Al-Alaq
Encyclopedia
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
or chapter of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. It is composed of 19 Ayat (verses or "signs"), and is traditionally believed to have been revealed at Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
at cave Hira
Hira
Hira or the Cave of Hira is a cave about from Mecca, on the mountain named Jabal Al-Nūr in the Hejaz region of present day Saudi Arabia...
. It is sometimes also known as Sūrat al-Iqrā (, "Read").
Translation
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful96:1
Read in the name of your Lord , Who created-
96:2
Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:
96:3
Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,-
96:4
He Who taught (the use of) the pen,-
96:5
Taught man that which he knew not.
96:6
Nay, but man doth transgress all bounds,
96:7
In that he looketh upon himself as self-sufficient.
96:8
Verily, to thy Lord is the return (of all).
96:9
Seest thou one who forbids-
96:10
A votary when he (turns) to pray?
96:11
Seest thou if he is on (the road of) Guidance?-
96:12
Or enjoins Righteousness?
96:13
Seest thou if he denies (Truth) and turns away?
96:14
Knoweth he not that Allah doth see?
96:15
Let him beware! If he desist not, We will drag him by the forelock,-
96:16
A lying, sinful forelock!
96:17
Then, let him call (for help) to his council (of comrades):
96:18
We will call on the angels of punishment (to deal with him)!
96:19
Nay, do not listen to him but bow down in adoration and bring thyself closer (to Allah)!
.............................................................................
In this surah, God
God in Islam
In Islamic theology, God is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer, and judge of the universe. Islam puts a heavy emphasis on the conceptualization of God as strictly singular . God is unique and inherently One , all-merciful and omnipotent. According to the Islamic...
presents a concise but compelling argument: Man is a creature of wonder, beginning with its development from a biomass (or Alaq), who has been granted the gift of sentience by God. Then as a being Man divides into two distinct groups: those who recognize their cosmic condition, seek divine guidance (by 'reading' God's word), and bow to God's will (symbolized by 'prostration'); and those who even in the face of these apparent wonders of Man's condition, consider the Human to be an 'independent' entity, answerable to no transcendent authority, and even more contentiously, take it upon themselves to prevent the first class of man from following God's Word and submitting to Him.
God then states that the first type of Man, the believer, is the righteous one, and that the second class is both in error and is in fact a "lying and sinful" creature. The sura concludes with God's warning to the denier that the "guards of Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
" await, and that such men should cease from denying the believer the right to worship unmolested by them. The sura's last verse are words of encouragement to the believer to "not yield" to the threats of unbelievers but to continue in persistence in obeying God, and a promise of nearness to God for such a believer.
The First Revelation: Verses 1-5
The first five verses of this suraSura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
are believed by nearly all sources, both traditional and modern, to be the first verses of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
to be revealed to Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. A few commentators disagree with this account, claiming that the first revelation was the beginning of sura
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
t al-Muddaththir or sura
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
t al-Fatiha
Al-Fatiha
Sura Al-Fatiha , is the first chapter of the Qur'an. Its seven verses are a prayer for Allah's guidance, and stress His Lordship and Mercy...
, but theirs is a minority position.
Those verses state that God created man from a "clot of congealed blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
" and gave him knowledge. The fetus
Fetus
A fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...
in the womb in the primary stage before creation of a heart looks like a clot of blood. But al-‘Alaq also means leech-like form, which is similar to primary stage of an embryo and overall a fetus or a child in the womb which sucks its nutrition like a leech from its mother. Another meaning of ‘Alaq is sensitive drop of blood.
Muhammad is first commanded: Iqra!. The literal translation is Read, Recite!.
Verses 6-19
The remainder of the surah, revealed later, questions the morality and beliefs of mankind, who "thinks himself self-sufficient", unaware that all things will return to their Lord. The text continues, addressing the impiety of "the man who forbids Our servant to pray". These later lines are thought to date from the time when Muhammad began to prayPray
Pray may refer to:* Prayer, an active effort to communicate with a deity or spiritIt may also refer to:-Places:Italy* Pray, Piedmont, a comune in the Province of BiellaUnited States* Pray, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community-People:...
the salat
Salat
Salah is the practice of formal prayer in Islam. Its importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the Five Pillars of Sunni Islam, of the Ten Practices of the Religion of Twelver Islam and of the 7 pillars of Musta'lī Ismailis...
in the Kaaba
Kaaba
The Kaaba is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Qur'an states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham, or Ibraheem, in Arabic, and his son Ishmael, or Ismaeel, as said in Arabic, after he had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque...
. Abu Jahl attempted to interrupt the prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
by trampling on Muhammad's neck while he was prostrated. "Does he not realize that God sees all?"
The Qur'an commands Muhammad (and by inference all believers) to continue the prayer regardless, as those who persecute the faithful are unaware that God sees what they do.
External links
- Al-Alaq at Sacred Texts
- Kuftaro.org - Iqra