ulum-al-quran

'If it is beyond your means, fast for three days, that is expiation for the wrath ye have sworn'
(Al-Qur'an 5: 92).
It is free, i.e. left to one's discretion whether to fast three days consecutively or with interruptions.
'And if ye find no water then take yourselves clean sand or earth and rub therewith your
faces and hands' (Al-Qur'an 5: 6). [Some say this aya is 'bound', as the same aya mentioning wudu'
instructs washing of the hands 'to the elbows'; others say it is 'free'.]
'Literal' and 'Understood' Meanings
The meaning of certain ayat is derived from the literal wording (mantdq) while that of others is derived from what is
understood (mafhum) by them:
Of the literal understanding there are several kinds. The first concerns a clear text, i.e. a text clear and without ambiguity.
'But if he cannot afford it, he should fast three days during the Hajj and seven days on his
return, making ten days in all' (Al-Qur'an 2: 196).
In other cases the text may be somewhat ambiguous in its expression but obvious as far as the meaning is concerned.
'And do not approach them until they are clean' (Al-Qur'an 2: 222).
The Arabic word tatahharna may refer to the end of the woman's menstrual period, or the completion of the bath after
the period; the second being more obvious. [Qattan, M.: mabahith It 'ulum al-qur'an, Riyadh. 1971.]
Still other verses imply a meaning through the context, although the wording itself is not clear.
'And out of kindness reward to them the wing of humility' (Al-Qur'an 17: 24).
This applies to parents, and not to all human beings in general, as the context of this verse suggests.
Al Muqatta'at
The so-called 'abbreviated letters' are an important section of the mutashabihat' [Itqan, II, p.8f. A summary of the
orientalists' efforts on this topic is in Jeffery. Arthur: The Mystic Letters of the Quran, MW, 14 (1924), pp. 247-60. Some
of the orientalists suggested that the letters are abbreviations of the names of the various Companions who used to write
the Qur'an for Muhammad. Still others say that the letters are simply symbols employed to distinguish the Sura from
others before the now common names were introduced. Sura Ta Ha would be a case in point. This is also based on some
Muslim scholars' views (Itqan, 11, p.10). Watt, the Edinburgh priest-orientalist, writes 'We end where we began; the
letters are mysterious, and have so far baffled interpretation' (Watt, M.: Bell's Introduction to the Qur'an, Edinburgh,
1977, p.64).] in sofar as their meanings are not known. The word is derived from the root 'qata'a' - to cut, and means
'what is cut', and also 'what is abbreviated'.
In technical language the word is used for certain letters found at the beginning of several suras of the Qur'an, called 'the
abbreviated letters'.
Their Occurrence
There are fourteen such letters occurring in various combinations at the beginning of 29 suras. The following is a list of
their occurrence and distribution in the Qur'an:
Alif Lam Ra: 10, 11, 12, 14, 15.
Alif Lam Mim: 2, 3, 29, 30, 31, 32.
Alif Lam Mim Ra': 13.
Alif Lam Mim Sad: 7
Ha Mim: 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46.
Sad: 38.