The Quran e Majeed begins with Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim. The Arabic alphabet starts with alif, but the Quran, revealed upon RasulullahSA in pure Arabi ye mubin, begins with “baa” the second letter of the alphabet written in the form of an alif. The wonders of the Quran amaze and confound from the very beginning. Following the umm ul kitab, is Surat ul Baqara. Scholars have suggested that the group of letters “alif lam meem” which introduce the surat, is a qasam that Allah swears by, others have said that it is a literary device used to attract an audience. In the next line, Allah swears by “that kitab” (zalik al kitab). Contrary to expectation, the Quran, refers to itself as “that” instead of “this”. Or perhaps the Quran is not speaking of itself but of a different Quran? The answer to this question and more have continued to enthrall and amaze for 1400 years; the keys to these mysteries and these secrets lies with only those who are worthy of the title of “Ahl uz Zikr”.
