The Hope of 786: Arabic Method of Arranging Letters

The origination and meaning of 786…

“786 is the total value of the letters of “Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim.” In Arabic there are two methods of arranging letters. One method is the most common method known as the alphabetical method.

If you take the numeric values of all the letters of the Bismillah, according to the Abjad order, the total will be 786. In the Indian subcontinent the Abjad numerals became quite popular. Some people, mostly in India and Pakistan, use 786 as a substitute for Bismillah. They write this number to avoid writing the name of Allah or the Qur’anic ayat on ordinary papers. This tradition is not from the time of the Prophet -peace be upon him- or his Sahabah. It developed much later, perhaps during the later ‘Abbasid period. We do not know of any reputable Imams or Jurists who used this number instead of the Bismillah.” (Information courtesy of Al-Qur’an the Ultimate Miracle by Ahmed Deedat).

Even though it’s just a number, 786 has always been significant to me. I treat it as a lucky number. If this number pops up as a total at the store I’m shopping or just some other way randomly, I get excited. It may sound stupid to you, but it gives me hope and makes me feel like the number is a sign from Allah to not give up hope.

Last night I got off of work at 9 pm, and since I don’t have a running car, I have to depend on others or the bus to get me to and from where I need to go. I left a note for my dad to pick me up at 9 from work. I normally don’t work on Monday nights and my father doesn’t have a cell phone. So I was just hoping that he would get home in time to pick me up. Well, 9 pm came and went. I called home a million times…no answer. I called a couple of my friends…no answer. Yes, I had to walk home from work last night.

For those of you who are familiar with the Akron area, E. Cuyahoga Falls Ave. isn’t the best area for a female to be walking alone in the dark. Granted, it’s not that bad, but it’s definitely risky. I didn’t know when my dad would get home, so I decided to walk hoping he would call within the first 10 minutes or so and say he was on his way. That didn’t happen.

So, I’m walking down E. Cuyahoga Falls with my hood up and my iPod volume turned down low so I would be alert to the surroundings around me. I was a little nervous, but I think I can handle my own in these situations. I’ve walked in worse areas before and survived…but not necessarily at night. Nothing too out of the ordinary happened. Some high school kids asked me “Howwww you doinnnn,” and I got honked at by passing cars. The one thing that made me a little nervous was when I passed by Jaco’s drive thru and a guy in an SUV pulled in front of me and asked if I needed a ride. I said no thanks and quickly walked away thinking he would drive away. But then this fool decides to creep along beside me asking me if I’m sure I don’t need a ride. I said, “No I’m good, thanks,” and he kept following me. I was on the verge of sprinting, but eventually he drove away. Thankfully nothing happened.

So, I’m nearing the Sheetz gas station and my dad finally calls me and asks if I need a ride. I said no, I’m already walking. He felt bad and explained why he didn’t get me…because I didn’t tell him (although I left a note), and he was at the grocery store etc. Then he asks if I need a ride, and I say it doesn’t matter now, I’m almost home. He says ok and hangs up.

I’m on the verge of tears as I start to think about how disappointed I am in the people around me. I feel like I can’t count on anyone to help me out when I need help. The thing is, if anyone close to me needs help, I will drop everything to go help them out. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, I will go and help them. Last night I felt like I could not count on anyone to do that for me. It was quite disappointing, but that’s reality.

I’m also thinking about how broke me and my family are, and how educated we all are, but how it seems to not really be worth anything and just really having a pity party by myself when I cross the street. I’m almost at my street. I look up and see a car slowing down next to me. It’s my dad 🙂 Even though I told him not to come, he came looking for me anyways. It was really sweet. I felt a little better. Seeing my dad pull up made me start crying. Even though I have little faith in others, I can always count on my family to be there for me. I tried to hide my face when I got in the car. I don’t know if he saw me crying, but if he did, he didn’t say anything. We drove the rest of the way home, and when we pull into the driveway, my dad comments that he will pick me up from work until my car gets fixed and how he needs to take my car to get looked at by the mechanic. It was comforting to know that someone cares.

So you all must be wondering what this story has to do with 786? Well, when I got in, I decided to do my taxes online. Since I don’t make much money, I usually qualify to get all my taxes refunded back to me. When I was done with my taxes, an alert popped up on the screen saying that my refund would be….you guessed it: $786

Seeing that also helped lift my spirits. I couldn’t help but think of it as a sign from Allah telling me that better things are coming for me and my family. I think one day when I am financially secure and my life is more settled, I will look back on my days of suffering and will really appreciate the hardships I went through. Earning something is so much better than having something handed to you. After all, how can someone truly enjoy the wealth they have if they haven’t known any different?