Letters are the building blocks of words. Words consist of letters. Consequently, the secrets of the letters unite in words and give them meanings and secrets. To understand the secrets of the words, it is necessary to understand the secrets of the letters. It is not an easy task to understand the secrets of letters and to examine their effects in words. But people who are knowledgeable about secrets can perceive these secrets through discovery.

As for every realm, there is a shari'a in which the world of letters worships by itself. Addressing them is only an order. There is no any prohibition in them. Letters are like the obligatory human world. Unlike other realms. There are ambassadors of their own species within them. The world of letters is the most correct and clear in terms of language and in terms of explanation. They accept all the truths like human beings. But other parts of the realm are not so. For this reason, as in humans, there is a Pole in the letters. The Pole of the letters is Elif. In people, pole position is life that keeps everything alive. This position is special to the pole. Because he walks with his all protection in the world. Elif spreads to the letters  in every aspect of his spirit.

The letter Elif (  ا ) is spread  out in the throat, from the end of the exit place for the sounds the letters, which is the exist place of the breath, up to the last exit place of the breath and extends to the outside air. Therefore, the elif wanders  all of the exit places of the letters. In other words, when  the sound of the letter elif is formed, the sounds of all other letters would be formed simultaneously.  That's what Elif has to create every letters. This feature is also true for the number 1 which belongs to elif. All letters are placed in the letter Elif and consist of it. But Elif does not settle in them. Elif settles into his own spirit

Two of the letters are imams (leaders). These are Vav (  و ) and Ya (  ى ). They are letters of extension, smoothing. Evtâd (central persons) are four: Elif  (  ا ), Vav  (  و ), Te  (  ت ) and Nun (  ن ).

They are signs of the science of vowel points.

 

Order of Quran’s Letters

Letters have various orders. The  letters are in four parts order. The first part is the letters with the order of 7 firmaments. These are Elif (  ا ), Ze (  ز ) and Lâm (  ل ). The second part is the letters with the order of 8 firmaments. These are the letters Nun (  ن ), Sad (  ص ) and Dat  (  ض ). The third part is the letters whose order is 9 firmaments. These are Ayn (  ع ), Gayn (  غ ), Sin (  س ) and Şın (  ش ). The fourth part is the letters of the order of 10 firmaments, these are the remaining eighteen letters. Accordingly, each letter consists of either 7, 8, 9 or 10 firmaments. According to this, the total number of the firmaments formed by all letters is 261

The nature of a letter will be different according to the firmaments in which the letter occurs. There are interferences and interactions between firmaments. Through the movements of firmaments heat, dryness, coldness and dampness are formed which are the main determinants of the elements. The number of firmaments is 203 by their movements the heat is formed. The number of firmaments  in which dryness is formed is 241. The number of firmaments  in which coldness is formed is 65. The number of the firmaments in which the dampness is formed is  27.

The order with 7 firmaments, whose letters are Elif, Ze, Lâm  belong to the divine order. The share of human from the realm of letters, is the order with 8 firmaments, which belongs to the letters Nun, Sad and Dat. The share of the jinni from the realm of letters is the order with 9 firmaments which belongs to the letters   Ayn, Gayn, Sin and Şın. The order of letters consisting of 10 firmaments is the share of the angels in the letters realm.

Because of the truth over which the divine order exists, from these letters three things occur for the divine order. These three things are Zat (essence),  Adjective and the link between Zat and adjective. Thanks to this link, the acceptance of the adjective by Zat occurs. Because the adjective has the right to qualify with him and to touch to his real subject. For instance, science connects itself with what is known and knowning (see:  Sufism and Secrets of Numbers). The volition  connects itself with will and voluntary.

There are three states of human: The first is the state of being with himself not with another. In this state, it is the case where your heart is unaware of everything. The second is in front of Allah. The third is the case with the world. Allah is different from us in this matter. Because He has two states: the first is due to himself, the second because of what he created. There is no existence over God so that God is  to be connected to that thing.

