How can I reconcile my reading of "malikayn" (with an open lam) and "malikayn" (with a broken lam) in verse 102 of Surat Al-Baqarah, and the resulting difference in meaning, and how can there be a difference in the Book of Allah the Almighty?

The variation in wording within the Holy Quran falls into three categories: variation in wording with the same meaning, variation in wording and meaning with the possibility of their coexistence, and variation in wording and meaning with the impossibility of their coexistence. The difference between the Quranic readings is a difference of diversity and variation, not contradiction, and this is confirmed by the Almighty's saying: (And if it were from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much inconsistency) An-Nisa/82. The Quranic readings that vary in meaning are all true, and each reading is equivalent to an [independent] verse; belief in all of them is obligatory.

The multiplicity of readings benefits from the multiplicity of meanings; for each reading adds a new meaning. The difference in understanding and interpreting the Quranic verses does not stem from a contradiction in the Book of Allah, but rather from the differing comprehensions of the exegetes.

The correct and widely transmitted reading of the Almighty's saying: (And what was sent down to the two angels) Al-Baqarah/102, is with the opening of the letters 'meem', 'lam', and 'kaf' (al-mala-kayn), referring to the angels. As for the reading "al-mali-kayn" with the breaking of the letter 'lam', it is an anomalous reading and may refer to David and Solomon or two other kings who were in Babylon.