It is universally agreed that the opening of this sūrah was the first Qur’ānic revelation. The accounts stating that other verses were revealed first are not authentic. Imām Aĥmad transmits the following ĥadīth on the authority of `Ā’ishah, the Prophet’s wife:

The first aspect of revelation to God’s Messenger was that his dreams came true. Whatever vision he might have in his sleep would occur exactly as he had seen. Then, he began to enjoy seclusion. He used to retreat alone into the cave of Ĥirā’ where he would spend several days in devotion before going back to his family. He used to take some food with him, and when he came back, he would take a fresh supply for another period. He continued to do so until he received the truth while in the cave of Ĥirā’. The angel came to him and said, ‘Read.’ He replied, ‘I am not a reader.’ The Prophet says, ‘He held me and pressed hard until I was exhausted, then he released me and said, ‘Read,’ and I replied, ‘I am not a reader.’ o, he held me and pressed me hard a second time until I was exhausted, then he released me and said, ‘Read.’ I replied, ‘I am not a reader.’ He then held me and pressed me hard for the third time. Then he said, ‘Read in the name of your Lord who has created — created man out of a germ-cell. Read — for your Lord is the most Bountiful One, who has taught the use of the pen, taught man what he did not know.’ The Prophet returned home to Khadījah trembling and said, ‘Wrap me! Wrap me!’ They wrapped him and his fear subsided. He turned to Khadījah and exclaimed, ‘What has happened to me?’ and related to her what had happened and said, ‘I fear for myself.’ And Khadījah replied, ‘Fear not, be calm and relax. God will not let you suffer any humiliation, because you are kind to your relatives, you speak the truth, you assist anyone in need, you are hospitable to your guests and you help in every just cause.’ Then she took him to Waraqah ibn Nawfal, her paternal cousin who was a Christian convert and a scholar with a good knowledge of Arabic, Hebrew and the Bible. He had lost his eyesight and had grown very old. Khadījah said to Waraqah, ‘Cousin, would you like to hear what your nephew has to say?’ Waraqah said, ‘Well, nephew, what have you seen?’ The Prophet related to him what he had seen. When he finished, Waraqah said, ‘It is the same revelation as was sent down to Moses. I wish I was a young man so that I might be alive when your people turn you away from this city.’ The Prophet exclaimed, ‘Would they turn me away?’ Waraqah answered ‘Yes! No man has ever preached a message like yours but was met with enmity. If I live till that day, I will certainly give you all my support.’ But Waraqah died soon after that...

This ĥadīth is related by al-Bukhārī and Muslim in both of the most authentic books of the Prophet’s traditions. Al-Ţabarī also relates the following ĥadīth on the authority of `Abdullāh ibn al-Zubayr:

The Prophet said, ‘While I was asleep he came to me carrying a case made of very rich material in which there was a book. He said, ‘Read.’ I replied, ‘I am not a reader.’ He pressed me so hard that I felt I was about to die. Then he released me and said, ‘Read.’ I asked ‘What shall I read?’ (I said this only out of fear that he might repeat what he had already done to me.) He said, ‘Read in the name of your Lord who has created — created man out of a germ-cell.

Read — for your Lord is the most Bountiful One, who has taught the use of the pen, taught man what he did not know.’ I read it. He stopped, then left me and went away. I woke up feeling that it was actually written in my heart.’ The Prophet went on to say, ‘No man was ever more loathsome to me than poets or the deranged. I could not bear even looking at either. I thought, ‘The man (meaning himself) is undoubtedly a poet or deranged. This shall not be said about me among the Quraysh. Let me climb high up in the mountain and throw myself down and get rid of fall.’ I went to carry out this intention. When I was half way up in the mountain I heard a voice coming from the heavens saying, ‘Muĥammad, you are God’s Messenger and I am Gabriel.’ I raised my head up to the sky and I saw Gabriel in the image of a man with his feet one next to the other, up on the horizon. He said again, ‘Muĥammad, you are God’s Messenger and I am Gabriel.’ I stood in my place looking up at him. This distracted me from my intention. I was standing there unable to move. I tried to turn my face away from him and to look up at the sky, but wherever I looked, I saw him in front of me. I stood still, moving neither forward nor backward. Khadījah sent her messengers looking for me and I remained standing in my place all the while until they went back to her.

