Verses 1–19
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful
This sūrah was revealed in Mecca and consists of 19 verses. It orders the Prophet to receive the Qur’an from God through revelation. This is the first sūrah of the Qur’an that was revealed. According to the context of the verses, it could have been revealed all at once, as we shall discuss. It is incontrovertibly Meccan.
Commentary
اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ ١
(96:1) Read (iqraʾ, from qirāʾah), in the name of your Lord (bi-ism rabbika) Who created.
Al-Rāghib says:
Qirāʾah means “assembling the letters and words as one recites.” It is not used for all types of assembling. For instance, if one gathers a group of people, one would not use the verb qaraʾtu. Likewise, one does not use the verb for uttering a single letter.
In any case, there are three usages for the term: (1) “I read the book” (qaraʾtu al-kitāb) is used when its letters and words are gathered together in the reader’s mind, even if the reader does not speak them aloud. (2) “I recited it” (qaraʾtuhu) is used when the letters and words are assembled together through speech. (3) “I read it to him” (qaraʾtuhu ʿalayhi) is used when the letters and words are merged in someone’s hearing. The word tilāwah (recitation) can also be used for this meaning, as in the verse: A messenger from Allah, reciting (yatlū) pure scriptures ().
Here, iqraʾ seems to be used in the first sense: It is a command to receive the Qur’an from the angel of revelation. The sentence is a command to read the book, even though it is also part of the book, just as someone might write in the beginning of a letter, “Read my missive, and act according to it.” This would be a command to read the letter, while at the same time it is a part of the letter. We can deduce two points from this general theme. First, these were the first verses of the Qur’an that were revealed to the Prophet, as mentioned in some narrations. Second, the implied meaning is: “Read the Qur’an” or something similar [where the object of reading is omitted]. Hence, the following views should be discarded:
- The verse is a general command to read, without any specific object of recitation.
- The object of reading is the name of your Lord, and the letter bāʾ (by, with, in) is zāʾidah (extra, supplementary, semantically empty). The implied meaning is: “Recite the name of your Lord.” In other words, “Recite the phrase: In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful.
- What is meant is “Read to the people,” where the people is omitted.
Comment: While the third view is not applicable to this verse in particular, it is correct otherwise, as one of the objectives of the Qur’an’s revelation: A Qur’an which We have revealed in portions so that you may read it to the people by slow degrees, and We have revealed it, revealing in portions ().
In the name of your Lord: There is an implied omitted word before this phrase, such as “opening” or “beginning.” It could also be that the letter bāʾ indicates mulābasah (coverage, connectedness, company). There is no conflict between In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful being at the beginning of the sūrah, and also a part of it. God opens the chapter with this phrase, and then orders His Prophet to also begin his reading with it. This would be a case of teaching through action, and can be compared to God’s command to say “God-willing” in the verse: And do not say about anything, “I will do it tomorrow” without [adding] “if Allah wills” (). The reader should reflect on this.
Your Lord Who created: This alludes to the fact that lordship is restricted to God. This is monotheism with respect to lordship (rubūbiyyah), which means ruling over the beings and directing their affairs. God’s unity of lordship in turn requires that only He be worshiped. The polytheists used to say that God only created things, but others—such as angels, jinns and certain humans—were responsible for managing the creation. God refutes this by saying your Lord Who created. Hence, the verse explicitly states that lordship and creation both belong to God alone.
خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ ٢
(96:2) He Created man (al-insān) from a clot of blood (ʿalaq).
What is meant by al-insān is the human species as a genus. ʿAlaq is “dried blood.” It refers to what the sperm turns into in the womb.
This verse refers to the divine oversight over human beings, from the time a person is but a clot of blood until they become a full-fledged human, with wondrous properties and acts that are mind-boggling. This person would never reach this state of completion and perfection were it not for God’s successive management of their affairs, which amounts to incessant acts of creation on the person, one on top of another. Therefore, God is the Lord of human beings, just as He is their Creator. It thus follows that humans have none to take as a lord but He. This verse also proves God’s unity of lordship.
اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ ٣
(96:3): Read, and your Lord is the most gracious,
According to the context, and given the unqualified form of the word Read, the verse reiterates and emphasizes the first command []. Two other views are:
- This verse commands reading to the people, which means propagating the message, while the first verse commands the Prophet to read for himself.
- Both commands instruct the Prophet to read to the people.
Comment: Neither view accords with the apparent meaning of the verses.
