The Almighty Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:
هُوَ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ، مِنْهُ آيَاتٌ مُّحْكَمَاتٌ، هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ، وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ، وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ
“He it is Who has sent down to you the Book. In it are clear verses (muḥkam)—the foundation of the Book—and others are ambiguous (mutashābih). But none knows its interpretation except Allah and those firmly rooted in knowledge.”
(Surah Aale Imran 3:7)
This verse highlights two kinds of Qur’anic verses:
Clear verses (Muḥkamāt)
Unclear verses (Mutashābihāt).
Among the mutashābihāt are the Huroof al-Muqatta’at—the disjointed letters that appear at the beginning of 29 surahs of the Qur’an.
Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) explains who is truly capable of understanding and explaining these verses:
عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع قَال: نَحْنُ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ، وَنَحْنُ نَعْلَمُ تَأْوِیلَهُ
“We are the ones firmly rooted in knowledge, and we know its interpretation.”
(Biharul Anwar, vol.23, pg.199, H.no.31)
This statement directly connects the Ahlul Bayt (peace be upon them) to the divinely granted understanding of the Qur’an’s hidden and symbolic aspects.
Among the Huroof al-Muqatta’at are the combinations “حم” (Ha Meem) and “عسق” (Ayn Seen Qaf).
These appear at the beginning of Surah Ash-Shura (42:1–2):
حم ﴿١﴾ عسق ﴿٢﴾
We now turn to the narrations of the Ahlul Bayt (peace be upon them) to understand their interpretations of these mysterious letters.
Interpretations of “حم” and “عسق“
A narration from Ibn Abbas states:
کنز، کنز جامع الفوائد و تأویل الآیات الظاهرة مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْعَبَّاسِ عَنْ عَلِیِّ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَسَدٍ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِیمَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ الثَّقَفِیِّ عَنْ یُوسُفَ بْنِ کُلَیْبٍ الْمَسْعُودِیِّ عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ عَبْدِ الْغَفَّارِ الْفُقَیْمِیِّ عَنْ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ أَبِی الْحَکَمِ بْنِ الْمُخْتَارِ عَنِ الْکَلْبِیِّ عَنْ أَبِی صَالِحٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ: حم اسْمٌ مِنْ أَسْمَاءِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ عسق عِلْمُ عَلِیٍّ بِفِسْقِ کُلِّ جَمَاعَةٍ وَ نِفَاقِ کُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ
“Ha Meem is one of the Names of Allah, and ‘Ayn Seen Qaf’ represents the knowledge of Ali (a.s.) regarding the corruption of every group and the hypocrisy of every faction.”
Behar, vol 24, page 373
Another tradition from Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him) states:
وَ بِحَذْفِ الْإِسْنَادِ یَرْفَعُهُ إِلَی مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ جُمْهُورٍ عَنِ السَّکُونِیِّ عَنْ أَبِی جَعْفَرٍ ع قَالَ
حم حَتْمٌ وَ عَیْنٌ عَذَابٌ وَ سِینٌ سِنُونَ کَسِنِی یُوسُفَ وَ قَافٌ قَذْفٌ وَ خَسْفٌ وَ مَسْخٌ یَکُونُ فِی آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ بِالسُّفْیَانِیِّ وَ أَصْحَابِهِ وَ نَاسٌ مِنْ کَلْبٍ ثَلَاثُونَ أَلْفَ أَلْفٍ [۴] یَخْرُجُونَ مَعَهُ وَ ذَلِکَ حِینَ یَخْرُجُ الْقَائِمُ علیه السلام بِمَکَّةَ وَ هُوَ مَهْدِیُّ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ
“Ha Meem “Ḥāʾ Mīm (حم) is a decisive matter, ʿAyn (ع) is punishment, Seen (س) are years like the years of Yusuf (peace be upon him), and Qāf (ق) is stoning from the sky, swallowing by the earth, and transformation (maskh), which shall descend upon the Sufyani and his followers in the end of times.
“And thirty million people from the tribe of Banu Kalb will accompany him (the Sufyani), and this will occur when the Qa’im (peace be upon him) will reappear in Makkah, and he is the Mahdi of this Ummah.”
(Ibid)
Conclusion:
The verses and sayings shared here show that the disjointed letters Ḥā Mīm and ‘Ayn Seen Qāf have deep and special meanings. The Qur’an (3:7) tells us that only Allah and those who have deeply rooted in knowledge can understand them. The teachings from the Ahlul Bayt (peace be upon them) help explain these hidden meanings.