There are secrets in the letter Nun which belongs to the human order, so that they can be heard only by human during deceasing. As the letters Elif, Ze and Lâm indicate that God is eternal, the letter Nun gives the knowledge of the eternal nature of man. Because of His essence is, however clear that to be eternal is a right of God. Because God is eternal and there is not before Him. However  in humans, the eternity is hidden and unknown. Because the eternal nature of the person is not clear. Human’s eternity may be valid because of the aspect of its existence in divine science. It is present as a human by its existence in the eternal science, which relates to the state in which it exists according to its image. To become stable is an intermediate state between existence in the outer (universe) and absence (in the realm of unity) and indicates the presence in divine science. In other words, the eternal nature of man is because of the being  in the science of Allah. There are many secrets identified through discovery on this subject. Arif (wise man), however, explains these secrets to those who are knowledgeable in their knowledge and status, or to those with the highest degree of submitting himself to the will of God. Explaining these secrets to those outside these two classes is haram (forbidden).

Human has a stable state between the existence in the universe and the absence. The form of human in the universe is a copy of this stable state. The divine science of God touchs this stable state, and so human has the property of eternity.

The secrets of the letters cannot be completed. Ibn Arabi says this in his book Fütûhât-ı Mekkiyye:

”If we were to mention the secrets and truths of these letters, the hand would be tired, the pencil would be left in the lurch , the ink would dry out, and even the Levh-i Mahfouz (protected tablets), the tablets and papers would not be enough.”

The verses related to this topic are:

“Tell  them, “If the ocean became ink for writing the words of my Lord, surely the ocean would be exhausted before the words of my Lord came to an end – even if We were to add another ocean to it.” (Al-Kahf, 18/109)

“If all the trees on earth were pens, and the sea (were) ink, with seven (more) seas added to it, the words of God would not be exhausted: for, truly, God is Almighty and Wise.”  (Luqman, 31/27)

 

Secrets of Words

The Arabic word “kelime”, which means word, is produced from the word (keleme) whose meaning is injury.  The words were obtained by adding the letters having a vowel point. There is no benefit in the mixing of the realm of letters with the realm of vowel points  without the words being formed. The arrangement of letters in words is similar to the situation in this verse about our creation: “When I have formed him and breathed My spirit into him…” (Al-Hijr, 15/29). The blowing of the soul here is the placing of vowel points on the letters after the arrangement of the word. Thus, as one of us is called human by the blowing of the soul, a new creation called the word, occurs when the letters are combined and have been placed vowel points on it. That is how the realm of words and the realm of the statements  come out from the realm of letters.

According to this, the letters for words are as the substance water, soil, fire and air to keep the existence of our bodies. After the combination of these substances, God has blown the soul from His command and it has become a human being. In the same way when the wind wins the ability, the soul would be blown itself, and so the jinni is created. When the light wins ability, an angel is formed by accepting the blowing of the soul from the divine command.

Because of this structure partnership, some of the words are similar to human, which is the majority. Some of them resemble the angel and jinn, which are invisible. They are minorities.

Each letter in the words makes up what it requires from its truth. The truth of words is formed by the combination of the truth of the letters. If one of the letters leaves the word, the truth of the word disappears.

Letters are sometimes singular, sometimes double and sometimes plural in the words. These have meanings. The singular letters  indicate that the remainders of human are rubbed out eternally. The double letters indicate the presence of remainders of slavery of human. The plural letters indicate the eternal of the infinite knowledge. In other words, the uniqueness belongs to the without beginning realm, the plurality belongs to never-ending realm,, and the double  belongs to isthmus of Muhammed (pubh).

There are  wonder secrets and signs for those who study God's words. If these divine sciences had been the product of theoretical thought and contemplation, they would have learned  as soon as possible. But they are the manifestations of God and His respectable souls.

They are come down from His unknown realm to the hearts of people, “with a mercy of His Own Side” and “with a knowledge of His Own Side”. In the same  book, Ibn 'Arabi describes how the works and books were written with such a relationship as follows:

“ Our works are the hearts connected to the door of the divine order. They observe  the opening of the door and wait in the state of needy abstracted of any acquired information. Because he lost consciousness, he doesn't hear what's asked when he's in that position. If something flashes at him from the behind  of the curtain, he runs to connect with him and perceives it according to what he describes himself. It is sometimes connected to something that is not any kind of theoretical thinking and the knowledge that the scholars accept. However, it is only because of a secret relationship that discovers only the discovery expert.”

What we do is to tell you what the discovery experts  tell us. The things described here are not objects we create with our own minds. It is only to present the discovery information obtained by the scholars of Sufism, such as Ibn Arabi, to the reader.

