The Quranic Initials constitute a significant portion of the Quran’s 19-based mathematical miracle. These fourteen sets of initials prefix 29 chapters of the Quran.
Based on the Quran’s mathematical structure that validates and authenticates the preservation of the Quran, these initials should consistently be multiples of 19 within their respective Suras based on the findings of God’s Messenger of the Covenant, Dr. Rashad Khalifa. Rashad published these counts in his book, The Computer Speaks, and Appendix 1 of his Authorized English Translation of the Quran.
The last initialed chapter of the Quran is Sura 68. It is the only sura prefixed with the initial N ( ن). Dr. Khalifa explained that this initial is the only one that should be spelled out phonetically as three letters — Noon Wow Noon ( نون). He informed us this is how it was spelled in the original text and how it should be spelled today. Because of this, Sura 68 should have one more occurrence of the letter N ( ن) than is found in most texts of the Quran today. This makes the total count of this letter in the N-initialed sura 133, 19×7.
For years, many argued against this spelling of Nun ( نون) for the initial of Sura 68 in an attempt to discredit the mathematical structure of the Quran. They argued that since most manuscripts do not spell it this way, it should be written with a single N ( ن).
Before addressing this argument, it is worth appreciating some of the mathematical signs from this chapter. The fact that “N” is the last Quranic Initial produces several notable observations. For example, the number of verses from the first Quranic Initial (A.L.M. of 2:1) to the last initial (N. of 68:1) is 5263 or 19×277.
The word “God” (Allah) occurs 2641 (19×139) times between the first initial and the last initial. Since the total occurrence of the word “God” is 2698, it follows that its occurrence outside the initials “A.L.M.” of 2:1 on one side and the initial “N” of 68:1 on the other side is 57, 19×3.
Additionally, the only messenger referenced in Sura 68 is Jonah, yet instead of his name, it uses the following expression for him in the verse.
68:48 You shall steadfastly persevere in carrying out the commands of your Lord. Do not be like (Jonah) who called from inside the fish.
Elsewhere in the Quran, he is referenced as “Zan-Noon” ( وَذَا ٱلنُّونِ), which literally means the possessor of “N.” If we notice that the letter N in this occurrence is also spelled out as “Nun” ( نُّونِ).
21:87 And Zan-Noon (Jonah, “the one with an ‘N’ in his name”), abandoned his mission in protest, thinking that we could not control him. He ended up imploring from the darkness (of the big fish’s belly): “There is no god other than You. Be You glorified. I have committed a gross sin.”
Professor Shady Hekmat Nasser is an Associate Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. He is the world expert on variant readings of the Quran and has published many articles and books on this subject, including The Transmission of the Variant Readings of the Quran (2013) and The Second Canonization of the Quran (2020).
Recently he launched the site https://erquran.org/ to catalog all the variant readings of the Quran, including their respective sources and variations in spellings and vowel markings. This is a momentous effort and a fantastic tool.
If we check Sura 68 of the Quran and the variants for Nun, we see that a common variant spelling is precisely NuN ( نون) spelled out, just like Dr. Khalifa stated.
When we check the details for these variants, we see the following:
And the “Annotations” tab gives us the sources for the different variants, and from the list, we see that there are seven transmitters, including such prominent individuals as Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn Abī Isḥāq, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī who in their manuals denote the initial N ( ن) spelled out as ( نون).
In the Treatise on Variant Readings of the Qur’an (Kitab al-Badi’) by Ibn Khalawayh (d. 980-1) published by the Chester Beatty Library on folio 194:f.92v, we see the following commentary regarding the variant readings of Nun in Sura 68.
Below is the translation for the relevant line of the central portion:
“ Nun ( نون) and the pen, assimilation of the Nun ( النون) with its clear pronunciation.”
Below is the translation for the relevant part from the side margin, denoting the various transmitters for their respective spelling and pronunciation.
Nun ( نُونِ) and the pen IbnʿAbbās and Ibn Abī Isḥāq and Abū al-Sammāl
Nun ( نُونَ) Saʿīd b. Jubayr
This original manuscript by Ibn Khalawayh clearly spells out Nun ( نون) twice in the body of the text as opposed to just simply ( ن) and then cites attributions to four of the transmitters of ( نون) in the margin commentary. All this indicates that the phonetic spelling of Nun ( نون) for Sura 68 was a valid practice carried out by some of the most notable transmitters of the Quran from the past.