BISMILLAH HIR RAHMAN NIR RAHEEM
(In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)
All praise is for Allah. Darood (Blessings) and Salaam (Peace) on Muhammad, his Family, and his Companions.
The Arabic letter
Ha (
) is almost equivalent to the
letter ‘H' in the English alphabet. It is the
sixth letter
in the Arabic character set.
Ha in Arabic numerology which is known as Abjad, has the value of 8. { 8 Carry The Throne plus 1 Sits upon the Throne}
This article is about the
spiritual meaning of the letter Ha.
The letter
Ha () along with the letter
Meem (
) is used as the opening letter of
7 chapters in the Quran as
.
{7 HA MEEM }
The letter Ha is also the 11th and 17th letter in the verse Bismillah (shown at the top of this page).
The letter Ha is for
Hamd
(Praise) and All
Hamd
is for Allah The Rabb (Lord) of the Worlds. These are the opening words of
chapter 1 in the Quran. They are the most repeated words. In other words All
Praise is for Allah... (chapter 1) is repeated in every Rakah of prayer and in
everyday conversation among Muslims.
The letter
Ha
is one of the letters of
Muqattaat. That is, it is used in the opening verses of
certain chapters in the Quran. The word
Harf
meaning letter also starts with
the letter Ha. It is the
Huroof (letters)
that make the words. No book can be written without words. Words are made by
arranging the letters in a certain way, so that they make up words that are
intelligent. Sentences are formed by arranging the words in a certain way. No
words or sentences can be written without letters. Anyone can make up a
sentence, in Arabic, for example. But that sentence will not have any ‘power' or
‘force' to attract the angels. In the Quran the Arabic letters are arranged in
such a way that they bring the Power of Allah into action.
If we look at the position of the two letters Ha in the verse Bismillah, they are placed in positions 11 and 17. Why?
It is because Ha when used to represent Huroof (letters), it shows us that there are 28 Huroof (11 + 17, letters 28=Rasul) in the Arabic script. What is the significance of the Harf (letter)?
88 Say: "If the whole of mankind and Jinn were to gather together to produce the like of this Quran they could not produce the like thereof even if they backed up each other with help and support.
[Quran: Al Israa Chapter 17]
The chapter (17 = 1 + 7 = 8) and
verse numbers (88) hint at the letter
Ha ( = 8). It is the arrangement of the Arabic
letters that are recognised by the angels who come to assist mankind when Allah
Wills. Hence the whole of mankind and jinn together, cannot ever produce
anything remotely similar to the verses of the Quran. Whatever they (mankind and
jinn together) produce will not have the ‘force' or the ‘power' of the Quran.
Angels will not recognise the forgery as they recognise the Word of Allah. The
arrangement and order of the Arabic letters in the Quran is very important. That
is why the Quran must be recited in Arabic.
By reciting the Quran or doing Zikr Allah, we are engaged in the Hamd (praise) of Allah. What is Hamd?
Hamd is saying Praise to Allah. Hamd is remembering Allah. The way to remember Allah is to call Him often by any, or some, or all of His Names mentioned in the Quran. Almost everyone will say there are 99 Names of Allah mentioned in the Quran. In fact there are more than 99 Names. These 99 Names are referred to as Al Asma ul Husna - The Most Beautiful Names.
Why are there so many Names of Allah when Allah is One? The proper Name of our Creator is Allah.
The other ‘Names' are His Attributes. Each Ism (‘Name') of Allah has a different Quality. Each Ism (Name) is made up of different combinations of the Huroof (Arabic letters).
Each Harf (letter) has its own quality. Each letter has its own angel assigned by Allah. Each angel has rows and rows of angels under its command. All these angels come under the command of the angel { Maliaka Ijabiruun} who is assigned to a particular Ism (Name) of Allah.
Each and every Ism (Name) has Its own Goodness.
If we look at all the 99
Asma ul Husna, we
find that there is a Name of Allah in Arabic which starts with every
Harf (letter) of the Arabic letter except for the
five letters
-
Dal,
- Za,
-
Toin,
-
Ya and
- Sa (or Tha?).
That is 23 out of 28 Arabic letters are used as the initial letter of the 99 Asma ul Husna. Or to put it another way 5 out of 28 Arabic letters are not used as the initial letter of the 99 Asma ul Husna. Insha Allah, the above five letters will be looked at in there own separate books. If we look, we will find even more than 99 Names of Allah in the Quran which are not included in the Asma ul Husna.
For
- Dal we have the Name
Daiem -
.
