(NUN) is a one of the discrete letters. It is well known that the Arabic letters are twenty-eight, half of them exist as discrete letters at the beginning of some Surahs. Some Surahs begin with just one of these letters as in:
ق ۚ وَالْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ
(Qaf. By the honored Qur’an…) (Qaaf: 1)
ص ۚ وَالْقُرْآنِ ذِي الذِّكْرِ
(Sad. By the Qur’an containing reminder…) (Saad: 1)
Yet, some Surahs begin with two of these letters:
حم
(Ha, Meem.) (Al-A’qaf: 1)
Other Surahs begin with three of these letters:
الم
(Alif, Lam, Meem.) (Al-Baqara: 1)
And some begin with four letters:
المص
(Alif, Lam, Meem, Sad.) (Al-A’raf: 1)
Some Surahs as well begin with five letters:
كهيعص
(Kaf, Ha, Ya, ‘Ayn, Sad.) (Mayam: 1)
We notice that the one letter at the beginning of some Surahs is not considered a verse but the two or more letters are considered sometimes a verse, as in Allah’s saying:
حم (1) عسق
(Ha, Meem. (1) ‘Ayn, Seen, Qaf.) (Ash-Shura: 1-2)
The discrete letters are pronounced by their names, not by their sounds as in other words. These letters may refer to a name as in:
} طه{
(Ta, Ha.) (Ta-Ha: 1)
Which is one of the Prophet’s (saws) names. And in:
ن ۚ
(Nun) (Al-Qalam: 1)
Which may refer to a whale. (Qaf) as well in the following verse is a name of a mountain:
ق
(Qaf) (Qaf: 1)
One of the miraculous aspects of the Holy Quran is that is consists of the same letters and words of the normal speech. That is why Allah (swt) often says after these discrete letters:
تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ
(These are the verses of the clear Book.) (Yusuf: 1)
(the clear Book) means that the Holy Quran consists of the these discrete letters which you use in your normal speech.
In another verse, Allah (swt) says:
طس ۚ تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْقُرْآنِ وَكِتَابٍ مُّبِينٍ
(Ta, Seen. These are the verses of the Qur’an and a clear Book) (An-Naml: 1)
Each letter of these discrete letters has a secret; various interpretations were raised about them but they are all just trials. These letters have to be read separately although they are written cursively in Arabic; in this regard, the Prophet (saws) said:
“Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, he will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a ten-fold reward. I do not say that Alif-Lam-Mim is one letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter.”[1]
These letters are the main components of the words of the Holy Quran. Let us give an example of this: If you want to compare the skills of some textile workers, you have to give them all the same material. You do not give one of them cotton, another silk and a third wool, otherwise you cannot know the most skillful, as silk for example is naturally softer. As if Allah (swt) is saying: This Quran is miraculous because it is formed from the same letters you are using, however you cannot meet its challenges. The Holy Quran used your same letters and words and put them in such an eloquent way that you cannot bring even one verse like it. The Holy Quran was revealed in Arabic and challenged the Arabs who were the people of eloquence and magnificent ways of expressions and styles. It was revealed among the people of Quraysh whose dialect enjoined all the accents of the Arabic tribes. There were among them very strong disbelievers, but none of them asked about the meaning of (Alif-Lam-Mim) or (Ha-Mim). If they had found any chance to attack the Quran by these discrete letters, they would have never missed it. This proves that they have understood these letters and knew that they have a deep meaning.
As mentioned before, when these fourteen discrete letters are compiled, they can make up this phrase (نصّ حكيم له سرّ قاطع) which means ‘A wise text with a definite secret’.
(… ن ) (Nun …): Some scholars said that this letter (Nun) refers to the whale. That is why the Prophet Yunus (PBUH) was named (Dha–Nun), meaning: The man of the whale.
وَذَا النُّونِ إِذ ذَّهَبَ مُغَاضِبًا
(And [mention] the man of the whale, when he went off in anger) (Al-Anbiya: 87)
(… وَالْقَلَمِ… ) (…By the pen …): Allah (swt) swears by the pen. Allah (swt) swears by whatever He (swt) wants about whatever He (swt) wants. The oath comes to emphasize the thing that is sworn about because some people have doubts about it. In fact, Allah (swt) has taken oaths by many things in the Holy Quran, such as:
وَالطُّورِ
(By the mount) (At-Toor: 1)
لَا أُقْسِمُ بِهَٰذَا الْبَلَدِ
(Nay, I swear by this city,) (Al-Balad: 1)
The word (Nay) here refers to the refutation against their denial. Meaning, He (swt) does not need to take any oath, but if He (swt) takes an oath He will swear by so and so. Allah (swt) in the Holy Quran swears by the sun, the places of the stars and by the falling star. He is the All-Knowing of His creation; none knows the greatness of a creature better than the One Who created it. He (swt) knows the purposes for which He has created these creatures. However, Allah (swt) ordered us not to take oath except by Him (swt).
The oath is mentioned to emphasize the meaning. In this regard, one has said: “Who provoked the anger of the Most Gracious and made Him take an oath?
In this verse of the study, Allah (swt) swears by the pen which is the tool of writing. That is why it is followed by: and what they inscribe.
The Arabic word of (pen) also may mean a (lot) which people used to use for casting if they differed about something, in this regard Allah (swt) says:
إِذْ يُلْقُونَ أَقْلَامَهُمْ
(when they cast their pens) (Ali-Imran: 44)
Allah (swt) also mentions the pen in plural form, saying:
وَلَوْ أَنَّمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مِن شَجَرَةٍ أَقْلَامٌ وَالْبَحْرُ يَمُدُّهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ سَبْعَةُ أَبْحُرٍ مَّا نَفِدَتْ كَلِمَاتُ اللَّهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
(And if whatever trees upon the earth were pens and the sea [was ink], replenished thereafter by seven [more] seas, the words of Allah would not be exhausted. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.) (Luqman: 27)
Pens used to be made from the branches of the trees, not from the plants that do not have trunks as grass.
( وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ … ) (…and what they inscribe): Some scholars said that it refers to what the angels write of the deed of the humans. Other scholars said that it refers to what Allah (swt) prescribed for the benefit and interest of His creatures.
[1] Sunan at-Tirmidhi: Book: Virtues of the Quran, Chapter of The Excellence of reading the Quran, Hadith No. 2910.