He then left me and I went back to my family.

This tradition is related in these details by Ibn Isĥāq, on the authority of Wahb ibn Kaysān.28

I reflected for a while upon this event. We have all read it many times in books; either those of the Prophet’s biography or those explaining the meaning of the Qur’ān. But we either read it casually or give it little thought and go on with our reading.

Yet this is an event which has immense significance. It is an event which has an important bearing on the life of humanity; but much as we try today to perceive its great value, many of its aspects remain beyond our perception. It is no exaggeration to describe this event as the greatest in the long history of human existence.

The true nature of this event is that God, the Great, the Compeller, the Almighty, the Supreme, the Sovereign of the whole universe, out of His benevolence, has turned to that creation of His which is called man, and which takes its abode in a hardly visible corner of the universe, the name of which is the earth. He has honoured this species of His creation by choosing one of its number to be the recipient of His divine light and the guardian of His wisdom.

This is something infinitely great. Some aspects of its greatness become apparent when man tries, as best as he can, to perceive the essential qualities of God: absolute power, freedom from all limitations and everlastingness; and when he reflects, in comparison, on the basic qualities of God’s servants who are subject to certain limitations of power and life duration. One may then perceive the significance of this divine care for man. He may realize the sweetness of this feeling and manifest his appreciation with thanksgiving, prayer and devotion. He feels that the whole universe shares in the general happiness spread by the revelation of divine words to man in his obscure corner of the universe.

What is the significance of this event? With reference to God, it signifies that He is the source of all great bounties and unfailing compassion. He is the Benevolent, the Loving, who bestows His mercy and benefactions for no reason except that benevolence is one of His divine attributes. As for man, this event signifies that God has bestowed on him an honour the greatness of which he can hardly ever appreciate and for which he can never show enough gratitude, not even if he spends all his life in devotion and prostration. This honour is that God has taken notice and care of him, established contact with him and chosen one of the human race as His Messenger to reveal to him His words; that the earth, man’s abode, has become the recipient of these divine words, which the whole universe echoes with submission and devotion.

This great event began to bear on the life of humanity as a whole right from the first moment. It marked a change in the course of history, following the change it brought about in the course followed by human conscience. It specified the source man should look up to in order to derive his ideals, values and criteria. The source is heaven and divine revelations, not this world and man’s own desires. When this great event took place, the people who recognized its true nature and adapted their lives accordingly enjoyed God’s protection and manifest care. They looked up to Him directly for guidance in all their affairs, large and small. They lived and moved under His supervision. They expected that He would guide them along the road, step by step, stopping them from error and leading them to the right way. Every night they expected to receive some divine revelation concerning what they had on their minds, providing solutions for their problems and saying to them, ‘Do this and leave that.’ The period which followed the event was certainly remarkable: 23 years of direct contact between the human race and Supreme Society. The true nature of this cannot be recognized except by those who lived during this period and experienced it:

It is self evident that the rest of the sūrah was not revealed at the same time as its opening but at a later date. It refers to a certain situation and later events in the Prophet’s life, after he was instructed to convey his message and offer his worship in public, and after he was met with opposition by the unbelievers. This is indicated in the part of the sūrah which begins: “Look at the one who tries to prevent a servant of God from praying!” (Verses 9-10) Yet there is perfect harmony between all parts of the sūrah. The facts it relates after the opening part are also arranged in a perfect order.

These two factors make the sūrah one perfectly harmonious unit.

Read in the name of your Lord who has created — created man out of a germ-cell.

Read — for your Lord is the most Bountiful One, who has taught the use of the pen, taught man what he did not know. (Verses 1-5)

This is the first sūrah of the Qur’ān, so it starts with the name of God. It instructs God’s Messenger right at the very first moment of his blessed contact with the Supreme society and before taking his very first step along the way of the message he was chosen to deliver, to read in the name of God, ‘Read in the name of your Lord.’ The first attribute of God’s it mentions is that of creation and initiation: ... your Lord who has created.’ Then it speaks in particular of the creation of man and his origin: ‘created man out of a germ-cell.’ He is created from a dried drop of blood which is implanted in the womb: a humble and unsophisticated substance. This reflects the grace and mercy of the Creator as much as it reflects His power. It is out of His grace that He has elevated this germ-cell to the rank of man who can be taught and who can learn:

‘Read! For your Lord is the most Bountiful One, who has taught the use of the pen, taught man what he did not know.’ The gulf between the origin and the outcome is very wide indeed. But God is limitless in His ability and generosity; hence this extremely wonderful change.

