Ibn Mas'ūd reported God’s messenger as saying:

“If anyone recites a letter of God’s Book he will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed gets a tenfold reward (Al-Qur’ān, 6:160). I do not say that <i>A.L.M</i> are one letter*, but <i>alif</i> is a letter, <i>lām</i> is a letter and <i>mīm</i> is a letter.” *These letters occur at the beginning of <i>sūras</i> 2, 3, 29, 30, 31 and 32. No satisfactory explanation of their meaning has been given. A brief discussion of them is given by Abdullāh Yūsuf Ali in <i>The Holy Qur’ān, Text, Translation & Commentary</i> (Lahore, 1934 and later editions), note 25. Sea also pp. 118-120. Tirmidhī and Dārimī transmitted it, Tirmidhī saying this is a <i>hasan sahīh</i> tradition whose <i>isnad</i> is <i>gharīb</i>.

وَعَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:

مَنْ قَرَأَ حَرْفًا مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَلَهُ بِهِ حَسَنَةٌ وَالْحَسَنَةُ بِعَشْرِ أَمْثَالِهَا لَا أَقُولُ: آلم حَرْفٌ. أَلْفٌ حَرْفٌ وَلَامٌ حَرْفٌ وَمِيمٌ حَرْفٌ

. رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ وَالدَّارِمِيُّ وَقَالَ التِّرْمِذِيُّ هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ غَرِيب إِسْنَادًا