سورة آل عمران

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): As for الم [Alif Lam Mim] at the beginning of Surah Aal Imran, its meaning is: I am Allah, the Glorious.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): It has come in the narration of Abu Umama, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "The Greatest Name, by which whenever Allah the Exalted is called, He grants the need of His servant, is in three surahs: in Surah al-Baqarah, Aal Imran and Ta-Ha." Abu Umama said: "As for the one in Surah al-Baqarah, it is Ayat al-Kursi; and the one in Surah Aal Imran is this: الم* اللهُ لا إِلهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَیُّ الْقَیُّومُ [Alif Lam Mim. Allah — there is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining]; and as for the one in Surah Ta-Ha, it is this: و [in that day] all faces shall be humbled before Allah the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining. (Ta-Ha/111)"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): الم is one letter from the letters of the Greatest Name of Allah, each part of which has come in some place of the Noble Quran, and the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and the infallible Imam (peace be upon him) have knowledge of their placing.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Qays said: I heard Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) say: "The two sons of Akhtab, named Huyayy and Abu Yasir, together with a group of the Jews of Najran, came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and said to him: 'Is it not so that in what you say Allah has sent down to you, there is الم [Alif Lam Mim]?' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'Yes, it is.' They said: 'Did Jibra'il bring it to you from Allah?' He said: 'Yes.' They said: 'Prophets were sent before you, but we do not know of any prophet other than you who has informed us of the duration of his kingdom and the lifespan of his ummah.' Huyayy ibn Akhtab turned to his companions and said: 'Alif is one, Lam is thirty, and Mim is forty, so الم makes seventy-one years. It is astonishing that anyone should enter a religion whose kingdom and the lifespan of whose ummah is seventy-one years.' Then he turned to the Noble Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) and said: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Is there anything else along with الم?' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Then bring it.' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'المص (al-A'raf/1).' He said: 'This is heavier and longer. Alif is one, Lam is thirty, Mim is forty, and Sad is ninety; so المص makes one hundred and sixty-one years.' Then he said to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): 'Is there anything else along with this المص?' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Bring it.' He said: 'الر.' He said: 'This is heavier and longer: Alif is one, Lam is thirty, and Ra is two hundred, which altogether makes two hundred and thirty-one.' Then he said to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): 'Is there anything else along with الر?' He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Bring it.' He said: 'المر (al-Ra'd/1).' He said: 'This is longer and heavier: Alif is one, Lam is thirty, Mim is forty, and Ra is two hundred.' Then he said to him: 'Is there anything else along with this المر?' He said: 'Yes.' They said: 'Your affair has become confusing to us and we do not know what has been given to you.' Then they got up and left. Abu Yasir said to his brother Huyayy: 'What do you know — perhaps all of this, or even more than it, has been gathered for Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family).'" Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: "These verses were revealed concerning them: مِنْهُ آیاتٌ مُحْکَماتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْکِتابِ وَ أُخَرُ مُتَشابِهاتٌ [Of it are verses that are muhkamat (clear-cut) — they are Ummul Kitab — and others that are mutashabihat (allegorical)]," and he said: "These verses run, in another mode, along an aspect other than the interpretation which Huyayy, Abu Yasir and their companions applied to them."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Labid al-Makhzumi said: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: O Aba Labid! Twelve of the descendants of Abbas will reach the sultanate; four of them will be killed after the eighth of them. One of them will die of a throat ailment. Their lives are short, the term of their rule is little, and their conduct is wicked. One of them is a wicked man; a young one titled al-Hadi, al-Natiq, and al-Ghawi. O Aba Labid! In the disjoined letters (al-huruf al-muqatta'at) of the Qur'an there is abundant knowledge. When Allah revealed الم* ذلِکَ الْکِتابُ [Alif Lam Mim. That is the Book], Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) arose until the light of his sacred being became manifest and words took their place in the hearts of the people. At the time of his birth, seven thousand one hundred and three years had passed from the beginning of creation. Then he said: "The explanation of this is in the disjoined letters of the Qur'an, when you count them without repetition. Not one of these letters passes but that one of the Bani Hashim arises at the time of its passing." Then he said: "Alif is one, Lam is thirty, Mim is forty, and Sad in المص is ninety, which together makes one hundred and sixty-one. After that was the beginning of the rising of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him): الم* الله لا إِلهَ [Alif Lam Mim. Allah, there is no god…]. When his term came to an end, the Qa'im of the Bani Abbas will rise, and when that passes, our Qa'im (may Allah hasten his noble relief) will rise at الر. So understand it, keep it in mind, and conceal it from the enemies."