Abjad — Arabic Numerology and its Ismaili Ta'wil

The Abjad Letter Values

The classical Arabic abjad sequence follows a pre-alphabetic ordering (matching the ordering of the Phoenician/Hebrew alphabet):

The system is remembered by the mnemonic phrase: أَبجَد هَوَّز حُطِّي كَلَمَن سَعفَص قَرَشَت ثَخَّذ ضَظَغ (Abjad, Hawwaz, Hutti, Kalman, Sa’fas, Qarashat, Thakhkhadh, Dhazagh) — each word encoding a group of letters.

See also: Quran Sciences, Why The Quran, Tawil Esoteric Interpretation

Uses in Islamic Culture

Dating: A verse or phrase whose letters sum to a given number was used to record dates — called a tarikh (chronogram). For example, a poet might compose a verse whose abjad total equals the year of an event.

Names: The numerical value of a person’s name was used for spiritual or predictive purposes.

Du’a and awrad: The numerical significance of divine names (particularly the 99 names of Allah) was explored in Sufi and Ismaili mystical traditions — understanding the weight of a name as part of understanding its power.

Ismaili Ta’wil of Abjad

In Ismaili ta’wil, abjad moves from cultural practice to metaphysical precision. The key applications:

The Divine Name Counts

The divine name Allah (ا ل ل ه) = 1 + 30 + 30 + 5 = 66.

The name Muhammad (م ح م د) = 40 + 8 + 40 + 4 = 92.

The name ‘Ali (ع ل ي) = 70 + 30 + 10 = 110.

The Ismaili significance: Muhammad (92) + ‘Ali (110) = 202 — a number that encodes the unity of nubuwwa (prophethood) and walayah (the Imam’s authority). The Ismaili ta’wil reads this as: the complete divine guidance is Muhammad’s message PLUS ‘Ali’s walayah — neither is complete without the other.

The Huruf al-Muqatta’at

The mysterious disconnected letters at the beginnings of 29 Quranic chapters (alif lam mim, ya sin, ha mim, nun, etc.) are among the most discussed phenomena in Quran studies. The Ismaili ta’wil reads them as numerical/doctrinal encodings:

• Alif Lam Mim (ا ل م) = 1 + 30 + 40 = 71 — the number associated with the first daur (aeon)
• Alif Lam Ra (ا ل ر) = 1 + 30 + 200 = 231
• Kaf Ha Ya ‘Ain Sad (ك ه ي ع ص) = 20 + 5 + 10 + 70 + 90 = 195

Each group of disconnected letters is read as encoding the numerical signature of a particular da’wa reality — a particular rank in the hierarchy of the hudud.

See also: Ismaili Philosophy, Daur Wa Kawr, Asas Wa Natiq In Depth

The Seven and the Twelve

Ismaili cosmological numerology works extensively with 7 and 12:

The sevens in Ismaili theology:

• 7 heavens (Quran 67:3, 71:15)
• 7 Imams in each daur (cycle/aeon)
• 7 prophetic cycles (adwar)
• 7 letters in the Basmala’s opening word (Bismillah)
• 7 ranks in the da’wa hierarchy

The twelves:

• 12 months in the year
• 12 hujjas (proofs of the Imam) in each cycle
• 12 signs of the zodiac (used in Ismaili cosmological diagrams)

The numbers 7 and 12 appear to the Ismaili philosopher not as arbitrary human conventions but as reflections of the cosmic structure — the divine’s reality expressed in numerical form throughout creation.

See also: Daur Wa Kawr, Hujja Imam, Ghayb The Unseen, Tawil Esoteric Interpretation

Abjad and Spiritual Practice

For the Dawoodi Bohra believer, abjad is encountered in:

• The Arabicized dating of Syedna’s proclamations and historical records
• The composition of marsiyas (elegies) whose numerical values encode da’wa teaching
• The exegesis of du’as — understanding the weight and significance of each divine name invoked
• The reading of Quran verses whose abjad total corresponds to a da’wa teaching

The point is not magical manipulation but contemplative reading: the believer who understands abjad reads the divine’s word with an additional layer of appreciation for the precision with which the divine has woven truth into the very structure of language.

See also: Tawil Esoteric Interpretation, Ismaili Philosophy, Quran Sciences, Why The Quran, Dhikr

See also: Tawil Esoteric Interpretation, Ismaili Philosophy, Quran Sciences, Why The Quran, Daur Wa Kawr, Asas Wa Natiq In Depth, Ghayb The Unseen, Hujja Imam, Dhikr