BISMILLAH HIR RAHMAN NIR RAHEEM
(In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)
All praise is for Allah. Darood (Blessings) and Salaam (Peace) on Muhammad, his Family, and his Companions.
PART 1
The Arabic
letter
Seen
is
equivalent to the letter 'S' in the English alphabet.
It is the twelfth letter in the Arabic character set. Seen in Arabic numerology which is known as Abjad, has the value of 60.
This article is about the spiritual meaning of the letter Seen.
In the first
Revelation received by Muhammad 
from
Allah through Jibraeel (
)
was
"Read: In the name of your Rabb" [Quran: Al Alaq Chapter 96]
Read what? Read Bismi Rabbik. Read: Ba, Seen, Meem, Bismi.
The letters Ba and Meem are already included on this website.
We shall now look at the Arabic letter Seen.
It is the second letter in the verse Bismillah, which is shown at the top of this page.
Bismillah is the first verse in the Quran.
The first part of Bismillah (Bismi) was revealed during the first revelation.
Jibraeel ()
spoke the Message of Allah, Muhammad listened.
Then Muhammad repeated
the Message of Allah after listening to Jibraeel ()
and Jibraeel ()
listened.
What is the meaning of the letter Seen?
In order to find that we need to look at the meaning of the word INSAN.
Allah created man
and called him
INSAN 
.
Khalaqal Insan Min Alaq
[Quran Chapter 96].
The word INSAN is made up of the five Arabic letters Alif, Noon, Seen, Alif and Noon.
He placed his secrets inside the man.
Alif 
-
First there was Allah (Alif) and there was nothing beside Him.
Noon 
-
Then He created the world (Noon) which had already been written by the
Qalam (Pen). Allah then placed man on earth. He did not send man empty
handed.
Seen -
He placed His Secret (Seen) Sirr, in the man.
Alif -
Man has been sent to find this Secret before he returns to Allah (Alif). Only
Allah will exist with nothing beside Him. He will recreate man for the second
time and he will be judged.
Noon -
Man will then proceed to his next life in the next world (Noon) which can be
heaven or hell depending on his performance in the present world.
Sirr 
is
the Secret (Seen)
of Rabb (Ra)
placed inside the man.
The Quran is the guide and reminder to find this secret.
What is the secret?
Rasool Allah used to move his tongue when the divine Inspiration was being revealed to him. So Allah revealed: "Move not your tongue concerning (the Quran) to make haste therewith." [Quran: Al Qiyamat Chapter 75 verse 16]
[Sahih Bukhari]
The secret is the hearing. This is displayed at the start of the Quran:
1 Alif Laam Meem
2 This is the Book; in it is guidance without doubt to those who fear Allah.
3 Who believe in the Unseen are steadfast in prayer and spend out of what We have provided for them.
[Quran: Al Baqara Chapter 2]
If we look at the third verse it says: Who believe in the unseen... How does a person believe in the unseen?
If a person cannot see something hidden, he/she needs someone to tell him/her about it.
The person has to listen to, or hear, the one who knows about the unseen or the hidden.
The letter
Seen
represents
the attribute of hearing.
Allah mentions His attribute as As Samee (which starts with the letter Seen) - The All Hearing.
There are different combinations of the Hearing attribute used in the Quran in relation to Allah. They are:
1) As Samee ul Aleem (Hearing and Wise)
2) As Samee ul Baseer (Hearing and Seeing)
3) As Samee un Qareeb (Hearing and Near)
Every time, the attribute Samee is mentioned first. He gave this faculty to his creatures to hear, to listen. To emphasise the importance of hearing it is further stated:
6 As to those who reject Faith it is the same to them whether you warn them or not warn them; they will not believe.
7 Allah has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur).
[Quran: Al Baqara Chapter 2]
For disbelievers Allah has closed this avenue.
Notice that out of all the five senses,
sight, touch, taste, smell and hearing, it is the sense of hearing which is mentioned first in the Quran. Why is there emphasis on hearing?
It is through hearing, a person either accepts or rejects what is heard.
As far as sight is concerned, it is defective and prone to error.
