| سورة العلق Sūrat al-ʿAlaq The Clot |
|
|---|---|
|
Arabic text · Translations |
|
| Classification | Meccan |
| Other names (Eng.) | Read, The Blood-Clot, The Germ-Cell |
| Position | Juz' 30 |
| Structure | 19 verses |
Sūrat al-ʿAlaq (العلق"The Clot"), is the 96th sura or chapter of the Qur'an. It is composed of 19 Ayat (verses or "signs"), and is traditionally believed to have been revealed at Mecca at cave Hira. It is sometimes also known as Sūrat al-Iqrā (إقرا, "Read").
Contents |
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
96:1
Read in the name of your Lord , Who created-
96:2
Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:
96:3 Read! And thy Lord is Most honourable,-
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 hit him on 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 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" 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 five verses of this sura are believed by nearly all sources, both traditional and modern, to be the first verses of the Qur'an to be revealed to Muhammad. A few commentators disagree with this account, claiming that the first revelation was the beginning of surat al-Muddaththir or surat al-Fatiha, but theirs is a minority position.
Those verses state that God created man from a "clot of congealed blood" and gave him knowledge. The fetus 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!.
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 pray the salat in the Kaaba. Abu Jahl attempted to interrupt the prayer 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.
| Previous sura: At-Tin |
The Qur'an - Sura 96 | Next sura: Al-Qadr |
| Arabic text | ||
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 |
||
The Quran is characterized by a unique phenomenon never found in any human authored book, one that is based on number 19, it can be seen as a common denominator of the Quran. Few of the facts that connect structure of 19 and Sura 96 are:
1. Sura 96, first in the chronological sequence, consists of 19 verses.
2. Sura 96 consists of 304 Arabic letters, and 304 equals 19 x 16.
3. This famous first revelation (96:1-5) consists of 19 words.
4. This 19-worded first revelation consists of 76 letters 19 x 4.