Qur'an and Tafsir, Surah 96
العلق
The Clinging Clot
A man who could not read was told: Read.
19 ayat, Makkan, Awaiting scholar review
The Cave of Hira', outside Makkah
Muhammad ﷺ is alone in a mountain cave. An angel says: "Read!" He says he cannot. He is gripped hard and released, three times. Then the first words of the Qur'an are recited to him.
Al-‘Alaq 96:1Almost all scholars agree: the first words of the Qur'an to be revealed.
ٱقۡرَأۡ بِٱسۡمِ رَبِّكَ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَ ١
1 Recite in the name of your Lord who created –
How translators put it
The Arabic word, iqra', can mean both. There was no page in the cave. The commentaries lean towards speech: say aloud what you are about to be given.
Al-‘Alaq 96:2Then, where every person starts.
خَلَقَ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ مِنۡ عَلَقٍ ٢
2 Created man from a clinging substance.
Al-‘Alaq 96:4And two ayat later, what lifts them.
ٱلَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِٱلۡقَلَمِ ٤
4 Who taught by the pen –
A closer look
The first revelation honours writing, and it comes to someone who cannot write. One commentary reads that as deliberate: nobody could say he learned it.
Home, trembling
Muhammad ﷺ is afraid. His wife Khadijah answers with what she knows of him: "Allah will never disgrace you. You keep family ties, carry the weak, honour guests, and stand with people through hardship."
The story behind it
Khadijah's cousin Waraqah is old, blind and learned in scripture. He tells Muhammad ﷺ: your people will drive you out. Makkah calls him "the trustworthy". He is astonished.
Journey map
How it is built
Ayat 1 to 5 came in the cave. Ayat 6 to 19 came years later, when Muhammad ﷺ was praying openly at the Ka'bah and Makkah's leaders wanted it stopped.
Al-‘Alaq 96:6-7The second part opens with a diagnosis.
كَلَّآ إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ لَيَطۡغَىٰٓ ٦ أَن رَّءَاهُ ٱسۡتَغۡنَىٰٓ ٧
6 No! [But] indeed, man transgresses
7 Because he sees himself self-sufficient.
At the Ka'bah
Abu Jahl is rich, and Makkah defers to him. He swears that if he sees Muhammad ﷺ with his face on the ground in prayer, he will stamp on his neck.
Al-‘Alaq 96:9-10The Qur'an does not name him. It describes him.
أَرَءَيۡتَ ٱلَّذِي يَنۡهَىٰ ٩ عَبۡدًا إِذَا صَلَّىٰٓ ١٠
9 Have you seen the one who forbids
10 A servant when he prays?
Al-‘Alaq 96:14No warning yet. First, one question.
أَلَمۡ يَعۡلَم بِأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَرَىٰ ١٤
14 Does he not know that Allāh sees?
A closer look
The ayah gives no object. One commentary takes that as the point: Allah is watching the man who prays and the man who blocks him, both at once.
Lesson
Ziyaad's note: Allah sees. That one line is the whole of ihsan: worship as though you see Him.
Al-‘Alaq 96:14
Al-‘Alaq 96:15He does not stop. The tone changes.
كَلَّا لَئِن لَّمۡ يَنتَهِ لَنَسۡفَعَۢا بِٱلنَّاصِيَةِ ١٥
15 No! If he does not desist, We will surely drag him by the forelock –
Where scholars differ
The verb is rare. Two commentaries and both translations read it as "drag" by the hair at the front of the head. Ibn Kathir's English edition has "scorch": a blackened forehead.
Al-‘Alaq 96:17-18Abu Jahl boasted he had the most men in the valley. The reply:
فَلۡيَدۡعُ نَادِيَهُۥ ١٧ سَنَدۡعُ ٱلزَّبَانِيَةَ ١٨
17 Then let him call his associates;
18 We will call the angels of Hell.
The story behind it
Abu Jahl comes to stamp on the Prophet's ﷺ neck. Then he steps back, hands raised to shield himself. He says he saw a trench of fire, terror and wings between them. (Muslim 2797)
Al-‘Alaq 96:19The last line is for the man Abu Jahl threatened.
كَلَّا لَا تُطِعۡهُ وَٱسۡجُدۡۤ وَٱقۡتَرِب۩ ١٩
19 No! Do not obey him. But prostrate and draw near [to Allāh].
What's happening
Nothing about fighting back. The Prophet ﷺ is told to do the very thing he was ordered to stop. The surah that began with "read" ends with "prostrate".
Reflect, just for you
Virtue of the surah
Abu Hurayrah: "We prostrated with the Prophet ﷺ in Idhas-sama'un-shaqqat and Iqra' bi-smi rabbik."
Muslim 578
Sahih (authentic)In Sahih Muslim
Seen by lamplight. It gives more each time.
A man who could not read was told: Read.