… Your Lord is the most gracious: God’s grace surpasses that of others because of two points: (1) His giving is prior to the recipient’s merits and qualifications. (2) Any gift or blessing ultimately traces to Him as its original giver.
الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ ٤
(96:4) Who taught by the pen (bil-qalam)
The meaning is: “He taught reading—or reading and writing—through the intermediary of the pen.” These words are meant to strengthen the soul of the Prophet and remove any worry or confusion that might have set in when he was ordered to Read (, ) for he was unlettered and did not read or write. It is as if the verse is saying: “Read the book of your Lord Who reveals it to you. And do not fear! Your most gracious Lord is the One Who taught humans to read through the pen that is used for writing. He can teach you how to read this book even though you are unlettered. He would not have ordered you if He had not enabled you to carry it out.”
عَلَّمَ الْإِنْسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ ٥
(96:5): He taught man (al-insān) what he knew not.
This verse shows how the blessings of God are more general than what was mentioned above, with reference to how God has taught humankind what they did not know. This also is meant to strengthen the heart of the Prophet and gladden his soul.
According to the context, al-insān apparently means humankind as a genus. Others have suggested:
- It refers to Adam.
- It refers to Idrīs (Enoch), because he was the first to write with a pen.
- It refers to all prophets who used to write.
Comment: These are unfounded views that do not spring to the mind from the text.
كَلَّا إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَيَطْغَىٰ ٦
(96:6) Nay (kallā)! Indeed man transgresses
The exclamation kallā (nay, never, no way) rejects an implied notion in the previous verses. It means: “God has bestowed great blessings upon humankind, such as teaching them by the pen, other forms of knowledge, and teachings through revelation. Therefore, people must thank Him for these blessings, but they are not grateful; they transgress.”
… Indeed man transgresses: Humans cross their limits and boundaries. This verse refers to a natural inclination in the humans, as reflected in the verse: Indeed man is most unfair and ungrateful ()
أَنْ رَآهُ اسْتَغْنَىٰ ٧
(96:7) for he views (raʾāhu) himself self-sufficient.
The verb in this verse is derived from the word raʾy (view, opinion), not from ruʾyah (vision, sight) in its physical sense. Both the subject and object of this verb are al-insān (man, the human being; ).
This verse—for he views himself self-sufficient—explains why man transgresses (). Humans tend to be rebellious because they believe that they are needless of their Lord. They do not recognize the blessings that He bestows upon them, and thus act ungratefully. This is because they get caught up with their limited selves and the material instruments which they seek in order to reach their goals. Therefore, they are diverted from their Lord and do not see any need of Him which might impel them to remember Him or thank Him for His blessings. They transgress because they are not mindful of their Lord.
إِنَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ الرُّجْعَىٰ ٨
(96:8) Indeed toward your Lord is the return (al-rujʿá).
Rujʿá is synonymous with rujūʿ (return, returning). Given the context of threat in the following verses, what is meant here is apparently a warning about death and resurrection. The verse is addressed to the Prophet. Some have said that it is addressed to the human being, shifting from the third person to the second person in order to intensify the threat. However, the first view is more apparent.
أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يَنْهَىٰ ٩ عَبْدًا إِذَا صَلَّىٰ ١٠ أَرَأَيْتَ إِنْ كَانَ عَلَى الْهُدَىٰ ١١ أَوْ أَمَرَ بِالتَّقْوَىٰ ١٢ أَرَأَيْتَ إِنْ كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ ١٣ أَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَرَىٰ ١٤
(96:9-14) Have you seen the one who forbids a servant when he prays? Have you seen if he were upon guidance, or called to Godwariness? Do you see if he denies and turns away, does he not know that God is seeing?
These verses provide some examples for the transgression of humankind. They also set the stage for the following verses, which warn the people of the consequences of transgression, and order the Prophet to not obey such transgressors, but to serve God instead.
… a servant when he prays: It can be gleaned from the rest of the verses that this refers to the Prophet, as he is forbidden below from obeying the person who opposes his prayer, and is commanded to prostrate and draw closer to God instead. Assuming that this sūrah was the first to be revealed, and that it was revealed all at once, the verses imply that the Prophet used to pray before the Qur’an was revealed. This, in turn, acts as proof for his being a prophet before being formally commissioned with the Qur’an.
Objection: Some have pointed out that the ritual prayer (ṣalāh) was not mandated at the beginning of the Prophet’s mission. Instead, according to some narrations, it was ordained on the night of his ascension to the heavens. This is reflected in the verse: Stand in prayer from the setting of the sun until the darkness of the night, and the dawn recitation ().
