193
SŪRAH 96
Al-`Alaq
(The Germ-Cell)
ijk
In the Name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever Merciful.
Read in the name of your Lord who has created
(1)
– created man out of a germ- cell. (2)
Read – for your Lord is the most Bountiful One,
(3)
who has taught the use of the pen, (4)
taught man what he did not know. (5)
Indeed, man becomes grossly overweening, (6)
once he thinks himself self- sufficient. (7)
Surely to your L rd all must return. (8)
Look at the one who tries to prevent (9)
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a servant of God from praying! (10)
Think: does he follow the right guidance (11)
and enjoin [others to be] God-fearing? (12)
Think: if he denies the truth and turns his back,
(13)
does he not realize that God sees all? (14)
Nay, if he does not desist, We will most certainly
drag him by his forelock, (15)
his lying, sinful forelock. (16)
Then let him call his henchmen. (17)
We will call the guards of hell. (18)
No, pay no heed to him, but prostrate yourself
and draw closer to God. (19)
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The First Revelation
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
Al-`Alaq (The Germ-Cell)
195
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.
Al-`Alaq (The Germ-Cell)
196
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
A Momentous Event
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
28
Ibn Hishām, Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah, Dār al-Qalam, Beirut, Vol. 1, n.d., pp. 252-3.
Al-`Alaq (The Germ-Cell)
197
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:
witnessed its start and end, relished the sweet flavour of that contact and felt the
divine hand guiding them along the road. The distance which separates us from that
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198
reality is too great to be defined by any measure of length this world has known. It is
a distance in the world of conscience incomparable to any distance in the material
world, not even when we think of the gaps separating stars and galaxies. It is a gap
that separates the earth and heaven; a gap between human desires and Divine
revelation as sources from which concepts and values are derived; a gap between
jāhiliyyah and Islam, the human and the divine.
The people who lived at the time were fully aware of its uniqueness, recognized
its special place in history and felt a huge loss when the Prophet passed away to be in
God’s company. This marked the end of that unique period.
Anas related that Abū Bakr said to `Umar after the Prophet had passed away: ‘Let
us go to visit Umm Ayman as the Prophet used to do.’
29
When they went to her she
burst into tears. They said, ‘What are you crying for? Don’t you realize that God’s
company is far better for the Prophet?’ She replied, ‘That is true, I am sure. I am only
crying because revelation has ceased with his death.’ This made tears spring to their
eyes and the three of them cried together. [Related by Muslim.]
The impact of that period has been in evidence in the life of humanity ever since
its beginning up to this moment, and it will remain in evidence until the day when
God inherits the earth and all that walks on it. Man was reborn when he started to
derive his values from heaven rather than earth and his laws from divine revelation
instead of his own desires. The course of history underwent a change the like of
which has never been experienced before or since. That event, the commencement of
revelation, was the point at which the roads crossed. Clear and permanent guidelines
were established which cannot be changed by the passage of time or effaced by
events. Human conscience developed a concept of existence, and human life and its
values became unsurpassed in comprehensiveness, clarity and purity of all worldly
considerations. The foundations of this divine code were firmly established in the
world and its various aspects and essential standards were made clear, ‘so that anyone
who was destined to perish might perish in clear evidence of the truth and anyone destined to
live might live in clear evidence of the truth.’ (8: 42) There would no longer be any excuse
of lack of clarity. Error and deviation would be upheld deliberately, in the face of
clear guidance.
The beginning of revelation was a unique event at a unique moment marking the
end of one era and the start of another. It was the demarcation line in the history of
mankind, not merely in the history of a certain nation or a particular generation. It
was recorded by the universe and echoed in all its corners. It was also recorded in
man’s conscience which today needs to be guided by what God has revealed and
29
Umm Ayman was the nurse who took care of the Prophet during his childhood. He remained
grateful to her throughout his life. — Editor’s note.
Al-`Alaq (The Germ-Cell)
199
never lose sight of it. Man needs to remember that this event was a rebirth of
humanity which can take place only once in history.
A Special Type of Education
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.
Al-`Alaq (The Germ-Cell)
200
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.
Imām Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah summarizes the Prophet’s teaching concerning
remembrance of God:
The Prophet was the most perfect man with regard to his remembrance of
God. Indeed whatever he spoke was in the line of such remembrance. His
commands, prohibitions, legislation, what he taught about the Lord and His
attributes, judgements, actions, promises and threats were all part of this
remembrance. o were his praise and glorification of God, prayers, his feelings
of fear and hope and even his silence. He was conscious of God at all times
and in every state. His praise of God was part of his very nature as if he
praised Him with every breath. Indeed he praised Him as he stood up, sat or
reclined and when walking, riding, moving, at home or travelling.
