(1) (11:1) Alif. Lam. Ra. This is a Divine Command *1 whose contents have been made firm and set forth in detail *2 from One Who is All-Wise, All-Aware
*1). In keeping with the context, the word Kitab has here been rendered as 'Divine command'. The word Kitab in its Arabic usage denotes not only book or inscription, but also writ and command. There are several instances in the Qur'an of the use of the word in the latter sense. (See, for instance, al-Baqarah 2: 235, al-Ra'd 13: 38. The significance of 'command' is especially evident from the usage of k t b derivates in the passive tense: see al-Baqarah 2: 180, 183, 216, 246, etc. - Ed.) *2). The contents of this 'command' are firm and unalterable. In addition, the Qur'an is free from the verbosity of orators, the fanciful imagination of poets, the spellbinding rhetoric of litterateurs. Instead, the teachings of the Qur'an have been set forth with remarkable clarity and precision. Thus, in the Qur'anic text we do not find even a single word that is superfluous, nor a single word that is lacking. Moreover, the verses expound the teachings of the Qur'an in such a manner that they are at once elaborate and lucid.