Response: The only definite conclusion of this point is that the five daily prayers in their current form of cycles of even units (sing. rakʿah) were legislated and established on the night of ascension. However, there is no evidence that no ritual prayer was mandated beforehand. Many Meccan chapters—including those revealed before Sūrah al-Isrāʾ (17), such as al-Muddaththir (74) and al-Muzzammil (73)—speak of the ritual prayer (al-ṣalāh) using various expressions. They do not say how the prayer was performed, apart from including some recitation of the Qur’an and prostration. Some narrations say that in the early days of the prophetic mission, the Prophet used to pray with Khadījah and ʿAlī, although the narrations do not say how they prayed.
Have you seen…: This expression is equivalent to “tell me” (akhbirnī). It is a rhetorical question that conveys surprise. The expression takes two objects, where the first object is the person who is being observed and reported on. This is the one who forbids () in the first and third cases [, ]. In the second case [], the first object of this expression is a servant (). In all three instances, the second object is: does he not know that Allah is seeing? ().
The effective meaning can be divided into three segments: “(1) Tell me about the person who forbids another servant from praying, while the one who is forbidding knows that God sees their actions. What shall be their condition? []. (2) Tell me about the one who is forbidding this: What if this servant who is praying is truly guided or calls to piety? What will happen to the one who is forbidding this, especially since they know that God is seeing? []. (3) Tell me about the one forbidding this: They have committed the offense of denying the truth and refraining from believing in it. And they have forbidden the praying servant from his prayer, while they know that God is present. What does such a person deserve, other than punishment? [].”
In order to keep the pronouns consistent, some have suggested that the first object of Have you seen? (, , ) in each instance is a pronoun which refers to the one who forbids ().
If so, the meaning would be: “Tell me about the person who is forbidding this. If the forbidder is indeed on the path of guidance and calls to piety, what is the appropriate thing for them to do and command? And what kind of end can they expect when they are forbidding the worship of God?”
This interpretation is unlikely. There is no problem if the pronouns in these verses refer to more than one individual as long as they are indicated by textual and contextual clues.
… does he not know that God is seeing?: What is meant by “knowing” here is having the necessary prerequisites to know this. Believing that God has created all things necessitates believing that God knows all things, even though the person may be oblivious to it. The person forbidding the prayer was an idol-worshiper and a polytheist. The idol-worshipers believed that God is the Creator of all things, and viewed Him to be free from all defects. Therefore, they acknowledged that He would not be ignorant of anything, would not be powerless to do anything, and so on.
كَلَّا لَئِنْ لَمْ يَنْتَهِ لَنَسْفَعًا بِالنَّاصِيَةِ ١٥ نَاصِيَةٍ كَاذِبَةٍ خَاطِئَةٍ ١٦
(96:15-16) Nay! If he does not cease, We shall seize him (la-nasfaʿan, from safʿ) by the forelock, a lying, sinful forelock!
Majmaʿ al-bayān says:
Safʿ means “grasping powerfully.” The phrase safʿatu bil-shayʾ means “I took hold of it” or “I grabbed it strongly.”
Describing the forelock as lying and sinful is metaphorical, referring to the possessor of the forelock. This verse conveys a vehement threat and rejection. It means: “It is not as this person imagines or intends. Alternatively: The person has no right to do so. I swear, if they do not desist from forbidding the prayer, and do not change their course of action, We shall seize them by the forehead, humiliated and debased. And We will drag to the fire the forehead of that person who was a denier in speech and sinful in action.”
Another suggested interpretation is: “We shall burn their forehead and blacken it with the fire.”
فَلْيَدْعُ نَادِيَهُ ١٧ سَنَدْعُ الزَّبَانِيَةَ ١٨
(96:17-18) Then let him call out his comrades (nādiyah). We [too] shall call the keepers of hell (al-zabāniyah).
Nādī means “a gathering.” Apparently what is meant here is “the people at a gathering, those who have gathered around.” It is also defined as “a companion.” Al-Zabāniyah are “the guardian angels of hell.” Some say that it means “sentry, patrol.” The imperative form of the first verse is a condescending command meant to render the person helpless and show their weakness. It reflects the severity with which this person will be taken. The meaning is: “Let this person who is forbidding worship call all of his friends to save him from Us. Then We will call the harsh and fierce guardians of hell, against whom the help of no helper is effective.”