When he woke up he used to say, ‘Praise be to God who has given us life
after He had caused us to die. To Him we shall be resurrected.’ [Related by al-
Bukhārī.]
`Ā’ishah said that the Prophet used to say when he woke up at night, ‘God is
Supreme,’ and would repeat it ten times. Then he would repeat ten times the
statement, ‘There is no deity but God,’ and pray, ‘My Lord, I seek refuge with
You against constraint in this life and on the Day of Resurrection,’ repeating it
also ten limes. Then he would start his formal prayers. `Ā’ishah also said that
when the Prophet woke up at night for his devotion he would say, ‘There is
no God but You, my Lord. Praise be to You. I beseech You to forgive my sins
and appeal to You for mercy. My Lord, enrich my knowledge and cause not
my heart to go astray after You have granted me Your guidance. Grant me
Your mercy, for You are the most Bountiful One.’ [Both ahādīth are related by
Abū Dāwūd.]
The Prophet has also taught us that whoever gets up at night and says, ‘There
is no deity other than God alone; He has no partner; to Him belongs all
dominion and to Him is due all praise; He is able to do everything; praised is
Al-`Alaq (The Germ-Cell)
201
God who is limitless in His glory; there is no deity but God; God is great; no
power can operate without His permission; He is the Great, the Supreme,’
and after this says, ‘My Lord, forgive me,’ or any other prayer, his prayers
will be answered. Should he make ablution and offer prayers, these will be
accepted. [Related by al-Bukhārī.]
God’s Messenger once stayed overnight at Ibn `Abbās’s home, who later
reported that when the Prophet woke up he raised his hands to the sky and
read the last ten verses of sūrah Āl `Imrān before going on to say, ‘My Lord, to
You belongs all praise; You are the light of heaven and earth and all therein;
praise be to You, the true Lord; Your promise is true; whatever You say is
true; the meeting with You is true; heaven is true; hell is true; the Prophets
are true; and the Hour is true. I submit myself to You, I believe in You and
depend on You. To You I shall return. Any dispute I may enter into is for
You. To You I turn for judgement. Forgive me all my sins, past and future,
public and secret. You are my Lord and there is no God but You. No power
can operate without God’s permission; He is the Great, the Supreme.’
[Related by al-Bukhārī, Muslim and Aĥmad.]
`Ā’ishah related that when the Prophet woke up at night to worship he used
to say, ‘My God, the Lord of Gabriel, Mikā’īl and Isrāfīl, the Creator of
heaven and earth, who knows what is concealed and what is made public.
You judge between Your servants in their disputes. Guide me, with Your own
will, to the truth over which people argue and dispute, for You guide whom
You will to the straight path.’ She might have also said that he used to say
this at the start of his prayers. [Related by Muslim, al-Tirmidhī and Ibn
Mājah.]
After offering the witr prayer, the Prophet used to repeat three times,
‘Glorified be God, the Holy One.’ [Related by Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasā’ī and
Aĥmad.]. When he went out of his house he would say, ‘In the name of God.
I place my trust in God. My Lord, I appeal to You to guard me against going
astray or causing anyone to go astray, and against making a slip or causing
anyone to slip, and being unjust to anyone or being victim to any injustice by
others, and against acting ignorantly, or being ignorantly done by.’ [Related
by al Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd and Aĥmad.]
The Prophet said, “Whoever says as he leaves his home: ‘In the name of God.
I place my trust in God. No power is operative without God’s leave,’ will be
answered: ‘You are rightly guided and well protected,’ and the devil will be
made to turn away from him.” [Related by al-Tirmidhī and Abū Dāwūd.]
Referring to the night when he was host to God’s Messenger, Ibn `Abbās said
Al-`Alaq (The Germ-Cell)
202
that when the Prophet left for the dawn prayers at the mosque he said, ‘My
Lord, give me light in my heart, tongue, ears and eyes: give me light in front
of me, over me and below me, and make the light You give me abundant.’
[Related by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.]
