Greetings,
The site we are linked to, Load-Islam.com, has many useful articles regarding various aspects of Islam, including clarifying misconceptions. You might find it useful to have a browse around. Please see:
http://www.load-islam.com/artical_de...orious%20Quran
And the subject of alleged contradictions in the Qur'an can also be found on the forum here:
http://www.islamicboard.com/refutati...ons-quran.html
Regarding your first question on the disjointed letters in the Qur'an:
format_quote Originally Posted by
Liberalization
First, I'll start with the first verse of the sūrah, which goes as such, "Alif, Lām, Meem" (2:1). The footnote for this states that "these are among the fourteen opening letters which occur in various combinations at the beginning of twenty-nine sūrahs in the Qur'an. Although there has been much speculation as to their meaning, it was not, in fact, revealed by Allāh to anyone and is known only to him." My questions are:
- What are these letter combinations speculated to mean?
- What is the possibility that these letter combinations are fundamentally nonsensical?
It should be borne in mind that a group of scholars from among the early generations of Muslims refrained from interpreting such verses of the Quran containing the disjointed letters.It was not narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) interpreted them, so it is preferable for us to say Allaah knows best what they mean. But it was narrated that some interpreters of the Qur'an (mufassireen) did interpret them, and they differed as to their interpretation.
1. The safest opinion, and a very common one, is that only Allaah knows the meanings of such verses. Although it is true that only Allaah knows for certain the meanings of these letters, this does not rule out the possibility that they may have meanings that are possible to grasp.
2. Among the other strong opinions, it is said that (since these letters comprise exactly half the letters of the Arabic alphabet), they are a reference to the other half of the alphabet. In other words, the Arabs are being reminded that this Qur'an is composed of their letters, and the words are the same as their words, and yet it cannot be imitated in its style and prose. Thus, these letters seek to display the miraculous nature of the Qur'an.
To add weight to this explanation, it is noticed that in almost all soorahs where these letters occur, the very next verse mentions the Qur'an. For example:
Alif-Lâm-Mîm. This is the Book (the Qur'ân), whereof there is no doubt, a guidance to those who are Al-Muttaqûn. [Al-Baqarah: 1-2]
Imaam al-Baaqillaanee said, "These letters are exactly half the alphabet, as if it is being said, 'Whoever presumes that the Qur'an is not a miracle, let him take the other half and form a speech that can compete with the Qur'an!'"
3. Another opinion is that the letters are used to attract attention. The disjointed letters are not a phenomenon started by the Qur'an; the Arab poets occasionally used them at the beginning of their poetry to attract attention to the poem that was to follow.
Also, the Arabs at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) never questioned the disjointed letters, despite the fact that they tried everything to disparage the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) never asked the explanation of these letters despite their thirst for knowledge. This shows that they were not puzzled by these letters since they were accustomed to their use in the poems of the days of ignorance (i.e. before they came to know about Islam). Thus, according to this opinion, the disjointed letters are used to attract attention to the soorahs, and to prove to the disbelieving Arabs that the Qur'an was a revelation from Allaah, since even though the disjointed letters were used by the poets of old, the Qur'an's style of 'poetry' is inimitable.
It can be concluded then, that the actual purpose of the disjointed letters is known only to Allaah, but it does not seem too unreasonable to claim that their purpose is to prove the miraculous nature of the Qur'an, both by showing the Arabs that the Qur'an, despite its inimitability, was composed of their letters and words, and by using the techniques of the poets of old to challenge and prevail over the eloquence of their poems.
And Allaah, Exalted is He, knows best.
References used:
http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/21811
An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur'an, Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi, pp.167-170.
what their meaning was, or if they even have one. So we don't say they have no meaning, because they could, but only Allah knows it, but nor do we come up with meanings and say this is what the verse means, or could possibly mean. These letters are not, however, simply letters, as in they have a reason for being there. Allah frequently challenged non muslims to produce a book like the quran, or a surah, or even just one verse. The pagans of arabia tried and tried, and they never managed. Not even one verse that is seemingly as simple as 3 letters. So the verses that consist of 3 or 4 letters are so simple, and one would think easy to write, but they could still not be produceded by all the tribes of arabia. So these are a type of confirmation that the quran was indeed revealed from Allah, and not written, as some people say, by the prophet Muhammad 
I guess I'll just try to retype it all as best I can, im in a rush though.
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