كَلَّا لَا تُطِعْهُ وَاسْجُدْ وَاقْتَرِبْ ١٩
(96:19) Nay! Do not obey him, but prostrate and draw near (iqtarib).
The word Nay is repeated here to emphasize its previous case []. Iqtirāb means getting closer to God. Some have interpreted it as advancing toward God’s reward.
… Do not obey him…: Do not obey the person who is forbidding you from prayer. Based on this, prostration here refers to the prayer. Perhaps the prayer at that time primarily involved glorifying God and prostrating to Him. Some exegetes say that prostration in this verse refers specifically to the obligatory prostration after reciting this sūrah, which is one of the four places in the Qur’an where such prostration is obligatory.
Examining Narrations
- ʿĀʾishah, the Mother of the Believers, said: The revelations to the Prophet of God began through accurate dreams in sleep. Any dream that he had was as clear to him as the daybreak.
Then he was inclined to solitude, so he used to seclude himself in the cave of Ḥirāʾ. He would worship there for several nights before returning to his family. He would take provisions for that, then return to Khadījah, then take more provisions for another round. This continued until the truth unveiled to him when he was in the cave of Ḥirāʾ. An angel came to him and said: “Read!”
“I cannot read,” he replied.
The Prophet said: The angel seized me and pressed me until I was about to expire. Then he let me go and said: “Read!”
I said: “I cannot read.”
He seized me and pressed me a second time until I was about to expire. Then he let me go and said: “Read!”
“I cannot read.”
He seized me and pressed me a third time until I was about to expire. Then he let me go and said:
Read, in the name of your Lord Who created: He Created man from a clot of blood. Read, and your Lord is the most gracious, Who taught by the pen ().
[ʿĀʾishah continued]: The Messenger of God returned, his heart quaking. He went to Khadījah b. Khuwaylid and said: “Cover me.” So they [his family] covered him until the fear went away. Then he told Khadījah what had happened, and said: “I was afraid for my life.”
“No,” said Khadījah. “God would never let you down. For indeed you connect with your relatives, carry the burden of others, clothe the poor, host guests, and help those who are facing difficulties.”
She then went and brought Waraqah b. Nawfal b. Asad b. ʿAbd al-ʿUzzá. He was Khadījah’s cousin, who had converted to Christianity before the appearance of Islam. He could write Hebrew, and wrote what God willed him to write of the Bible in Hebrew. He was an old man at the time, who had lost his sight. Khadījah said to him: “My cousin, listen to your nephew.”
Waraqah said to him [the Prophet]: “My nephew, what did you see?”
So the Messenger of God told him what he had seen.
“This is the law which God revealed to Moses! Would that I could be a part of it. Would that I could be alive when your people drive you away.”
“They will drive me away?”
“Yes,” Waraqah confirmed. “Anyone who brought something like what you are bringing was opposed. If I am still around when your days [of challenge] come, I will aid you valiantly.” But before long Waraqah died, while there was a halt in revelation.
- The Prophet said: I was walking when I heard a voice from the heavens. I looked up, and an angel had come to me in Ḥirāʾ, sitting upon a seat between the heavens and the earth. I was awestruck, so I returned home and said: “Cover me! Cover me.!” Then God revealed: O you wrapped in thy cloak! Rise up and warn! Magnify your Lord, and purify your garment, and keep away from all impurity (). Thus the revelation fired up and continued.
- Gabriel came to Muḥammad and said: “O Muḥammad, read!”
“What should I read?”
Gabriel clasped him to himself and said: “O Muḥammad, read!”
“What should I read?”
He said: Read, in the name of your Lord Who created… what he knew not ().
He went to Khadījah and said: “O Khadījah, something must have happened to me!”
She said: “No, by God, your Lord would not do anything harmful to you. You have never committed any indecency.”
Then Khadījah went to Waraqah and told him what had happened. He said: “If what you are saying is true, your husband is certainly a prophet. And he will surely suffer much hardship from his people. If I live to see that time, I will surely join his call.”
Then Gabriel ceased [bringing revelations] for a while. So Khadījah said: “It seems to me that your Lord must be displeased with you.” Thus God revealed: By the forenoon! And by the night when it settles! Your Lord has not abandoned you, nor is He displeased ().