A good example of the defectiveness of the sight is that the sun appears to be a small flat round disk placed in the sky. Whereas in reality it is many times larger than the earth and it is spherical. Therefore the eyes cannot be relied on. On the other hand the idol worshippers rely on a god they can see.
This is where they are led astray from the reality.
They worship statues or sun or stars. Ibrahim (
)
turned away from all these because they all had a flaw. For example the sun
disappeared during the night. The stars disappeared, or were hidden, during the
day. Ibrahim ()
used his logic and decided, how can a 'God' be completely visible during the day
and then set during the night? Or how can a 'God' be visible during the night
and disappear during the day? He rejected the statues because they could neither
hear nor speak.
Consider a new born baby. The eyes of the baby cannot focus. The baby cannot distinguish objects. It takes months for the baby to learn to focus the eyes and distinguish objects. On the other hand the hearing of the new born baby is fully functional.
For Muslims it is their duty that the first sound that reaches the ears of a new born baby is the call of the Azan. The soul is comforted that it has come to a Muslim household. And it is reminded that it has come from Allah and it must one day return to Allah.
This act of calling the Azan in the new born's ears confirms that sound and hearing is far superior than sight. This is confirmed time and time again in the Quran:
9 But He fashioned him in due proportion and breathed into him something of His spirit. And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling: little thanks do you give
[Quran: As Sajda Chapter 32]
Initially the Word, the Message of Allah can only enter our hearts and minds through the faculty of hearing.
If we are born deaf, then the Message of Allah is not easily understood.
To believe in the Message of Allah we need someone to tell us.
We need to hear the message.
Even when reading the brain converts the letters into sounds which are then understood, although the sounds are not audible.
In this instance we are 'listening' to our own brain.
In the Quran, there are numerous accounts of
Allah's Messengers ()
warning their communities. How did they warn their communities? By calling out
to them.
By making them hear.
Coming back to the example of the baby, the child, as it grows, listens to the language of the parents. Then the child copies those sounds and starts to utter the first words. Speech is learned through the faculty of hearing and not through the eyes. When listening to the Quran, we must listen to it as if for the first time. Only then can we learn. It is the same process as the learning of a child.
When the first
revelation was received, it was not written on paper. It was by the sound made
by Jibraeel ()
and Muhammad
listened. After listening to the Message, Muhammad
repeated
it.
The faculty of hearing is a channel to our souls.
Most of us have seen and observed a hypnotist. All the hypnotist does is use his/her voice and tells the person being hypnotised to listen to his/her voice.
The hypnotist is trying to reach the soul by making it hear. If the eyes are the windows to ours souls, then the ears are the doors to our souls.
The faculty of hearing is an entrance to our souls.
This has been displayed in the Quran as follows:
83 When they listen to what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflow with tears because of their recognition of the Truth. They say: Our Lord, we believe. Write us as among the witnesses.
[Quran: Al Maida Chapter 5]
25 Of them there are some who listen to you; but We have thrown veils on their hearts so they do not understand and deafness in their ears; if they saw every one of the Signs they will not believe in them; to the point that when they come to you they argue with you; the disbelievers say: "These are nothing but tales of the ancients."
[Quran: Al Anaam Chapter 6]
In the first example the believers listen and they recognise the Truth when they hear it. This is due to Allah's Mercy that he does not veil the heart, mind and hearing of the believer. In the second example, the disbelievers only listen for the sake of argument. Allah does not permit them to understand the Message. The third example of the word to listen is as follows:
104 You who believe!, say not (to the Messenger): "Listen to us" but say "Look upon us," and you be the listeners. For disbelievers is a painful doom.
[Quran: Al Baqara Chapter 2]
When we listen to someone, that person is getting through to our souls through our hearing. The person is getting through to our sub-conscious.
Allah forbid the believers to
say to Muhammad to
listen to them.
The believer has no right to invade the soul of a Messenger of Allah.
Allah's Messengers ()
have every right to pass the Message of Allah to our souls.
They are our masters and teachers. Their duty was to pass the Message of Allah to their communities. It is up to Allah whether the Message gets through to the listener or not.