For
- Za we have the Name
Zakkee -
and the Names
Yubdee
and
Yueed
for
- Ya.
Now we have 26 out of 28 letters which are used as the initial letter in the Name of Allah.
The
two letters that are not used are
- Toin and
-
Sa (or Tha?).
If we look at the number of Arabic letters used as
the initial letter for the Names of Allah we have 26 which is 2 + 6 = 8 = for
Hamd.
Each Name of Allah has Its own Blessing and Goodness. Each particular Name of Allah is ideal for overcoming a particular hardship or difficulty. If we mention all the Names of Allah, everyday, then there is no problem so great that cannot be overcome by Allah's Permission.
There are as many different reasons for Praising Allah as the number of people Praising Him. They can all be categorized in the following three groups.
Hamd is Praise for Allah just for the sake of Allah and no other reason.
Hamd is Praise for Allah for the sake of seeking guidance.
Hamd is Praise for Allah for seeking a favor.
Hamd is the same Praise and yet for so many reasons.
Therefore the basis of Hamd is intention.
Al Hamdu Lillah most Muslims Praise Allah most of the time just for the sake of praising Him and for no other reason. Praising of Allah has become a habit with them. And when they neglect their prayers and praise, they feel that something is missing from their lives. They feel lost and ashamed before Allah. This is the mark of a good Muslim.
There is another side to Hamd. When we Praise Allah, He assigns angels to assist His servant. These angels are the ones that recognise that particular Name of Allah.
The way to Praise Allah is to select one or two or more of His Names and repeat them over and over again. The decision as to which Name is chosen by an individual is based on the Name of Allah that attracts the individual the most. That particular Name of Allah becomes Ism Azam (Greatest Name of Allah) for that particular individual. By calling Allah with one's personal Ism Azam, Allah fulfils the prayers of His servant.
110 Say: "Call upon Allah or call upon Rahman: by whatever name you call upon Him: to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Neither say your Prayer aloud nor say it in a low tone but seek a middle course between."
[Quran: Al Israa Chapter 17]
Verse 110 + chapter 17 = 127 = 12
+ 7 = 19 = 1 + 9 = 10 = 1 + 0 = 1.
Or
110+17 = 127 = 1 + 27 = 28 = 2 + 8 = 10 = 1 + 0 = 1.
8 Allah! there is no god only He! To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.
[Quran: Ta Ha Chapter 20]
Verse 8 + chapter 20 = 28
(letters) = 2 + 8 = 10 = 1 + 0 = 1.
Whichever way we look at it, to reach the One we need to concentrate on the
letters in the Quran and their combinations. The above two references from the
Quran, each equates to 28, one way or another.
There are two more references in the Quran of Asma ul Husna which are included here which do not equate to 28:
180 The Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah: so call on Him by them; but avoid such men that use profanity in His names: for what they do they will soon be requited.
[Quran: Al Aaraf Chapter 7]
Verse 180 + chapter 7 = 187 = 1 + 7 + 8 = 16 = 1 + 6 = 7.
24 He is Allah the Creator the Evolver the Bestower of Forms (or colours). To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names: Whatever is in the heavens and on earth does declare His Praises and Glory: and He is the exalted in Might the Wise.
[Quran: Al Hashr Chapter 59]
Verse 24 + chapter
59 = 83 = 8 + 3 = 11 = 1 + 1 = 2.
Why do the above two verses not equate to 28 or 1? We have to find an answer to
that. Husna
is the operative word here. We shall come back to the 7 and 2 from the above
results further along in this book.
HIJAAB
is another word that starts with the letter Ha .
Hijaab is the veil
between Allah and the creation
.
Hijaab is a veil that can be removed if Allah Wills. We can realize Allah through His Works or Signs:
1 Glory to (Allah) Who did take His Servant for Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose precincts We did Bless in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the one Who hears and sees (all things).
[Quran: Al Israa Chapter 17]
To remove the Hijaab we have to emulate Allah's Qualities or Attributes of Hearing and Seeing as we are told in the above verse We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the one Who hears and sees. ‘Seeing' in this context does not mean just seeing with the physical eye.
It also means reason, intelligence and logic. If we listen carefully and try to ‘see' the reality of the things as they are, then the Hijaab (veil) gets lifted, if Allah Wills.
The reality of things becomes plain to ‘see', or to understand.
The greatest Hijaab (veil) between the spiritual meaning and the literal meaning of the Quran are the Huroof (Arabic letters).
Yet the letters in the Quran
are manifest. Al Baqara (Quran: chapter 2) starts with the letters
Alif, Laam and
Meem
.
