Palindrome in the Holy Qur'an 36:40

Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim

In Surah 36 Ayah 40 of the Holy Qur'an, Allah the Most High says,

Lash shamsu yambaghee lahaaa an tudrikal qamara walal laylu saabiqun nahaar; wa kullun fee falaki yasbahoon

"It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day. They all float, each in an orbit." (Translation: Mohsin Khan)

Part of the above-verse is "kullun fee falak" (each in an orbit).

The Arabic letters of "kullun fee falak" are:

Kaf, Lam, Fa, Ya, Fa, Lam, Kaf

and they (the letters) are the same from both right to left and left to right, making it a palindrome (a word, number, phrase, or other sequence of symbols that reads the same backwards as forwards).

This is quite phenomenal. The verse talks about "orbits", a concept which we generally equate with circular continuity, and since these Arabic words form a palindrome, the letters themselves also display a circular continuity. Subhanallah!

In 2007, I was fortunate to co-host an event in Toronto for which Calligrapher Haji Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang was the keynote speaker. The below photo is Haji Noor Deen's demonstration of the above-mentioned palindrome from the Holy Qur'an. May Allah bless him and fulfill all of his good wishes. Amin.

Irshaad A. Rashid
Madrasa Riyada, Toronto, Canada
Sha'ban 1444 / March 2023