On the other hand, Shaytan whispers in our souls. And we hear him, not audibly but sub-consciously. An example of this is given below:
36 And if a whisper from the devil reaches you then seek refuge in Allah. He is the Hearer, the Knower.
[Quran: Ha Meem Chapter 41]
In the above example, to repel the evil suggestions, the whispers, we need to seek refuge in Allah by reciting the Auzu Billah and other verses of the Quran. The whispering occurs in the soul. The antidote of the whispering is the sound of the Name of Allah and the verses of the Quran. So the antidote is recited by the body. And the listening is done by the soul.
As far as life, death and resurrection are concerned, even they are connected with sounds and hearing. Below, are some examples from the Quran about sound and hearing:
260 And when Ibrahim said: My Rabb! Show me how You give life to the dead, He said: Do you not believe? Ibrahim said: Yes, but (I ask) in order that my heart may be at ease. (His Rabb) said: Take four birds and cause them to incline unto you, then place a part of them on each hill, then call them, they will come to you in haste. And know that Allah is Mighty, Wise.
[Quran: Al Baqara Chapter 2]
Here the birds are taught to respond to the sound of their master.
When the master calls, they fly towards him. Then they are killed and their parts are mixed up and placed on each hill.
When Ibrahim ()
calls them after having killed them, they rise from death and fly towards their
master. In similarity to this we are told about the Last Day and the Day of
Judgement:
68 And the trumpet is blown, and all who are in the heavens and the earth swoon away, save him whom Allah wills. Then it is blown a second time, and behold them standing waiting!
[Quran: Az Zumar Chapter 39]
The end will be by sound and hearing of the first blast. Then the resurrection will also be by sound and hearing of the second blast.
This secret of sound and hearing opens up another secret.
100 Therein wailing is their portion, and therein they hear not.
101 Those on whom kindness has gone forth before from Us, they will be far removed from there.
102 They will not hear the slightest sound (of wailing) thereof, while they abide in that which their souls desire.
103 The Supreme Horror will not grieve them, and the angels will welcome them, (saying): This is your Day which you were promised;
[Quran: Al Anbiyaa Chapter 21]
In the above verses, those who are in hell they will not hear. Those in heaven will be shielded from the wailing sounds. Instead they will have that which their souls desire and sounds of angels welcoming them.
The secret of the soul is that it thrives on sound.
It can be either Zikr Allah or it can be whispers of the devil and idle chit chat or the sound can be music and song.
Zikr Allah, recitation of the Quran make the person lean towards Allah.
The whispering of the devil, and idle chit chat make the person lean towards the devil.
In hell the soul will be barred from sounds. In heaven it will have that which it desires.
What it desires
is the Sound of Allah and sound of Muhammad .
20 You who believe! Obey Allah and His messenger, and turn not away from him when you hear (him speak).
21 Be not as those who say, We hear, and they hear not.
22 The worst of beasts in Allah's sight are the deaf, the dumb, who have no sense.
23 Had Allah Known of any good in them He would have made them hear, but had He made them hear they would have turned away, averse.
[Quran: Al Anfal Chapter 8]
Just as the body needs regular food to remain healthy, the soul needs regular Zikr Allah to remain healthy. Zikr Allah is the food of the soul.
Now turning back to the letter Seen, from the Quran, the first chapter that comes to mind is Ya Seen.
It is considered as the heart of the Quran. Let us look at a few verses from that chapter:
1 Ya Seen
2 By the Quran full of Wisdom
[Quran: Ya Seen Chapter 36]
The Quran is full of Wisdom we are told in the second verse above. Therefore the first verse must have a deeper spiritual meaning.
If chapter 36 is the heart of the Quran then the heart of the chapter must be within this chapter. The hint is the the first verse and that is Ya Seen. It is like someone calling out to a listener. If it is a call to a listener, then the question is: What is the message?
That message is:
58 "Salaamun (Peace)! a Word from a Rabb Most Merciful!
[Quran: Ya Seen Chapter 36]
It is the sound of Rabb that the soul longs to hear. Vision does not come into it. The message is Salaam. It is an audible message. Not a visual message.
