Divine Wisdom for the letter Alif

What is the divine wisdom for the letter alif not being used in the basmala?

With respect to the omission of the Arabic letter alif from the Bismillah, or “In the Name of God”, we can consider the following factors: First and foremost, Bismillah is the most frequently recited of all Qur’anic phrases, occurring 114 times in the Qur’an. It is due to this great frequency of the phrase that the alif is not used here. However, the letter alif is omitted in no other words in the Qur’an, but only in Bi.smi.llah. The letter alif appears in “Iqra’ bi ( i )smi Rabbikallaziy khalaq” (“Read in the Name of your Lord, Who has created”) (Alaq 96:1).

Such a practice with respect to the exceptional omission of the letter alif in the basmala is yet more evidence that the Qur’an has reached us without any alterations. If this were not the case, scholars of Arabic would have opposed this usage, saying: “Such use is contrary to the grammar of the Arabic language” and would have changed this usage. The fact that such an alteration did not occur indicates that the Qur’an has been written in this way from the very beginning and that it was written under the supervision of God and His Messenger.

 

Akgul, Muhittin (2009). The Quran in 99 Questions (Abdullah Erdemli Trans.). New Jersey: Tughra Books. (Originally published in Turkish as Kur’an İklimine Seyahat)