We look at these letters, and yet we do not see them. We overlook these letters every time. We read these letters, and yet we do not listen to them. We hear these letters, and yet we do not understand them. The veil on the spiritual meaning of the Quran is not deliberate.
The letters are placed right in front of us at the start of the chapters so that we do not have difficulty in finding them.
Yet, we quickly read them without pausing to think ‘why?'.
It is human nature to overlook the obvious.
If we try to see the words in the Quran letter by letter, then the words that are not clearly understood, start to reveal their meanings by Allah's Permission. The following are references from the Quran about the Message of the Quran and Hijaab:
45 When you do recite the Quran We put between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter a veil invisible:
[Quran: Al Israa Chapter 17]
5 They say: "Our hearts are under veils (concealed) from that to which you do invite us and in our ears a deafness and between us and you is a screen: so you do (what you will); for us we shall do (what we will!)."
[Quran: Ha Meem Chapter 41]
Hikmat
means wisdom. Hikmat also starts with the letter
Ha
. The word
Hikmat is
mentioned 19 times{19 letters BismiAllah} in the Quran. Almost every time, the Book (Scriptures) is
mentioned, the word Hikmat is used
alongside. What is Hikmat
or wisdom? Wisdom is learning. The learning process starts from the day we are
born. Learning is a continuous process to which there is no end. Wisdom comes
from learning. Wisdom is knowledge. Knowledge has many branches. We seek
knowledge from an early age. Wisdom is discernment. We can only discern or
distinguish if we have a knowledge base. The Quran is full wisdom. We must learn
wisdom from the wise Quran.
1 Ya Seen
2
By the wise Quran.
[Quran: Ya Seen Chapter 36]
What is the basis of wisdom in any book? The words. The words can only be formed if there is a character set. The Arabic character set is the basis of the Quran. It is the letters which are the roots of the wisdom.
MEEM There are seven chapters in the Quran which start with the letters Ha Meem. They are chapters 40 to 46 inclusive. The opening verses are shown here:
1 Ha Meem
2
The revelation of this Book is from Allah Exalted in Power Full of Knowledge
[Quran: Al Muumin Chapter 40]
1 Ha Meem
2
A revelation from (Allah) Most Gracious Most Merciful
[Quran: Ha Meem Chapter 41]
1 Ha Meem
2 Ayn Seen Qaf
3
Thus does (He) send Inspiration to you as (He did) to those before you Allah
Exalted in Power full of Wisdom.
[Quran: Ash Shura Chapter 42]
1 Ha Meem
2
By the Book that makes things clear
[Quran: Az Zukhruf Chapter 43 AND Ad Dukhan Chapter 44]
1 Ha Meem
2
The revelation of the Book is from Allah the Exalted in power Full of Wisdom.
[Quran: Al Jasiyat Chapter 45 AND Al Ahqaf Chapter 46]
Let us try and analyze the above verses.
In chapters 40 and 41, the second verses end in Meem. In chapter 42 we cannot derive much information from verse 2 (Ayn Seen Qaf) so we should look at the next verse, which is 3. That too ends in Meem.
Chapters 43 and 44, second verses
end in Noon
.
Noon is connected with
Noor
(Light) of Allah.
Allah is telling us in both these chapters, in the second verses By the Book that makes things clear. Just in case we missed it in chapter 43, the verse is repeated in chapter 44 to highlight it. How are things made clear in a book?
Books are made up of words. Words are made up of letters. The things being clarified to us are the letters, in this case Ha and Meem, which preceded the verse which points to clarification. Finally, in chapters 45 and 46, the second verses again end in Meem. Not only that, but Allah's attribute Al Hakeem (The Wise) is used as the last word.
The Attribute
Hakeem
starts
with Ha and ends with
Meem. Just to
emphasize the opening letters, the verse is repeated in the last two chapters
(45 & 46) out of the seven chapters. The attribute
Al Hakeem
was also the last word in verse 3 chapter 42. It is clear. Nothing has been
hidden.
In total, we have three out of seven chapters emphasizing the Attribute Al Hakeem. We have five out of seven chapters where the ‘non-lettered' verses end in Meem.
All the above chapters are placed consecutively in the Quran.
The first one is placed in the 40th position. That is the clue. Allah is telling us that the clue is in the letter Meem which has a numerical value of 40. If that is not enough, Chapter 40 is named Mu_min. What is the connection?