143 And when Musa came to Our appointed place and his Rabb spoke to him, he said: My Rabb! Show me (Yourself), that I may gaze upon You. He said: You cannot see Me, but gaze upon the mountain! If it stand still in its place, then you will see Me. And when his Rabb revealed (His) glory to the mountain He sent it crashing down. And Musa fell down senseless. And when he woke he said: Glory to You! I turn to You repentant, and I am the first of (true) believers.
[Quran: Al Aaraf Chapter 7]
Musa ()
repented because he asked to see his Rabb.
He could not bear to see Him. He then realised the presence of Allah will be attained by hearing and not sight.
This is also related in Kashf al Mahjub by the Hadrat Ali bin Usman al Hujwiri (ra)
... the inhabitants of Paradise shall behold Him; and that assimilation is inadmissible; and such terms as "confronting" and "seeing face to face" cannot be applied to His Being.
[Kashf al Mahjub Chapter 16]
Now let us look at the numerical side of the Message.
Quran chapter 36 is called Ya Seen.
The Arabic letter
Ya
=
10. And the Arabic letter
Seen
=
60.
We call out Ya to attract attention.
This is by sound which the other person hears or listens (Seen).
When the other person listens he understands the words through his thoughts
which is Ayn
.
Or in other words:
Ya
+ Seen
= Ayn
(The Arabic letter
Ayn
has a numerical value = 70).
We have
Seen,
we have Ya
and we have
Ayn.
The missing link in Samee is the letter Meem .
The verse which is called the heart of chapter Ya Seen is:
58 Salaamun Qawlam Mir Rabbir Raheem
[Quran: Ya Seen, Chapter 36]
If we add the verse number 5+8 = 13. “Meem is Thirteenth Letter in Abjad Position”
Then we reduce this to a single digit it becomes (1 + 3 =) 4. {4th Name of Rasul is Mamood}
When the Creator speaks, the created has to be present.
The creature is created from a dot or '0' which when placed in front of 4 becomes 40 (Meem).
That is the missing Meem. With that Meem the attribute Samee is completed.
Looking at in another way.
First we look at the numerical value of Samee:
Seen (60) + Meem (40) + Ya (10) + Ayn (70) = 180.
If we subtract 40 for Meem from the verse number (58 - 40) = 18.
In the first calculation we needed a '0'. Allah had to create one who would listen. Meem is tied in with creation. In the second calculation we already have a '0'. He hears his Rabb Raheem saying Salaam to him.
To explain it in
another way. There was Allah with no one beside Him. Allah was the Speaker and
Listener. He created the Light of Muhammad
.
Now Allah Spoke (sent Salaam and Blessings on Muhammad
)
and the Light of Muhammad
listened.
56 Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. You who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation
[Quran: Al Ahzab Chapter 33]
The Light of
Muhammad
praised
Allah and Allah Listened.
The beauty of all this is that if we reduce 18 or 180 to a single digit we get 9.
The INSAN develops over 9 months from one dot or '0'.
The numerical value of the word INSAN is:
Alif (1) + Noon (50) + Seen (60) + Alif (1) + Noon (50) = 162 = 1 + 6 + 2 = 9
INSAN enters this world with the sense of hearing from day one.
In conclusion Bismi means the creation of man (Ba) whose duty is to listen (Seen) to his Rabb and learn from His Messengers and His Books and gain experience until the age of 40 (Meem).
Then he can progress and know Allah Ar Rahman Ar Raheem.
37 In this is a reminder for him who has a heart, or listens with full intelligence.
[Quran: Qaf Chapter 50]
Darood and Salaam on Muhammad, His Family, and His Companions
In Seen - Part 1 we reached a point where the sense of hearing is placed above all other senses. Ears are the doors to the soul. The question has to be asked: Which words should enter through these doors?
The words that should enter the doors of our soul are the Words of Allah from the Quran. The Quran when recited by a gifted Qari (Reciter of Quran) bring tears to the eyes of a believer. The recitation goes straight into the soul of a believer. The Quran should be allowed to enter our souls without resistance.
The Quran is one
of the many gifts from Allah, through Muhammad
,
to men and jinn. Not just for Muslims but to men and jinn. It is up to Allah to
bring to Islam whomever He wills. When the Quran was being revealed, there were
only a handful of Muslims. Some people and jinn became Muslims just by hearing
the Quran and accepting the guidance. So hearing is playing a major part in this
acceptance of guidance. Even the jinn testify:
1 Say: It has been revealed to me that a company of Jinns listened (to the Quran). They say `We have really heard a wonderful Recital!
