What is meant by the Qur’anic letters ( huruf al-muqatta’at) and why are they used at the beginning of certain chapters?.Part2

In addition to all of the above, the letter sad is frequently used in this chapter within many other words.

 In Arabic the letter sad is also considered to be a symbol and reflection of patience and self-sufficiency, which are believed to be the Divine Attributes of As-Sabur, or the All-Patient, and As-Samad, or the Eternally-Besought-of-All Who is in Need of Nothing and on Whom Everyone Relies.

But, in the sense of human patience it is the Prophets that hold the highest rank; Prophet Job is presented as an example of such human patience as expressed in the verse,

 “… Surely, We found him (Prophet Job) full of patience and constancy. How excellent a servant! He was surely one ever-turning to God in penitence” (Sad 38:44).

All twenty-nine chapters that begin with Qur’anic initials mention the Qur’an itself or its gradual descent ( tanzil) or revelation ( wahy) immediately after these letters. It should be noted that there are 28 letters in Arabic alphabet and half of these 28 letters are used at the beginning of chapters. These 14 letters that are used in different combinations as Qur’anic initials appear more frequently in the Qur’an than the other letters of the Arabic alphabet. These letters seem to be an introduction or indication of something that is important. At first glance their usage may appear meaningless; one reason behind this may be to make any opponents helpless and deprive them of any means to employ. They may be divine passwords or codes which are not able to be solved by human comprehension. It would not be wrong, however, to say that they draw attention to the Qur’an and to its inimitability. These letters also indicate the extraordinary intelligence of the Prophet and make it clear that only he could understand and comprehend the exact meanings of the most secret letters and symbols found here.