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Bismillah and Initials part of the Revelation?
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Gentile:
Does anyone have any thoughts on whether the Bismillah phrases and the initials at the beginning of some chapters are actually part of the revelation? There is a view that the Bismillahs were actually just phrases spoken before reciting the verses rather than actually being God-revealed. If you click on these links below....
http://www.arabicbible.com/bible/codex151_heb.htm
http://www.arabicbible.com/bible/codex151_p1.htm
...you will see an early copy of the New Testament 'Letter to the Hebrews' which is part of the NT Canon today in Arabic, in which the Letter begins with the Bismillah! This would seem to back this view up. I asked the Arabic Bible website and they told me that it is possible that early Arabs generally began reciting the scriptures with that formula.
With reference to the initials, there is a theory that these are initials of the person who wrote down that particular surah. Of course this would conflict with the view that Muhamad himself wrote the quran down. As they do not seem to actually form words themselves, could we say with certainty that these were actually PART of the revelation or do they signify something else - i.e. something that people used to distinguish surahs, or for some other human benefit in terms of referencing etc?
I have Neil Maybanks article on it where he suggests that the initials are instructions to write the Word down. I not sure about this though, mainly because some surahs have these initials and some don't. I think there is probably a more 'human' explanation for them. Suggestions appreciated!
:P
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