Back in 2017, the messaging app Telegram launched a feature that allows users to determine that their communication is secure via emojis. When users initiate a call using Telegram, they will both be displayed a series of emojis. If both callers verify that their emoji sequence is the same, then their call is secure, which means no one can eavesdrop or interfere with their communication.
In addition to privacy, using cryptographic techniques to encrypt communication between parties permits the parties to verify that the message they are receiving is from the intended individual and that the message that was sent has not been tampered with via a man-in-the-middle attack.
A man-in-the-middle attack is when an unintended party intercepts the communication between the parties before it reaches the intended recipient. In a man-in-the-middle attack, the intercepting party can not only listen in on the conversation but can potentially alter the message between recipients. When the communication between the two parties is secure, it means that a third party cannot listen in or change the communication between them.
These kinds of security vulnerabilities are not limited to digital communication. In the past, different mechanisms were utilized to try to protect the security of messages as well. Important secret messages were often sealed with wax and marked with custom designated signets of the sender, such that when the recipient received the message, they could verify that the seal was not broken and that the signet matched what they knew as the seal of the original sender of the message.
As seals could be forged, people started relying additionally on different forms of encryption via cryptography to conceal the messages, such that even if the message was intercepted by a malicious actor, there could be an additional defense from the message being deciphered, let alone altered.
Of all the communication one receives, the most critical is a message claimed to be from God in the form of scripture. When God sent mankind the Quran, He sent it to them through the prophet Muhammad. Since then, this message has been transcribed, disseminated, and passed on generation after generation.
While certain preservation mechanisms have been established via memorizers, manuscripts, and Arabic grammar, these methods have some shortcomings that have left doubt about the absolute integrity of the message. For instance, there are disputes regarding the spelling of certain words. There are claims that various readings of the Quran cause disputes in the verse numbers, spellings, prefixes, suffixes, and the use of prepositions. There are even claims that verses, and in some cases entire Suras, have been lost. Additionally, there is the underlying question of how does one know that the Quran we have today does not contain any extra content that was not part of the original message delivered by the prophet.
God in the Quran has claimed that He would preserve the Quran (15:9), but the above examples show that the preservation mechanism is not that one would be struck down by lightning if they introduce errors or changes into the Quran, regardless if it is intentional or not. So this means there must be another mechanism that God utilized in the preservation of the Quran.
To overcome these objections, God has already created a mechanism that is embedded inside the Quran that resolves these kinds of disputes. This is achieved through a series of fourteen sets of Arabic initials that sit on top of 29 Suras of the Quran in conjunction with the prime number 19. The first set of Quranic initials is found in the first verse of Sura 2; The Heifer “Al-Baqarah” ( سورة البقرة).
[2:0] In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
2:1 A.L.M.
2:2 This scripture is infallible; a beacon for the righteous;
Just like the emojis can be utilized to confirm that a call is secure, using these initials, anyone can detect the following:
Any distortions to the Quran
Validate the authenticity of the Quran
Confirm that the source of the Quran is God
The Quran explains this mechanism in Sura 74, Al-Muddath-thir ( الـمـدثـر), which is translated as The Hidden Secret. The root of this word is د ث ر and has the following derivative meanings: to be hidden in plain sight, to be obfusticated, to be wrapped. Another suitable meaning for this word in modern speak is Encryption, as the etymology of the word encryption is Latin for “hidden,” while the utility of encryption is to wrap data such that it can be securely stored and transmitted over an untrusted channel. Encryption allows malicious actors the ability to be able to intercept a message yet unable to access or alter it without detection. Therefore, encryption secures and conceals a message in plain sight, thus the translation The Hidden Secret.
Sura 74 also describes the disbeliever who will evaluate the Quran, measure its findings, and then determine that the book is clever magic and human-made, thus professing their disbelief.
74:11 Let Me deal with one I created as an individual.
74:12 I provided him with lots of money.
74:13 And children to behold.
74:14 I made everything easy for him.
74:15 Yet, he is greedy for more.
74:16 He stubbornly refused to accept these proofs.
74:17 I will increasingly punish him.
74:18 For he reflected, then determined.
74:19 Miserable is what he determined.
74:20 Miserable indeed is what he determined.
74:21 He looked.
74:22 He frowned and whined.
74:23 Then he turned away arrogantly.
74:24 He said, “This is but clever magic!
74:25 “This is human made.”
74:26 I will commit him to retribution.
74:27 What retribution!
74:28 Thorough and comprehensive.
74:29 Obvious to all the people.
In response to this claim, we are presented with the following rebuttal.
The next verse informs us the purpose of this number.
74:31 We appointed angels to be guardians of Hell, and we assigned their number (19)
(1) to disturb the disbelievers,
(2) to convince the Christians and Jews (that this is a divine scripture),
(3) to strengthen the faith of the faithful,
(4) to remove all traces of doubt from the hearts of Christians, Jews, as well as the believers, and
(5) to expose those who harbor doubt in their hearts,
and the disbelievers; they will say, “What did GOD mean by this allegory?” GOD thus sends astray whomever He wills, and guides whomever He wills. None knows the soldiers of your Lord except He. This is a reminder for the people.
And finally, we are presented with the following warning.
74:32 Absolutely, (I swear) by the moon.
74:33 And the night as it passes.
74:34 And the morning as it shines.
74:35 This is one of the great miracles.
74:36 A warning to the human race.
Every miracle comes for its time and place. For instance, when Moses and Aaron were given their miracles, it was a time when magic was highly regarded. When Saleh was provided the camel as a miracle, it was destined for a people who considered camels as prized possessions. When Jesus came with his miracles, famine and disease were prevalent, and when Muhammad came with the Quran, the Arabs of that day valued poetry.
Today we live in the computer age, but more specifically in the age of cryptography, and God provided us a cryptographic code for our generation as a miracle. This code provides a way to authenticate and validate the message of the Quran.
As mentioned above, the foundation of this miracle is based on the prime number 19 as well as the fourteen sets of Quranic initials that sit on top of the 29 suras. It just happens that these initials occur in their respective suras in multiples of 19. Sometimes independently, and sometimes in collective sets, creating an interlocking mechanism between the initials and their suras. This miracle was revealed in 1974, exactly 1406 (19×74) lunar years since the revelation of the Quran. Below is a summary of the 29 initialed suras and the frequency of occurrences.
This finding is the foundation of the miracle but goes far beyond just these suras and respective letters to encompass the entire Quran, validating the Quranic text, ridding it of any impurities, and removing any doubt regarding its authenticity from the chest of the believers. And just like the Telegram emojis provide users confidence that their message is secure, when believers witness these initials and their respective function, it will reassure their hearts that the Quran we have today that was transmitted over generations is the same message that was originally delivered to mankind over 1400 years ago.
Additionally, the Quran and the significance of these Quranic initials was prophesized in the previous scripture, in that of the Gospel of Truth.
This is the knowledge of the living book which He revealed to the 23 aeons, at the end, as His letters, revealing how they are not vowels nor are they constants, so that one might read them and think of something foolish, but they are letters of the truth which they alone speak who know them. Each letter is a complete <thought> like a complete book, since they are written by the Unity, the Father having written them for the aeons in order that by means of His letters they should know the Father. While His wisdom contemplates the Word, and His teachers utters it, His knowledge has revealed <it>.
Gospel of Truth
Note that the Quran was revealed over a span of 23 years, as well as the Quranic initials are not vowels or constants but signs that validate the truth of the book.