Quran
Surahs that begin with separate letters
29 surahs open with letters that are read out one by one by their names — al-huruf al-muqatta’at, “the disconnected letters”, such as الٓمٓ, read “alif, lam, mim”. They use 14 of the 28 letters of the alphabet in 14 combinations. The table lists every surah, grouped by its letters.
| Letters | Read as | Surahs | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| الٓمٓ | Alif Lam Mim | 2. Al-Baqarah, 3. Ali 'Imran, 29. Al-'Ankabut, 30. Ar-Rum, 31. Luqman, 32. As-Sajdah | 6 |
| الٓمٓصٓ | Alif Lam Mim Sad | 7. Al-A'raf | 1 |
| الٓر | Alif Lam Ra | 10. Yunus, 11. Hud, 12. Yusuf, 14. Ibrahim, 15. Al-Hijr | 5 |
| الٓمٓر | Alif Lam Mim Ra | 13. Ar-Ra'd | 1 |
| كٓهيعٓصٓ | Kaf Ha Ya Ayn Sad | 19. Maryam | 1 |
| طه | Ta Ha | 20. Ta-Ha | 1 |
| طسٓمٓ | Ta Sin Mim | 26. Ash-Shu'ara, 28. Al-Qasas | 2 |
| طسٓ | Ta Sin | 27. An-Naml | 1 |
| يسٓ | Ya Sin | 36. Ya-Sin | 1 |
| صٓ | Sad | 38. Sad | 1 |
| حمٓ | Ha Mim | 40. Ghafir, 41. Fussilat, 43. Az-Zukhruf, 44. Ad-Dukhan, 45. Al-Jathiyah, 46. Al-Ahqaf | 6 |
| حمٓ عٓسٓقٓ | Ha Mim, Ayn Sin Qaf | 42. Ash-Shura | 1 |
| قٓ | Qaf | 50. Qaf | 1 |
| نٓ | Nun | 68. Al-Qalam | 1 |
Patterns in the list
- The seven Ha Mim surahs, 40 to 46, stand together in the mushaf.
- Alif Lam Mim is the most frequent opening, in six surahs, and two more extend it: Alif Lam Mim Sad (7) and Alif Lam Mim Ra (13).
- Four surahs take their names from their letters: Ta-Ha (20), Ya-Sin (36), Sad (38) and Qaf (50).
- Ash-Shura (42) is the only surah whose letters fill two verses: Ha Mim, then Ayn Sin Qaf.
- The fourteen letters used are alif, lam, mim, sad, ra, kaf, ha (ه), ya, ayn, ta (ط), sin, ha (ح), qaf and nun.
Common questions
How many surahs start with muqatta'at letters?
29. They use 14 different letters — half of the Arabic alphabet — in 14 different combinations, from a single letter such as Qaf to the five letters Kaf Ha Ya Ayn Sad.
Which surahs start with Alif Lam Mim?
6: Al-Baqarah, Ali 'Imran, Al-'Ankabut, Ar-Rum, Luqman and As-Sajdah (surahs 2, 3, 29, 30, 31, 32). Two more begin with longer forms of it — Alif Lam Mim Sad (Al-A'raf) and Alif Lam Mim Ra (Ar-Ra'd).
Which surahs start with Ha Mim?
7 consecutive surahs, 40 to 46: Ghafir, Fussilat, Ash-Shura, Az-Zukhruf, Ad-Dukhan, Al-Jathiyah, Al-Ahqaf. Ash-Shura (42) follows Ha Mim with a second verse of letters, Ayn Sin Qaf.
Which surahs start with Alif Lam Ra?
5: Yunus, Hud, Yusuf, Ibrahim and Al-Hijr. Ar-Ra'd begins with Alif Lam Mim Ra.
What are the muqatta'at letters?
Al-huruf al-muqatta'at, "the disconnected letters", are letters that open some surahs and are read out one by one by their names — Alif Lam Mim is recited "alif, lam, mim" rather than as a word. Their meaning is not stated in the text and commentators have proposed many explanations; this site lists them and does not interpret them.
Which is the longest group of letters?
Kaf Ha Ya Ayn Sad (كٓهيعٓصٓ), the five letters that open Maryam, surah 19.