Bismillah,
:salam2: all, though the questions already been answered wisely, i'd still like to contribute Insha'Allah...
regarding 786.... - someone asked a question: (in a book by Mahmood Ahmed Mirpuri who wrote FATWA SIRAT AL MUSTAQEEM which is translated by Mohammed Abdul Hadi al-Omeri and is published and distributed by DARUSSALAM, RIYADH-SAUDI ARABIA)
Q) We have been taught by our parents and state school teacher that when you write a letter to someone, you must put 786 on top of the letter which is the same as BISMILLAH..But a religious scholar has told me that you should write 786/92, is any of this correct?
A) ....when corresponding with someone, it is a Sunnah to start with 'Bismillah'. But, in the sub-continet people tend to use the number 786 of which there is no proof from the Islamic Shari'ah, whether you write 786 or 786/92.This does not symbolise 'Bismillah' in any way . Those who do use this, say that people do not respect letters/papers and therefore it is disrespectful to 'Bismillah'. Using these numbers is wrong for the following reasons:
i) 786 does not symbolise or equalise 'Bismillah' as there is no proof from any scholar on this. If somone was to read just a number instead of a text, it would obviously be meaningless.
ii) Those who worry about disrespect to Islamic text, should not use words like 'Allah' and 'Muhammad' in their letters either, but this is not the case. In the same letter headed by 786 we find Allah's name in the text!
iii) The Prophet (Alayhis sallatu wassalam) sent several letters to non-Muslims and there was a possibility that they would not respect these letters. Still, the Prophet (Alayhis sallatu wassalam) started with the name of Allah and did not use any numbers to symbolise it. Also, when Prophet Sulaiman (Alayhis salam) sent a letter to the Queen of Saba', who was a Kafir at that time, he started his letter with 'Bismillah' and this is stated in the Qu'ran, Surat An-Naml says : "Verily it is from Sulaiman and verily it reads 'In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, Most Merciful" " (27:30)
Alhamdulillah...
Ma'Salama
your sister in Islam...