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Why was the alif of "ba'u" omitted in His, the Exalted's, saying (باءو بغضب - they have drawn upon themselves wrath) in Surat Al-Baqarah?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Scholars of the Quranic script generally do not mention a reason for the script's deviation from spelling rules unless it is to accommodate a Quranic reading. This includes the absence of the supernumerary alif in words like "جاءوا" (ja'u) and "باءوا" (ba'u). Sheikh Muhammad Al-Aqib Al-Shinqiti, in his poem "Kashf al-Ama," indicated that the Quranic script is miraculous and deviates from analogy, and that its secret and wisdom are hidden from minds. He also stated that the forms of addition and omission within it are a miracle whose secret even great scholars cannot grasp, and that the explanations provided by the scribes' masters are unconvincing.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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