlif Lām Mīm Ṣād
4. Chapter 10, Yunus: ʾAlif Lām Rāʾ
5. Chapter 11, Hud: ʾAlif Lām Rāʾ
6. Chapter 12, Yusuf: ʾAlif Lām Rāʾ
7. Chapter 13, Raʿd: ʾAlif Lām Mīm Rāʾ
8. Chapter 14, Ibrahim: ʾAlif Lām Rāʾ
9. Chapter 15, Ḥijr: ʾAlif Lām Rāʾ
10. Chapter 19, Maryam: Kāf Hāʾ Yāʾ ʿAin Ṣād
11. Chapter 20, Ṭāʾ-Hāʾ: Ṭāʾ Hāʾ
12. Chapter 26, The Poets: Ṭāʾ Sīn Mīm
13. Chapter 27, The Ant: Ṭāʾ Sīn
14. Chapter 28, Al-Qaṣaṣ: Ṭāʾ Sīn Mīm
15. Chapter 29, The Spider: ʾAlif Lām Mīm
16. Chapter 30, The Romans: ʾAlif Lām Mīm
17. Chapter 31, Luqmān: ʾAlif Lām Mīm
18. Chapter 32, The Adoration: ʾAlif Lām Mīm
19. Chapter 36, Yāʾ-Sīn: Yāʾ Sīn
20. Chapter 38, Ṣād: Ṣād
21. Chapter 40, The Believer: Ḥāʾ Mīm
22. Chapter 41, Fuṣṣilat: Ḥāʾ Mīm
23. Chapter 42, Al-Shūrā: Ḥāʾ Mīm; ʿAin Sīn Qāf
24. Chapter 43, The Embellishment: Ḥāʾ Mīm
25. Chapter 44, The Smoke: Ḥāʾ Mīm
26. Chapter 45, The Kneeling: Ḥāʾ Mīm
27. Chapter 46, The Sandhills: Ḥāʾ Mīm
28. Chapter 50, Qāf: Qāf
29. Chapter 68, The Pen: Nūn

Many Scholars differ their views on the letters referring to the names of Allah, or His angels but because the Prophet Muhammad sws hasn’t mentioned an explanation of them nor have they been explained clearly in the Quran, we leave the unveiled up to Allah for only He knows the truth. It is said that all of this world’s secrets and mysteries will be revealed when the time comes. Allahu Alim.