Alif lām rāÌ: [the rāÌ is] an allusion to the mercy that is the Muḥammadan essence, since He says We did not send you except as a mercy to all the worlds [Q. 21:107]. As for alif lām, they have already been mentioned. Those, that is, what is being alluded to by these letters is the pillars of the universal Book that contains wisdom, or the one whose differentiations have been set clear and precise. Or [it means]: I swear by God - in consideration of the ipseity of exclusive unity (aḥadiyya) in concentration and the attribute of inclusive unity (wāḥidiyya) in differentiation within the inner aspect of the realm of divine power (jabarūt) and the outer aspect of the realm of divine mercy (raḥamūt) - to what is being mentioned, or to that those signs mentioned in the sūra, are the signs of the Book, containing wisdom.