 

Secrets of the Letters of The Name “Allah”   الله

The letters of the name of Allah are Elif, Lâm and He. Elif and Lâm are letters, which is the name-determining instrument. If Elif and Lâm come in front of a word in Arabic they make him determined. The letter He at the end of the name is the description of the pronoun. The name of Allah, which consists of these three letters, is the special name of Zat (essence), whose existence is necessary and obligatory . According to this, the reason for three different definitions of this blessed name has come together. Although a letter from these three letters  is sufficient to determine a name, there must be a special meaning in the name of God through the coming of all three letters together.  This meaning is that what the name implies is not undefinable, inexplicable, because of the highness of the grandeur, the highness of its degree, and the power of its authority.

The name Allah is far superior to being comprehended. For this reason, this name is separate from other divine names and is far from being subject to their provisions. In this name, there is no knowledge of what the name implies, only knowing that it is separate from everything else. If the people try to understand the meaning of this name find themselves unable.

It is not possible to know His Essence (Zat). This shows that the name of Allah is completely different from other names. In this way, the creatures were incapable of recognizing Him. Because Allah cannot be understood and never described.

 

Secrets of the Letters in the Qur'an

The Qur'an, written in Arabic letters, consists of words, verses and suras with the composition of Arabic letters. The secrets of letters, words, verses and suras formed by the meanings and wisdom has loaded separately. It is very difficult and even impossible to fully understand them. But the most competent scholars can see their secrets and wisdom. Other people have to be content with the knowledge of these people. As the Sufis say, the world is the opened and described version of the Qur'an. If it is not possible to understand all the secrets of the universe with minds and senses, it is impossible to understand the Qur'an with incisive methods. To understand the secrets that the letters form in the Qur'an  is only possible with the knowledge of discovery.

As regards the secrets of the Qur'an, Imam Rabbanî says in his Spiritual Journey:

“ It is important to note that each letter from the Qur'an covers the whole perfection as summary. It is put the same special virtues in the long suras into short suras. Each surah, every verse, and even every word has a special superiority and its special virtue. It is just like every divine adjective covers the whole divine adjectives and   as well as the existence of its  special virtue and influence.

 

Secrets in Elif-Lâm-Mim  الم

 Elif-Lâm-Mim are three letters  at the beginning of the Sura Al-Baqara. Elif indicates the unification (tawhid), Mim shows the realm which is never been absence.  Lâm shows the connection between these two properties..

Elif-Lâm-Mim is a letter as together. The fact that he has of three is because the realms are united.  Elif, who is in the upper realm,  Lâm is  in the middle realm and Mim is in the lower world.

Elif is single thing, it is not true that it unites in any letter at the beginning of word. Elif in Elif-Lâm-Mim was brought after the last words of the surah of Fatiha, “not from the wrong thinking”, and “amin” (amen) is hidden, because it is an unknown from the realm of the angel.

Elif refers to Essence (Zat). It is the caliph of the letters kingdom,  just as the human being is the caliph in the world. Therefore, it is unknown. He is like the one who refuses to take action. When he refuses to act, it is only possible to know it by isolating the elements from it. What we read is not Elif himself, but the name of Elif.

 

Secrets of the Letters in Besmele:    بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم  

 Besmele means the statement : “ In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”. It is placed at the starting of all Suras. This starting is the beginning and emergence of the existence of the universe. Therefore, the emergence of universe is with “Besmele”. In other words, the realm is appeared by the name of Allah who is  the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

“Besmele” has been assigned to three divine names which are Allah, Rahman (the Compassionate), Rahim (the Merciful). Allah is the name that collects all names. The name Rahman shows a general quality. Therefore, Allah is the Rahman of the world and the Hereafter. This is the mercy of Allah in all things in this world. The name Rahim is dedicated to all who believe in the Hereafter. The realm has been completed in detail by these three names.

Besmele begins with the word  “Bismi”  (bi-ismihi, in the name of Allah). The first letter of this word is the letter Ba ( ب ). Therefore, the entity emerged with the letter Ba and thanks to the point of Ba, it was separated the worshiperfrom what is worshiped. This distinction is the existence of the servant as required by the truth of servitude. Sheikh Abu Medyen  said: “Whatever I saw, was written on it the letter Ba.”

