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There is no authentic report from the Prophet about the meaning of the letters muqattaa, which appear at the beginning of 29 suras in the Qur'an and are recited intermittently with their names. Therefore, Islamic scholars have had two different approaches to the interpretation of these letters. According to a group of predominantly Ahl al-Hadith scholars, consisting mostly of Salaf scholars, these letters belong to the category of mutashābihāt, the meaning of which is known only to Allah, and their interpretation is not permissible. According to the second group, led by theologians, it is inappropriate to have things in the Qur'an whose meaning is unknown; therefore, these letters must have a meaning or function and it is permissible to interpret them. Many things have been said about the meaning of these letters since the early periods and these have been recorded in works on hadith, tafsir and Qur'anic sciences. In this article, the approach of Imam al-Māturīdī (d. 333/944), who is considered one of the founders of direct exegesis and the Sunnī school of theology, to the letters muqattaa in his tafsīr al-Taʾwīlātu al-Ḳurʾān is examined in comparison with previous and later tafsīrs. His attitude towards the interpretation of these letters, his approach to previous interpretations, and how he himself perceived these letters are revealed. It is seen that he simply quoted some of the views on the letters muqtaaqtaa without any commentary, which can be interpreted as his distancing himself from these interpretations. However, it is also possible to interpret his inclusion of these interpretations in his work without criticizing them as at least seeing them as possible. The commentator presents some of the opinions with some explanations that make one feel that he agrees with them. In fact, he considers all of the opinions about the hurūf al-muqattaa as probable. However, his red line in this regard is to avoid speaking definitively about them. For these are mutashābihāt, the true meaning of which can only be known by God and His Messenger. Although al-Māturīdī considers the letters muqattaa as mutashābihāt, he is not against their interpretation. However, he is against tafsir, which means a definitive judgment about them. According to his system, only the Prophet and the Companions who witnessed the revelation have the authority to interpret. Since there is no authentic news from the Prophet on this subject, scholars can only interpret them; that is, they can reveal their possible meanings. He mostly emphasizes the function of these letters in attracting the attention of the addressee and includes original interpretations of them in order to prove the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad. There are two views in his commentary that are not found in other works. One of them is the interpretation that the exegesis of these letters is the following sentence. Māturīdī quotes this from Hasan al-Basrī. However, no similar interpretation is found in either the earlier or later sources. The fact that al-Māturīdī cites these and similar views, which were not included even by the early compilers of tafsir narrations such as Tabari and Ibn Abī Hātim, shows that his tafsir is a source that should not be neglected for rare interpretations of some verses. Māturīdī's unique interpretation of the letters Muqattaa is that these letters are alluding to the rational evidences and proofs or parables or previous books mentioned in the Qur'an to prove the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad. No such view is found in either the classical or recent works that compile commentaries on the letters Muqattaa. This is an indication of how neglected Māturīdī exegesis has been throughout history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The science of munasabatu'l-Qur'an, that was first expressed verbally by Abu Bakr al-Nisaburî (died in 936 AD) in the history of tafsir and took place in works with al-Mâturîdî (died in 944 AD), al-Zamakhsharī (died in 1143 AD) and al-Razî (died in 1209 AD). It gained a scientific identification with Burhān al-Dīn al-Biqā'ī (died in 1480 AD); aimed at presenting the relation of meaning between verses and surahs. In this article, Surah al-Ma'ida that is one of the last revealed surah is being examined in the sense of the munasabatu'l-Qur'an. Thus, even if it reveals the relations of meanings in the passages of the surah that compose of 120 verses and looks like independent of each other, however they consequently illustrated how a miraculous book the Quran is in relation to cycling of the verses. In addition to the relationship between the verses, the connection between the beginning and the end of the sura, the previous and the next surah is also emphasized. Perhaps the greatest contribution of munasabatu'l-Qur'an, is that it reveals the relations of the meanings among the passages of Qur'an. However, it is seen that some exaggerated interpretations are made while trying to explain the connection between the surahs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]