I have read what you mentioned in the attached letter regarding the saying of Al­Hafizh Ibn Hajar on what was said by ' Abdullah ibn Mas' ud: "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is...", that the meaning of "the Hand" is Allah's Power and understood it. However, there is no doubt that this is incorrect and disagrees with the beliefs of Ahl­ul­Sunnah wal­Jama'ah (adherents to the Sunnah and the Muslim mainstream). The correct opinion is that all the Hadiths and Athars (narrations from the Companions) reported in this regard confirm that Allah has a Hand and has Power. In fact, they show that everything is in His Hand (Glorified be He) and that He has Absolute Power. They also show that Allah (may He be Praised) has a Hand in a manner befitting Him, without likening any of His Attributes to His Creatures.

A: Saying that the whole Qur'an is Allah's Speech, all of it is reverend and glorified, and all of it explains itself and proves itself is unobjectionable, but this is not the correct answer. The correct answer that must be given is that it (ﻻ ) is not superfluous when the meaning is clarified, even if it comes at the beginning of the sentence, as in the Saying of Allah (Exalted be He)at the end of Surah Al­Hadid: ِﻟِﺌَﻠﱠﺎ ﻳَﻌْﻠَﻢَ ﺃَﻫْﻞُ ﺍﻟْﻜِﺘَﺎﺏ [(meanings of which are translated as:) So that the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) may know And His Saying inSurah Al­An'am: ﻗُﻞْ ﺗَﻌَﺎﻟَﻮْﺍ ﺃَﺗْﻞُ ﻣَﺎ ﺣَﺮﱠﻡَ ﺭَﺑﱡﻜُﻢْ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻜُﻢْ ﺃَﻟﱠﺎ ﺗُﺸْـﺮِﻛُﻮﺍ ﺑِـﻪِ ﺷَـﻴْﺌًﺎ [(meanings of which are translated as:) Say (O Muhammad): "Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited you from: Join not anything in worship with Him] In addition to other similar Ayahs.

Also, the Saying of Allah (Glorified be He): ِﻟَﺎ ﺃُﻗْﺴِﻢُ ﺑِﻴَﻮْﻡِ ﺍﻟْﻘِﻴَﺎﻣَﺔ [I swear by the Day of Resurrection]. And: ِﻟَﺎ ﺃُﻗْﺴِﻢُ ﺑِﻬَﺬَﺍ ﺍﻟْﺒَﻠَﺪ [I swear by this city (Makkah)] It is used in these two Ayahs and others similar to them to negate what the Mushriks (those who associate others with Allah in His Divinity or worship) said justifying their attachment to other than Allah and seeking to draw closer to their deities through different forms of 'Ibadah (worship), claiming that their deities would intercede for them with Allah. After that it is used by Allah (Glorified be He) to confirm His Oath by the Day of Resurrection and by the self­reproaching soul in the first Surah, and by the Secure City and what follows it in the second Surah, and through what He mentions later in the two Surahs. Therefore, it could be said that the letter: "ﻻ" (La) is used in them as an opening word that is not intended to deny or negate anything. It is like the other separated letters at the beginning of Surahs, such as: "ﺃﻟﻢ" (Alif Lam Mim), "ﺃﻟﺮ" (Alif Lam Ra), "ﺣﻢ" (Ha Mim) and the like. This was the intended meaning of what was stated by Imam Ibn Jarir and Al­Hafizh Ibn Kathir.

The truth was that it was ' Ubaydullah and not the well­known ' Abdullah, but his name was misspelled, as was proven by

other narrations that showed that he was 'Ubaydullah Al­Musaghar (i.e., the name in the diminutive form) who was a Tabi'y (Follower, the generation after the Companions of the Prophet) and not a Sahaby (Companion of the Prophet) ­ may Allah forgive everyone!