Hundred Questions - Surah-yi Ya-Sin
Surah-yi Ya-Sin
Tags: Surah-yi Ya-Sin, 2, 3
Q6 What is the meaning and ta'wil of Ya-Sin?
A6 My dear! I understand that what you intended to ask was, in fact, very brief, but the way you have written it down makes it a very long discussion. That is, the question was about the name, but you have presented the entire surah in the form of a question. However, I will answer the question about its name "Ya-Sin". Ya- Sin is among the disjointed letters (muqattacat) and it is unanimously accepted in Islam as one of the appellations of the holy Prophet, such as Ta-Ha.
As for the ta'wil of Ya-Sin, it consists of two letters Ya and Sin. The numerical value of Ya is ten, which in Isma`ili hudud-i din (religious hierarchy) is fixed for the natiq – the last hadd (rank) of the physical hudud, i.e. the Prophet Muhammad (May Allah send blessings and peace through him and his progeny). The numerical values of the other hudud are:
- one – mustajib,
- two – ma'dhun-i asghar,
- three – ma'dhun-i akbar,
- four – da`i-yi makfuf,
- five – da`i-yi mutlaq,
- six – hujjat-i jazirah,
- seven – hujjat-i muqarrab,
- eight – the Imam of the time,
- nine – asas (`Ali) and
- ten – natiq (i.e. Muhammad)
About these hudud the Qur'an says: "That is complete ten" (2:196), i.e. ten, which stands for the natiq, is the final hadd of the physical hudud.
On the other hand, the numerical value of the letter Sin is sixty. This signifies the periods of the Prophets. Thus the first ten are fixed for Adam (May peace be through him), the second ten for Noah (May peace be through him), the third for Abraham (May peace be through him), the fourth for Moses (May peace be through him), the fifth for Jesus (May peace be through him) and the sixth ten for Muhammad (May Allah send blessings and peace through him and his progeny). Thus Prophet Muhammad (May Allah send blessings and peace through him and his progeny), with respect to hudud-i din of the minor cycle holds the rank ten, and with respect to the major cycle possesses the position of sixth. This is the meaning and ta'wil of Ya-Sin.
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