There are 7 chapters starting with the letters Ha Meem. { 7 Verses of Al-Fatiha}
From what has been covered above, the initial emphasis is on Meem. If we find the total sum of the 7 Meems we get 7 x 40 = 280.
We could look at the result as a magnification of the 28
Huroof
( - letters) by a
factor of 10 (28 x 10 = 280). Or we could look at it from a different angle
and see that Allah is telling the created (‘0') to understand the
28 Huroof.
If that is not obvious, then
convert the number
‘280' into letters of the value
200 =
(Ra) and
80 =
(Fa). Add them to the
initial letter Ha (
) and we have the word
-
Harf meaning letter.
We are again being reminded that the spiritual Message is in the letters of the Quran.
Alif Laam Meem. That Book in which there is no doubt. Allah is Speaking to us through the Quran with the 28 letters. The Quran contains the Speech of Allah. { Thru Holy Tongue of Sayedena Muhammad (S)}
Why are there only 7 chapters with the opening letters Ha Meem?
It was stated earlier in this book, that everyone thinks there are 99 Names or Attributes belonging to Allah. In reality, there are more than 150 Attributes of Allah mentioned in the Quran. The reason for thinking there are 99 names is the following Hadees:
Allah's Messenger
said, "Allah has ninety-nine Names, one-hundred less one; and he who
memorized
them all by heart will enter Paradise."
[Sahih Al Bukhari]
Where does the number 99 come
from? What was Allah's Messenger
trying to tell us? Could the number 99 have come from the letters
Ha Meem
since Muhammad
did
the most Hamd
of Allah?
If we add the numerical values of
the above two letters we get:
(=) 8 + (=)
40 = 48.{4+8=12 twelve veils of Allah dress on Muhammad (s)}
However, if we write the letters as we pronounce them when reciting the
Quran we have:
HA ( =
) and MEEM ( =
). If we add the numerical value
of these letters now we get:
(=
1) + (= 8) + (=
40) + (= 10) + (=
40) = 99.
Coming back to the question of the ‘missing' eighth letter Ha. In the references to the Asma ul Husna in the Quran (in the section by the same name in this book), the last two quotations were the clues to finding the missing letters.
Verse 180 + chapter 7 = 187 = 1+ 7 + 8 = 16 = 1 + 6 = 7.
The above tells us that there are
7 letters Ha
used in the opening verses of 7 chapters.
The next reference:
Verse 24 + chapter 59 = 83 = 8 + 3 = 11 = 1 + 1 = 2.
This reference tells us that there are two more letters Ha which are separate. Why are there two more? That is because we have to find the letter Ha as it sounds when reciting. The letter itself is not Hamd. Only with recitation is there Hamd. Keeping the Quran in the house is not Hamd. Only by opening the Quran and reading it, are we engaged in Hamd.
Therefore we are being told that the missing letters can only be found by reading the letter Ha.
So we read the letter and we make the sound
HA
we get the number
(8 + 1 ) = 9.
{power of 9 is in Hamd, 8 carry Throne + 1 Sits
Upon It see article Power of Hands}
This is the total number of the letters Ha that we must find.
Now, where are the missing two letters Ha? Right in front of our eyes. The second occurrence of Ha Meem in the Quran chapter 41 verse 2 shows us where to look. Or, to say it in another way, we are being told in the above two references to look at the second (2) of the 7 chapters starting with Ha Meem to find the missing two letters Ha.
2 A revelation from (Allah) Most Gracious Most Merciful
[Quran: Ha Meem Chapter 41]
Notice the name of the chapter is also Ha Meem just in case we did not think of looking at the Asma ul Husna connection.
The two missing letters Ha are in the words RaHman (Most Gracious) and RaHeem in the above verse.
Where have we seen these two Names of Allah before? In the verse Bismillah Hir Rahman Nir Raheem. The Opening verse of the Quran. Where there is Hamd, there will be angels present. Where there is Hamd there will be Allah's Rahmat (Mercy). And Hamd begins with Bismillah Hir Rahman Nir Raheem.
Allah is Al Hayy, the Living One. He created us out of dust and gave us life by breathing into us His life giving Breath. We should be thankful for that. We should say Allah's Praise. Some readers may say that they had no choice in the matter and would rather not have been born at all. That is not true.
Allah assembled all the progeny of Adam from Adam to the last person to be born and asked us all, "Am I not your Rabb?" We have all testified that He is our Rabb. Only then did He send us to this world.
