[2:1] Alif lām mīm.
According to some people, these isolated letters at the beginning of the sura are among the ambiguous [verses], the interpretation (taÌwīl) of which is known only to God. They say every book has a mystery and the mystery of God in the QurÌān is these isolated letters.
According to other people they are acronyms for His Names: the alif is from the Name 'Allah', the lām indicates His Name al-la?īf ('the Subtle'), and the mīm indicates His Names al-majīd ('the Glorious') and al-malik ('the King').
It is said God made an oath by means of these letters, an honor they hold because they are the basic elements of His Names and His Speech.
It is said that they are the names of suras [of the QurÌān].
It is said that the alif indicates the Name Allāh, the lām indicates the name Jibrīl (Gabriel), and the mīm indicates the name Muḥammad (ṣ), since this Book descended from God upon the tongue of Gabriel to Muḥammad (ṣ).
Among the [Arabic] letters, alif is independent (infaradat) in its form because it does not connect to other letters in writing; all but a few of the letters connect. By contemplating this quality, the servant becomes aware of the need of all creation for Him and His Self-sufficiency from all.
It is said that the sincere servant remembers from the status of the alif the absolute freedom of the Real (swt) from being particularized by place. All of the letters have a place in the throat, the lip or the tongue, etc., for articulation, except alif. It is His 'His-ness' (huwiya) without being ascribed to any place.
It is said the allusion in [the alif] is to the servant's standing alone (infirād) for God (swt) so that he will be like the alif which is not connected to any letter, and will not abandon the state of standing straight and upright before Him.
It is said that at His address alif, the servant is called in his innermost self to withdraw (infirād) the heart to God Most High. At His address lām, he is asked to yield (līn) to Him in considering His due. Upon hearing the mīm he is asked to conform (muwāfaqa) to His command regarding that which has been entrusted to him.
It is said that each letter has a specific form and the alif is alone (infaradat) in its being a vertical line, set apart from connection with other letters like it, so He assigned the front part of the Book for it. This is an allusion to the fact that anyone who has renounced the connection with likenesses and distractions attains the good fortune of the sublime rank and wins the ultimate degree. He has become worthy to speak with the detached letters (al-ḥurūf al-munfarida) which are not combined, following the custom of lovers (sunnat al-aḥbāb) in veiling the state and hiding the affair from strangers to the story. Their poet said:
I said to her, 'stop'.
She said 'qāf'.
[The poet] did not say 'She stopped' (waqaftu) so that no onlooker would see, nor did he [have her] say, 'I will not stop' (lā aqif) in tending to the heart of the beloved, but rather, 'She said “qāf”'.
It is said that there are many expressions (ʿibārāt) for ordinary people (ʿumūm) and [many] symbols (rumūz) and allusions (ishārāt) for the elect (khuṣūṣ). He made Moses hear His words in a thousand (alf) places while He said to our Prophet Muḥammad (ṣ), 'Alif...' and [Muḥammad] said, 'I was given the all-comprehensive words (jawāmiʿ al-kalim) and then the speech (kalām) was shortened for me'.
Someone said: My master said to me, 'What is this sickness?' I said, 'Do you love me?' He said, 'Lām alif'.