2 It gives guidance to the Right and we have believed therein: We shall not join (in worship) any (gods) with our Rabb
[Quran: Al Jinn Chapter 72]
Because the emphasis is on listening. When reading the Quran we must listen to it as well. As soon as we start listening to the words we are reading, the message starts to clarify. Allah keeps telling us in the Quran that the message is clear but He covers the hearing of anyone He wants and removes the veils from the ears of whoever He wants. In the Quran there is mention of the Jews changing the words and the change concerned the word hear:
46 Some of those who are Jews change words from their context and say: "We hear and disobey; you hear as one who hears not" and "Listen to us!" distorting with their tongues and slandering religion. If they had said: "We hear and we obey; you hear, and look at us" it would have been better for them, and correct. But Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so they do not believe, except a few.
[Quran: An Nisaa Chapter 4]
Now if we meet those who try to lead us astray we must answer them with greeting of Salaam. This is mentioned in the Quran numerous times:
63 The servants of Rahman (the Gracious) are they who walk upon the earth modestly, and when the foolish ones address them answer: Salaama (Peace);
[Quran: Al Furqan Chapter 25]
88 And he said: Ya Rabbi (My Lord)! Those people do not believe.
89 Then bear with them and say: Salaamun (Peace). They will come to know.
[Quran: Az Zakhruf Chapter 43]
46 (The father) replied: "Do you hate my gods Ibrahim? If you do not cease I will stone you: depart from me for a good long while!"
47 Ibrahim said: "Salaamun (Peace on you): I will pray to my Rabb (Lord) for your forgiveness: to me He is Most Gracious.
[Quran: Maryam Chapter 19]
What lesson can
we draw from all this? No matter whom we meet, whether friend or foe, we must
greet them with the same greeting. The greeting is
Salaam.
This we have been taught by Muhammad .
And the next time we say
Salaam
we must keep in mind that this is the greeting of paradise. We have been sent
here to practice. This life is the school of learning. Whatever good knowledge
and manners of Islam we learn here, they will be useful in the next world.
Finally in Chapter 36 it is mentioned that the greeting of the people of paradise is Salaam. It is impolite not to answer the greeting of our Rabb.
Not only that, it
is impolite not to answer a person who says
Salaam
to another person. What reply do we give to one who says
Salaam
to us? The answer is simple.
Wa Alaikum As Salaam
(and Peace on
You also). Allah has taught us well through His Messenger Muhammad
.
That is the simple answer. There is also a spiritual answer.
When our Rabb says Salaam to us we can reply Wa Alaikum As Salaam. Or we can respond with Salaam and Magnify our Rabb at the same time. Allah has shown us how to do that:
23 He is Allah, there is no god only He, Al Malik, Al Quddus, Salaam (Peace), Al Mu_min, Al Muhaymin, Al Azeez, Al Jabbaar, Al Mutakabbir. Glory be to Allah from all that they ascribe as partner.
[Quran: Al Hashr Chapter 59]
The reply to the greeting in chapter 36 Ya Seen verse 58 is in chapter 59.
The reply could have been in chapter 58 to match the verse number 58 in chapter 36. So there is a puzzle to solve here. The answer again comes from what we have been taught. When we greet someone we say As Salaam Alaikum.
We have to add an Alif in front of the word Salaam. This is a reminder, that we should lead our lives as in the presence of Allah. In heaven, we will be aware of the presence of Allah. We do not need a reminder then. The numerical value of Alif is one. Adding one to the verse number 58 we arrive at 59.
We have to be present before Allah at all times. Therefore the reply to our Rabb on that day is:
Only Allah Knows Best.
Darood (Blessings) and Salaam (Peace) on Muhammad, His Family, and His Companions
Khalid M. Malik Ghouri
BISMILLAH HIR RAHMAN NIR RAHEEM
As Samee, As Salaam, As Saree, As Subooh, As Sattar
Darood (Blessings) and Salaam (Peace) on Muhammad, His Family, and His Companions