Mankind being a weak creature,
forgets in the process of growing up. That is not a problem. Allah is
Al Hakeem, The Wise One. He knows our weaknesses. He sent
us His Messengers (
)
to remind us of our pact with Allah. The Messengers ()
of Allah left their communities Scriptures as a reminder. With the completion of
the Messengers (),
Allah has given us the Quran as the Final Message in Truth from
Al Haqq,
The True One.
To say that one did not have a
choice, is wrong. We all grabbed at the chance of appearing in this world. None
of us are perfect, except the Messengers () of Allah. The rest of us, we commit sins. We
make mistakes. We rebel against Allah. Allah is
Al Haleem, The Forbearing, The Tolerant. He is always
ready to forgive and accept repentance while we are in this world. The way to
repent is to Praise Allah, because He is
Al Hameed,
The Praiseworthy. Allah is not in need of anyone or anything. It is us, who are
in need of Him. It is us, who need His Help. It is us, who need His Mercy and
Blessing. It is us, who need His Protection.
If we keep Praising Allah, He becomes Al Hafeez, The Protector. He Protects us from all kinds of harm, visible and invisible. He takes on that responsibility Himself.
In conclusion, it is the Huroof (letters) of the Holy Quran which are the veils. It is the Huroof of the Quran that are manifest. It is the Huroof of the Quran that are the guidance from Allah when they are formed into words and verses. Hamd (Praise) of Allah can only be done when the creature brings the Huroof into life by recitation.
The
Hijaab
(veil)
if looked at as a numerical number
equates to 8() + 3()
+ 1() + 2()
= 14.
There are 14 Huroof Muqattaat.
These days we use abbreviations left, right and centre. We are surrounded by them. Allah in His Wisdom showed us how to write abbreviations.
Could Ha Meem be an abbreviation for Huroof Muqattaat? { Hamd Muhammad Haqiqat Muhammad}
Ha Meem is used 7 times in the same combination. Two letters used seven times (2 x 7) equals 14 letters.
The Huroof Muqattaat are used in 29 chapters{29th Name of Rasul is Abdullaah, 2+9= 11=Name of Rasul is YASEEN } of the Quran. There are 28 characters in Arabic.... or are there really 29 characters?
Is the 29th letter Laam-Alif or Hamza? {Represents Annilation}
Each Name of Allah has its own Goodness and Blessings. It is up to us by which Name we call or Praise Him. Whichever Name of Allah we choose, may Allah make that Name Ism Azam for us. May Allah bestow His Mercy and His Blessings on every Muslim. Only Allah Knows Best. And finally......
Al Hamdu Lillah. All Praise is for Allah. Allah is the Praised. He is praised by angels, mankind, jinn, animals, plants and everything besides. { No Praise has value for Allah other Than Praise of Sayedena Hamid}
44 The seven heavens and the earth and all beings therein declare His praise: there is not a thing that does not celebrate His praise; and yet you do not understand how they declare His praise! He is Haleem (Forbearing) Ghafoor (Forgiving)
[Quran: Al Israa Chapter 17]
Each creation praises Allah in
their own way. The Muslims must Praise Allah in the Arabic language that He,
Himself has chosen for the followers of Muhammad
.
Allah is the Praised and Allah the Praised
added an Alif ()
to the Hamd (Praise)
and created Ahmad
(the Praised One)
.
6 And when Isa (Jesus) son of Maryam (Mary) said: Children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah sent to you, confirming that which was (revealed) before me in the Torah, and bringing good tidings of a messenger who will come after me, whose name is Ahmad (the Praised One). Yet when he has come to them with clear proofs, they say: This is common magic.
[Quran: As Saff Chapter 61]
Ahmad did the Most
Hamd (Praising) of Allah and he became better known as
Muhammad
-
The Most Praised One.
Muhammad
praised Allah to such an extent that no one before him, during his time, or
after him will ever attain his status in Allah's Presence.
Muhammad
praised Allah to such an extent that Allah revealed the Reality of all the
Al Asma ul Husna
to him. Allah removed the Hijaab (veil)
from Muhammad
and
brought him to His Own Presence.
It was all through the
Hamd
(Praise) of Allah. Allah created Muhammad
- Most Praised One who lived up to his name. Subhan Allah.
Only Allah Knows Best.
Darood (Blessings) and Salaam (Peace) on Muhammad, His Family, and His Companions
Khalid M. Malik Ghouri
BISMILLAH HIR RAHMAN NIR RAHEEM
Al Haseeb, Al Hakam, Al Hakeem, Al Haleem,
Al Hafeez, Al Haqq, Al Hameed, Al Hayy
Darood (Blessings) and Salaam (Peace) on Muhammad, his Family, and his Companions.
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