S e c o n d  P o i n t

This is in respect of the Suras, and it too contains many subtle points. It contains coincidences (tevâfukat) in a way that points to an order, intention, and will.

In Sura al-Baqara, the number of instances of the word “Allah” and the number of the verses is the same. There is a difference of four, but four “He’s” replace the word “Allah,” like the “He” in “There is no god but He” and they correspond exactly. In Sura Al-i ‘Imran, again the word “Allah” and the number of verses coincide and are equal. Only, “Allah” is mentioned two hundred and nine times and there are two hundred verses, making a difference of nine. But small differences do not mar the fine points of eloquence and literary merits such as these; an approximate coincidence is enough.  The  total  number  of  verses  of  Suras  al-Nisa,  al-Ma’ida,  and  al-An‘am coincides  with the total number  of instances  of the word  “Allah:”  the number of verses  is  four  hundred  and  sixty-four,  and  the  number  of  instances  of  the  word “Allah” four hundred and sixt y-one; with the “Allah” of the Bismillahs, it coincides exactly.

And for example, the number of instances of the word “Allah” in the first five Suras is twice the number of the word in Suras al-A‘raf, al-Anfal, al-Tawba, Yunus, and Hud. That is, the second five are half the first five. Then the number of instances of the word in the following suras, Yusuf, al-Ra‘d, Ibrahim, al-Hijr, and al-Nahl, is half that, and in the following Suras, al-Isra, al-Kahf, Maryam, Ta. Ha., al-Anbiya, and al-Hajj, it is again halved. [2]  And so it continues to decrease in approximately the same  ratio  in  the  following  groups  of.  five  Suras.  There  are,  however,  some differences and deficiencies but they cause no harm in such stations of address. For example, some are one hundred and twenty-one, others are one hundred and twenty- five, others are one hundred and fifty-four, and yet others are one hundred and fifty- nine. Then, the five Suras which begin with Sura al-Zukhruf decrease to an eighth. And  in  the  five  beginning  with  Sura  al-Najm,  it  is  a  sixty-fourth,  but  this  is approximate.  Differences arising from small errors do not harm stations of address such as these. The subsequent three groups of five short Suras contain only three instances each of the word “Allah.” And this shows that chance has not interfered at all in the number of the word; the numbers of it have been specified in accordance with wisdom and order.

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[2] A mystery was unfolded through this division into fives. With not one of us being aware of it, six Suras were written here. We have no doubt that outside our wills, and from the Unseen, the sixth was added here so that the important mystery concerning these halves should not be lost.