The letter Ba that accompanies all beings is in the order of “cem “ (collection) and vücûd (existence), which is an Order of God (the order of oneness) . So everything has existed and emerged through the letter Ba. The point of Ba indicates the existing things. Thus, three types have occurred in the letter Ba:  shape, point and vowel point. The realms are three. These are the realm of the angelic world shown by the shape of Ba, and the realm of  greatness of God shown by the point of Ba, and the kingdom shown by the vowel point. The merging of these letters in “Besmele” contains many secrets.

 

The Special Secrets of Each Letter

ا (Elif): The authority of Elif is the authority of the union. The name Allah and the adjective “Kayyum” (trustee) belongs to it. His orders are of all orders. Elif is the point of the circle and the circumference of it. It  is the simple and compound of the realms. His number is 1.

ءHemze: Hemze is one of the letters of Kingdom and Angelic world. The exit place  is the end of the throat. It has no order in the numbers.

 ب (Ba): The letter Ba is from the realm of Kingdom and  Deep Sorrow.  The place of exit is from two lips. The beginning and the end of the ways belong to him. His  nature is heat and dryness. His element is fire. His numerical value is 2.

 ت (Te): Te is from the realms of  Absence and  Greatness of God. The exit place  is the same as Dal and Tı. His nature is coldness and dryness and his element is soil. His number value is 404.

ث (Se): Se is from the realms of the Absence, The Greatness of God and Kindness

The place of exit is the same as Zı and Zel. His nature is the element of coldness and dryness and his element is soil. His numeric value is 505.

   ج (Cim): Cim is from the realms of Kingdom and the Greatness of God. The exist place  is the middle of the tongue with the palate. Its nature is  coldness, heat and dryness and its element is soil. Its numerical value is 3.

  ح (Ha): Ha is from the realm of Absence. The exist place  is in the middle of the throat . Its nature is coldness and moistness, and its element is water. The numerical value is 8.

خ(Hı): Hı, is from of the realms of the Absence and Angelic. It exists from the place which is the place after the mouth in throat. The nature of his head is coldness and dryness, and the nature of the other part of his body is heat and moistness. The major element is the air, the small element is the soil. The numerical value is 600.

   د (Dal): Dal is from the realms of Kingdom, Greatness of God and Deep Sorrow. The output location is the same as the letter T. Its nature is coldness and dryness and its element is air. Its numerical value is 4.

 ذ(Zel): Zel is from the realms of Kingdom, Greatness of God, Deep Sorrow.  The place of exit is the same as the exit point of Zı. Its nature is heat and moisture and its element is air. Its numerical value is 7.

 ر (Ra): Ra is from the realms of Kingdom and Greatness of God. The exist place  is on the surface of the tongue and on the front teeth. Its nature is heat, dryness and its element is fire. Its numerical value is 200.

  ز (Ze): Ze is from the realms of Kingdom, Greatness of God and Deep Sorrow., The place of exist  is the same as Sad and Sin. Its nature is heat and dryness and its element is fire. The numerical value is 7.

 س (Sin): Sin is from the realms of Absence, Greatness of God and Kingdom., The place of exist is the same as Sad and Ze. Its nature is heat and dryness and its element is fire. According to light owner its numerical value  60 and 303 according to Ibn Arabi.

 ش (Şın): Şın is from the middle of realms of Absence and Greatness of God. The place of exit is the same as Cim. The nature  is dryness and moisture and its element  is water. According to light owner its numerical value of 300 and 1000  according to Ibn Arabi.

 ص (Sad): Sad is from the realms of Absence and Greatness of God. Its nature is heat and moisture and its element is air. According to light owner its numerical value is 90 and 60 according to Ibn Arabi.

ض(Dat): Dat is from the realms of Kingdom and Greatness of God. The exist place is between the front end of the tongue and the molar teeth. Its nature is  coldness and moisture and its element is water. The numerical value is  800 according to light owner and 90 according to Ibn Arabi.

ط(Tı): Tı is from the Kingdom and Greatness of God. The exist place is at the end of the tongue and at the root of the front teeth. Its nature is coldness and moisture and its element is water. The numerical value is 9.

ظ(Zı): Zı is from the realms of Kingdom, Greatness of God and Deep Sorrow. The exist place is between the two ends of the tongue and the ends of the teeth. The  nature of its circle  is coldness and moisture and  the nature of its length is heat and moisture. Great element is water, small element is air. According to light owner the numerical value is 900 and 808 according to Ibn Arabi.

