A1L30M40
Translation endnotes
[2:1] A1L30M40. The meaning of 14 different combinations of alphabet letters/numbers initializing 29 chapters of the Quran remained a secret for centuries until 1974. Many scholars attempted to understand the meaning of these initial letters with no results. A computerized study that started in 1969 revealed in 1974 a 19-based mathematical design that was prophesied in Chapter 74. The frequency of the 14 alphabet letters in 14 different combinations that initialize 29 chapters are an integral part of this mathematical structure. Arabs, during the time of revelation, did not use what we now know as Arabic Numerals. A notable book, The Universal History of Numbers by George Ifrah, dedicates Chapters 17-19 to ancient numerical systems, titled: Letters and Numbers, The Invention of Alphabetic Numerals and Other Alphabetic Number-Systems. The book provides extensive information on the Hebrew, Armenian, Phoenician, Greek, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopian Alphabetic Numerals. According to historical evidence, during the era of Muhammed, Arabs were using their alphabet as their numbering system. The Arabic alphabet then was arranged differently and was named after its first four letters, ABJaD. Each of the 28 letters of the alphabet corresponded to a different number starting from 1 to 9, from 10 to 90, and then from 100 to 1000. When Arabs started adopting Hindu numerals in 760 AC, long after the revelation of the Quran, they abandoned their alphabet/numeral system in favor of a pedagogically arranged alphabet, which is currently in use. Below is the list of the 28 Arabic letters/numbers. When they are put next to each other, their numerical values are added to each other to attain a total number. For instance, the numerical value of ALLaH (God) is 1+30+30+5=66, of ShaHYD (Witness) is 300+5+10+4=319, and of WAHiD (One) is 6+1+8+4=19. (The word WAHiD is missepelled as Wa- HiD in modern manuscripts. But the oldest available manuscripts and numerous oldest fragments uses the word with Alif, as WA- HiD) Thus, the Quran is not only a literary book, but also a book made of numbers. The numerical structure of the Quran has two features: intertwined patterns among the physical frequency of its literary units, such as letters, words, phrases, verses, and chapters AND intertwined patterns among the numerical values (ABJaD) of these literary units. Considering the relevancy of the common meaning of words and letters during the time of revelation, we cannot ignore the fact that the combinations of letters that initialize 29 chapters are primarily numbers. After Arabs commonly adopted the Indian numerals in the 9th century, unfortunately, the numerical system prevalent during the revelation became an antique abused by charlatan psychics, and astrologists. It is ironic that an innovation (today's Arabic numerals) replaced the original (ABJaD), but through the passage of time people started considering the original to be the innovation! The allergy of Muslim scholars to ABJaD and its use in the Quran, does not allow them to open their eyes to marvels of the numerically structured book (83:7-21). To verify and witness the mathematical system of the Quran, one does not need to know Arabic, though the knowledge of Arabic might increase the magnitude of its appreciation. Though there are hundreds of examples of the 19-based mathematical system, there are surely many still out there yet to be discovered. Meanwhile, there are also some issues that need to be resolved; for instance, the count of the letter Alif still remains to be settled. We know the mathematical structure of the Quran verifies both the extraordinary nature of the text and its miraculous preservation from tampering. However, the system still involves the entire Quran and we have yet to discover a miraculous system verifying the divinity and authenticity of each chapter, independently. Observers reacting to this prophetic feature fall into three main groups: 1) unappreciative skeptics or fanatic religionists who reject its existence without sufficient investigation; 2) appreciative seekers of truth who witness it and experience a paradigm change; and 3) gullible people who are impressed by it without fully appreciating the statistical facts and consequently indulge in "discovering" their own "miracles" through arbitrary numerical manipulations and jugglery. Ironically, the third group’s exaggerated claims serve as justification for the first group’s beliefs. For more information on this issue, please visit, 19.org. See 74:1-56.