ALIF

The letter Alif ( ا‎ ) is a monogram frequently placed at the head of letters, prescriptions, . It is the initial letter of the word Allāh ( الله‎ ), “God.” ALIF LĀM MĪM. The Arabic letters الم‎ , corresponding to A L M , which occur at the commencement of six Sūrahs, namely Sūratu ʾl-Baqarah ( II .), Sūratu Ālu ʿImrān ( III .), Sūratu ʾl-ʿAnkabūt ( XXIX .), Sūratu ʾr-Rūm ( XXX .), Sūratu Luqmān ( XXXI .), and Sūratu ʾs-Sijdah ( XXXII .). Muḥammad never explained the meaning of these mysterious letters, and consequently they are a fruitful source of perplexity to learned commentators. Jalālu ʾd-dīn gives an exhaustive summary of the different views in his Itqān (p. 470). Some suppose they stand for the words Allāh , “God”; Lat̤īf , “gracious”; Majīd , “glorious.” Others say they stand for Ana ʾllāhu aʿlamu , “I am the God who knoweth.” Others maintain that they were not meant to be understood, and that they were inserted by the Divine command without explanation, in order to remind the reader that there were mysteries which his intellect would never fathom. ĀLU ʿIMRĀN ( آل عمرآن‎ ). “The family of ʿImrān.” The title of the third chapter of the Qurʾān. ʿĀLIM ( عالم‎ ), pl. ʿulamāʾ . A learned man. The term usually includes all religious teachers, such as Imāms, Muftīs, Qāẓīs, and Maulawīs ; and in Turkey it denotes the political party led by the religious teachers. AL -ʿALĪM ( العليم‎ ). One of the ninety-nine special names of God. It frequently occurs in the Qurʾān, and means “The Wise One.” ALLĀH ( الله‎ ). [ GOD .] ALLĀHU AKBAR ( الله اكبر‎ ). “God is great,” or “God is most great.” An ejaculation which is called the Takbīr . It occurs frequently in the liturgical forms, and is used when slaying an animal for food. [ TAKBIR .]