  ع (Ayn): Ayn is from the realms of Kingdom and Angelic. The exist place is in the middle of the throat. Its nature is heat and moisture. Its element is water. Its numerical value is 70.

غ (Gayn): Gayn is from the realms of Kingdom and Angelic. The exist place is the closest part of the throat to the mouth. Its nature is coldness and moisture and its element is water. Its numerical value is1000 according to light owner and 900 according to Ibn Arabi.

  ف (Fe): Fe is from the realms of Kingdom, Greatness of God, Absence and Kindness. The exist place  is through the lower lip and the ends of the front teeth. Its nature is heat, coldness and moisture. The numerical value is 88.

 ق (Kaf): Kaf is from the realms of Kingdom and Greatness of God. The exit place is from the end of the tongue to the nasal passages. Its nature of the end  is heat and dryness, the other parts coldness and moisture.  Its element is water and fire. The numerical value is 100.

   ك (Kef): Kef is from the realms of Absence and Greatness of God. The exist place  is the same as Kaf, but below it. Its nature is heat and dryness. Its element is water. Its numerical value is 20.

   ل (Lâm): Lâm is from the realms of Kingdom and Greatness of God. The place of exit is from the end of the tongue to the end. Its  nature is heat, dryness and coldness. The big element is fire, and the small one is soil. Numerical value is 30.

  م (Mim): Mim is from the realms of Kingdom and Deep Sorrow. The exist place  is the same as the exist place of Ba. Its nature is coldness and dryness. Its element is soil.  The numerical value is 40.

   ن (Nun): Nun is from the realms of the Kingdom and Greatness of God. The exist place  is on the end of the tongue and on the front teeth. Its nature is coldness and dryness. Its element is soil. The numerical value is 55.

    و (Vav): Vav is from the realms of Kingdom and Deep Sorrow. The exist place  is between two lips. Its nature is heat and moisture and its element is air. Its numerical value is 6.

    ه (He): He is one of the letters of  Absence. The exit place is the end of the throat. Its nature is coldness, dryness, heat and moisture just like Utarit. The large element is soil and the smaller is air. The numerical value is 5.

ى (Ya): Ya  is from the realms of Kingdom and  Greatness of God. The place of exit is the same as the letter of  Şın. Its nature is coldness, dryness, heat and moisture. The big element is fire and  the small element is  water. The numerical value is 10.

 

Result

Nothing in realm is created in vain and unnecessarily. Everything was created with a wisdom. These wisdoms contain endless secrets. Letters are also objects created by God. They are also a realm and contain many wisdom and secrets. To see these wisdom and secrets is not possible with minds and senses. However, it is possible to learn some of these secrets with the help of Science of Secrets.

The most important Sufi who examined the secrets of letters through discovery is Ibn 'Arabi. The secrets of the letters are explained in detail in Part 2 of Chapter 1 of the book of  Ibn Arabî  “Fütûhât-ı Mekkiyye”.

The secrets of Qur'anic verses, secrets of faith branches, and secrets of creation can be learned by examining the secrets of letters. These secrets are not so easy to learn. In order to learn these secrets, you must be a dead one before you die. This is possible only by becoming a true Sufi.

God's knowledge is boundless. Only a small part of this science is given to us. One must try very hard to achieve even this very small part. Some articles have been published on our website about Sufism.

We hope that Allah will allow everyone to have these divine knowledge and secrets.

 

References

 

“Ariflerin Halleri”,  Imam Rabbani, Sufi Book, Istanbul, 2006

“Füsusul Hikem”, Ibn Arabî, İstanbul Bookstore, Istanbul, 1981

“Fütûhût-ı Mekkiyye ”, Ibn Arabi, Litera Publishing, Istanbul, 2006

“Secrets of the Letters”, Ibn Arabi, Litera Publishing, Istanbul, 2015

“Divine Names”, İsmail Hakkı Bursevî, Sufi Kitap, İstanbul, 2008

“Spiritual Journey”, Imam Rabbani, Sufi Book, Istanbul, 2006

“Marifetname”, Erzurumlu İbrahim Hakkı, Hasankale Association, Hasankale, 1980

 

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Sufism and Secrets of Quran’s Letters

Publication Date :  22.04.2019