الم
Alif. Lām. Mīm. (1)
ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِلْمُتَّقِينَ
THIS DIVINE WRIT – let there be no doubt about it – is [meant to be] a guidance for all the God-conscious (2)
الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ
who believe in [the existence of] that which is beyond the reach of human perception, and are constant in prayer, and spend on others out of what We provide for them as sustenance; (3)
وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ وَبِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ
and who believe in that which has been bestowed from on high upon thee, [O Prophet,] as well as in that which was bestowed before thy time: for it is they who in their innermost are certain of the life to come! (4)
أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَىٰ هُدًى مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
It is they who follow the guidance [which comes] from their Sustainer; and it is they, they who shall attain to a happy state! (5)
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَأَنْذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنْذِرْهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
BEHOLD, as for those who are bent on denying the truth – it is all one to them whether thou warnest them or dost not warn them: they will not believe. (6)
خَتَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَعَلَىٰ سَمْعِهِمْ وَعَلَىٰ أَبْصَارِهِمْ غِشَاوَةٌ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
God has sealed their hearts and their hearing, and over their eyes is a veil; and awesome suffering awaits them. (7)
- Alif. Lam. Mim.1
- 1 Regarding the possible significance of the single letters called al-muqatta 'at, which occur at the beginning of some surahs of the Qur'an, see Appendix II, where the various theories bearing on this subject are discussed.
- A.L.M.25
- 25 These are abbreviated letters, the Muqatta'at, on which a general discussion will be found in Appendix I (at the end of this Surah).<br/>The particular letters, Alif, Lam, Mim, are found prefixed to this Surah, and Surahs 3, 29, 30, 31 and 32 (six in all). In 2 and 3 the argument is about the rise and fall of nations, their past, and their future in history, with ordinances for the new universal people of Islam. In 29 a similar argument about nations leads off to the mystery of Life and Death, Failure and Triumph, Past and Future, in the history of individual souls. The burden of 30 is that Allah is the source of all things and all things return to Him. In 31 and 32 the same lesson is enforced: Allah is the Creator and He will be the Judge on the Last Day. There is therefore a common thread, the mystery of Life and Death, Beginning and End.<br/>Much has been written about the meaning of these letters, but most of it is pure conjecture. Some commentators are content to recognize them as some mystic symbols of which it is unprofitable to discuss the meaning by more verbal logic. (R).
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A.L.M.
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
Alif. Lam. Mim.
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
Alif Lam Mim.
— M. Habib Shakir -
Alif-Lam-Mim. [These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur'an and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings].
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
Alif. Lam Mim
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
AlifLaamMeem.
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
Alif Lam Mim (A.L.M.);
— Ayub Khan -
Alif, Lam, Mim.
— Sher Ali -
Alif. Lām. Mīm.
— Muhammad Asad -
Alif Lam Mim
— Arthur Arberry -
Alif. Lam. Mim.{{1}}
— Abu'l Ala Maududi