Author’s comment: The story in the above narrations is not free from problems. The biggest problem is the Prophet’s doubt that what he was experiencing was a divine revelation of God’s words through a heavenly angel, and wondering—even speculating—that he was possessed by demons. Even more problematic is the Prophet’s trust in the word of a Christian monk, whereas God says: Say: I am upon clear evidence from my Lord (). What clear evidence was there in Waraqah’s speech? God also says: Say: This is my way. I summon to Allah with insight—I and he who follows me (). Did this insight come from his trust in what Waraqah said? And what about those who followed him: How could their insight be founded on the Prophet’s assurance if he had no decisive proof? God also says: We have indeed revealed to you as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him (). Were those prophets reassured of their prophethood in the same way that we see in this story? The truth is that the revelations that the prophets and messengers receive are accompanied by certitude, such that the prophet or messenger who receives it would know definitely that this message is from God. This is what we are told in narrations from the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt.
- A narration says that the first thing brought down by Gabriel was Sūrah al-Ḥamd (Chapter 1).
- Once Abū Jahl said: “Does Muḥammad [really] place his face on dust in front of you?”
They said: “Yes.”
“By the one who is sworn by,” he said, “if I see him doing that, I will crush his neck!”
Someone said: “There he is, praying.” So Abū Jahl went to trample on the Prophet’s neck. But suddenly they saw him recoiling toward them, and protecting himself with his hands.
“What’s wrong, Abū al-Ḥakam?”
He said: “There was a trench of fire between me and him, and some winged creatures!”
The Prophet of God said: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if he had come close to me, the angels would have snatched him [and torn him apart] limb by limb.” Then God revealed from Have you seen the one who forbids? () to the end of the sūrah.
- Regarding this verse [] Tafsīr al-Qummī it says: That was al-Walīd b. al-Mughīrah, who used to prohibit the people from praying, and from obeying God and His Messenger. Thus God revealed: Have you seen the one who forbids a servant when he prays? ().
Author’s comment: This does not agree with the apparent context of the verses, which imply that the one praying was the Prophet.
- The Messenger of God said: A servant is closest to God when prostrating.
- Imam al-Riḍā said: A servant is closest to God in prostration. This is what He says: prostrate and draw near ().
- Imam al-Ṣādiq said: Al-ʿAzāʾim (Qur’anic chapters with an obligatory verse of prostration) are: Alif-Lām-Mīm tanzīl (Chapter 32), Ḥā-Mīm tanzīl (Chapter 41), wa al-najm idhā hawá (Chapter 53), and iqraʾ bism rabbika (Chapter 96). Any others in the Qur’an are recommended, not obligatory.
The meaning would be: “Read, while opening or beginning your recitation with the name of your Lord.” (Ed.) ↩︎
The meaning would be: “Read, while your recitation is covered with and accompanied by the name of your Lord.” (Ed.) ↩︎
Completion (tamām) means the attainment of all components. Perfection (kamāl) means the actualization of all potentials. They can be matched with quantity and quality, respectively. (Ed.) ↩︎
The letter bāʾ (by, with) shows causality. This verse is either a new statement, independent from the last verse; or it describes the state of the affairs pertaining to the last verse (called ḥāliyyah). (Auth.)
In the second case the meaning would be: “Your Lord orders you to read while He taught by the pen.” (Ed.) ↩︎
In this interpretation, all pronouns in the verses refer to the person who was trying to stop the Prophet from praying. The verses condemn the person for inconsistency: “Forbidding prayer cannot be an application of guidance and piety. Therefore, if this person is committed to guidance and piety, they are defeating their own principles by forbidding prayer.” (Ed.) ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Razzāq, Aḥmad, ʿAbd b. Ḥumayd, al-Bukhārī, Muslim, and Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Anbārī’s al-Maṣāḥif, Ibn Mardawayh and al-Bayhaqī, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb, on the authority of ʿUrwat b. al-Zubayr. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb, on the authority ofAbū Salamat b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of Jābir b. ʿAbd-Allāh al-Anṣārī, part of a narration on the halt in revelation. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of Ibn Shaybah, Ibn Jarīr and Abū Nuʿaym’s al-Dalāʾil, on the authority of ʿAbd-Allāh b. Shaddād. ↩︎
This was Abū Jahl’s original title (kunyah). He was called Abū Jahl by Muslims after his fierce opposition to the Prophet. (Ed.) ↩︎
Majmaʿ al-bayān, on the authority of Muslim’s Saḥīḥ. ↩︎
Majmaʿ al-bayān, on the authority of ʿAbd-Allāh b. Masʿūd. ↩︎
Al-Kāfī, via its chain of narration, on the authority of al-Washshāʾ. ↩︎
Majmaʿ al-bayān, ʿAbd-Allah b. Sinān. ↩︎