طسٓمٓ
Commentary:
The مقطعات (abbreviated letters) طسم may stand for the three Divine attributes, viz. Benignant, All-Hearing and All-Knowing; the letter ط representing the Divine attribute لطیف (Benignant), س representing سمیع (All-Hearing) and م standing for علیم (All-Knowing). These مقطعات show that in the present and the following few Surahs, which are similar and subordinate to the present Surah, in subject-matter, light has been shed on the fact that God is humanity’s Great Benefactor; He is Kind and Compassionate to His servants; He hears their prayers and supplications and knows the inmost secrets of their hearts and all their needs and requirements and fulfils them. They further show that light has also been thrown in these Surahs on the laws and rules which regulate and govern the universe and thus demonstrate Divine Majesty, Dignity and Glory and that sound and solid arguments have been given to support and substantiate what the Quran asserts and claims. These مقطعات give such a beautiful and complete picture of Divine attributes as no other revealed Scripture has done and by implication exhort a Muslim to assimilate and develop in his person these attributes because God has created man in His own image and to the extent to which he assimilates Divine attributes, to that extent he rises morally and spiritually and becomes his Creator’s manifestation.
The present and next two Surahs form a special group known as the طسم (Ta Sin Mim) group. These three Surahs bear a very close resemblance to each other in their subject-matter and were revealed in the same period at Mecca. As all of them deal particularly with the life-story of Moses in some detail, some commentators of the Quran have taken the abbreviated letters طسم as standing for Mount Sinai and Moses; طس standing for طور سیناء (Mount Sinai) and م for موسی (Moses).
The fact that the present Surah and 28th Surah are prefixed with the abbreviated letters طسم and give a much more detailed account of the different phases of Moses’ chequered life, coupled with the fact that the 27th Surah has only طس placed in its beginning (the letter م having been significantly omitted) and makes only a very brief reference to him, lends additional weight to the inference that this letter stands for Moses.
It may also be added that the three Divine attributes Benignant, All-Hearing and All-Knowing have also a strong bearing on the life story of Moses, related in some detail in these three Surahs.
For a detailed explanation, however, of مقطعات (abbreviated letters) see 2:2 & 19:2.
In the Muqatta‘at (abbreviated letters) Ta Sin Mim, Ta stands for Tahir (Lord of Purity), Sin for Sami‘ (All-Hearing) and Mim for Majid (Lord of Dignity), thus indicating that the Surah deals with the means to achieve purity of heart, acceptance of prayer and dignity. This and the next two Chapters form a special group known as the Ta Sin Mim group and all of them bear a very close resemblance to each other in their subject-matter. They were revealed about the same time at Mecca. As these Surahs deal particularly with the life-story of Moses in some detail, some Commentators have taken these abbreviated letters as standing for Mount Sinai and Moses— Ta Sin standing for Turi Sinin (Mount Sinai) and Mim for Musa (Moses).