Here also emerges the fact of man’s teaching by the Creator. The pen has always been the most widespread means of learning and it has always had the most far- reaching impact on man’s life. This fact was not as clear at the time of revelation as it is now. But God knows the value of the pen; hence, this reference to the pen at the beginning of this His final message to humanity, in the first sūrah of the Qur’ān. Yet God’s Messenger charged with the delivery of this message could not write. Had the Qur’ān been his own composition, he would not have stressed this fact at the first moment. But the Qur’ān is a message God has revealed.

The sūrah then states the source of learning, which is God. From Him man receives all his knowledge, past, present and future. From Him man learns any secret revealed to him about this universe, life and himself.

This single paragraph revealed at the very first moment of the Islamic message states the comprehensive basis of faith and its concepts. Everything starts, works and moves in His name. He is the One who creates, originates and teaches. Whatever man learns and whatever experience and knowledge he acquires come originally from God. He has taught man what he did not know. The Prophet recognized this basic Qur’ānic fact. It governed his feelings, teachings and practices for the rest of his life because it is the principal fact of faith.

It is God, then, who creates, teaches and bestows His abundant bounties on man.

This implies that man should acknowledge God’s benevolence and be grateful for it.

But what actually happens is something different.

The second part of the sūrah deals with man’s transgression. “Indeed, man becomes grossly overweening, once he thinks himself self- sufficient. Surely to your Lord all must return.” (Verses 6-8) It is God who gives to man in abundance and makes him independent. He also creates and teaches him and extends to him His generous treatment. But men in general — except for those guarded by faith — are not thankful for their independence which is made possible by what they are given. They do not recognize the source of this grace, which is the same as the source of their creation, knowledge and livelihood. They behave arrogantly and transgress all limits instead of being dutiful and thankful.

The image of the transgressing, conceited person who has forgotten his origin is followed by a comment charged with an implicit warning: “Surely to your Lord all must return.” (Verse 8) Where can this proud and overweening person then turn?

At the same time a fundamental rule of the Islamic faith is emphasized. That is, all must refer to God in every matter, thought or action. He is the only resort and refuge.

The good and the bad, the obedient and the sinner, the righteous and the wrongdoer, the rich and the poor, will all return to Him. Even the man who tyrannizes when he thinks himself independent will come to Him eventually.

Thus, the first two sections of the sūrah lay down the essential components of the Islamic ideological concept: creation, education and honour come from God alone, and to Him all will return: “Surely to your Lord all must return.” (Verse 8)

The third section of this short sūrah tackles a particularly appalling form of tyranny. Its description in the inimitable Qur’ānic style fills us with wonder and dismay that it should take place at all. “Look at the one who tries to prevent a servant of God from praying! Think: does he follow the right guidance and enjoin [others to be] God- fearing? Think: if he denies the truth and turns his back, does he not realize that God sees all?” (Verses 9-14)

Our dismay is enhanced by the manner of expression which takes the form of address and conversation, using short sentences that follow in rapid succession. The effect can hardly ever be produced by ordinary written language. ‘Look at’ this ghastly business actually taking place! “Look at the one who tries to prevent a servant of God from praying.” (Verses 9-10) Have you seen this repulsive sight? Have you realized how repugnance is doubled by the fact that the person being prevented from his prayers is in fact following divine guidance. He merely enjoins righteousness and piety, yet he is discouraged and told to desist! Yet the transgressor outdoes himself by taking a still more abhorrent stand, “Think: if he denies the truth and turns his back.” (Verse 13) The closing note is one of implicit warning, similar to that of the previous paragraph, “Does he not realize that God sees all?” (Verse 14) He sees everything: the denial of truth, the turning away from it, as well as the prevention of believers from offering their prayers. Since God sees all, something must be done on the basis of what He sees. This is the implicit warning.