Abū Said al-Khudrī relates that the Prophet said: “When a man goes out to
the mosque for prayers and says, ‘My Lord, I appeal to You by the right of
those who pray to You, and the right of my journey to You. I have not come
out with any feeling of self- sufficiency, nor in hypocrisy or conceit, nor to
seek reputation. I have come out with the hope of avoiding Your anger and
earning Your pleasure. I pray to You to save me from hell and to forgive me
my sins; You are the only One who forgives sins;’ seventy thousand angels
will be charged with praying for his forgiveness and God will receive and
welcome him until he finishes his prayers.’ [Related by Aĥmad and Ibn
Mājah.]
Abū Dāwūd related that the Prophet used to say when he entered the
mosque, ‘I seek refuge with God, the Great, and His Holy face, and His old
power against Satan, the outcast.’ When a man says this, the Devil says, ‘He is
now protected against me for the rest of the day.’
The Prophet said: “Whenever any of you comes to the mosque, let him pray
and ask peace for the Prophet and say, ‘My Lord, open to me the doors of
Your mercy.’ When he leaves the mosque, let him say, ‘My Lord, I pray to
You to give me out of Your grace.’“ [Related by Muslim, Abū Dāwūd and Ibn
Mājah.]
It is also related that when the Prophet entered the mosque, he would ask
peace for Muĥammad (himself) and his household, then he would say, ‘My
Lord, forgive me my sins and open the doors of Your mercy to me.’ When he
left, he would again ask peace for Muĥammad and his household, and say,
‘My Lord, forgive me my sins and lay open to me the doors of Your grace.’
[Related by Aĥmad and al-Tirmidhī.]
After offering the dawn prayers, God’s Messenger used to stay in his praying
place until sunrise, utilizing his time in remembrance of God.
In the morning, he would say, ‘Our Lord, we have lived till this morning by
Your will, and we also live till evening by Your will. We live and die by Your
will. To You we will return.’ [Related by al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd and Ibn
Mājah.]
He also used to say, ‘The morning has appeared. This morning all dominion
belongs to God, praised be He. There is no deity but God alone. He has no
partner; to Him belongs all the universe and to Him is all praise due. He is
Al-`Alaq (The Germ-Cell)
203
able to do what He wills. My Lord, I pray to You to give me of the best of this
day and the best of the days to follow. I seek refuge with You against the evil
of this day and the days to follow. My Lord, I seek Your refuge against
laziness and the evils of old age, against suffering in hell and suffering in the
grave.’ In the evening he would repeat the same prayer substituting evening
for morning. [Related by Muslim.]
Abū Bakr, the Prophet’s Companion said once to him: “Teach me some
prayers to say in the morning and in the evening.” God’s Messenger taught
him the following prayer, ‘My Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, who
knows the visible and the unseen, the perceptible and the imperceptible, the
Lord and Possessor of all, I declare that there is no deity but You. I appeal to
You to protect me against my own evil and the evil of Satan;
I seek Your refuge against doing myself any harm or causing harm to any
Muslim.’ The Prophet told Abū Bakr to say this prayer in the morning,
evening and before going to bed. [Related by al-Tirmidhī and Abū Dāwūd.]
30
When God’s Messenger had a new garment, he would mention it by name
(for example, a shirt, gown or turban) and say, ‘My Lord, praise be to You.
You have given me this. I pray to You to give me its goodness and the
goodness for which it was made; and to guard me against its evil and the evil
for which it was made.’ [Related by al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd, Aĥmad and al-
Nasā’ī.]
31
The Prophet was in the habit of saying the following prayer when he
returned home, ‘Praise be to God who has given me this shelter and what is
sufficient for me; and praise be to God who has given me food and drink, and
praise be to God who has given me abundance out of His generosity. I pray
to You to extend Your protection to me against hell.’ [Related by Abū
Dāwūd.]
It is confirmed in the two most authentic Ĥadīth anthologies by al-Bukhārī
and Muslim that, as the Prophet was about to enter the toilet, he used to say,
‘My Lord, I pray to You to rid me of evil things.’
32
When he finished his toilet, he used to say, ‘I seek Your forgiveness, my
Lord.’ [Related by al-Tirmidhī.]. It is also reported that he would say, ‘Praise
be to God who has ridden me of harm and given me good health.’ [Related
30
Ibn al-Qayyim, Zād al-Ma`ād, Beirut and Kuwait, 1994, Vol. 2, pp. 365-371. Many more ahādīth are
also included under the same chapter.
31
Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 379.
32
Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 383.
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by Ibn Mājah.]
33
It is also confirmed that he once put his hand in a water container and said to
his Companions, ‘Make ablutions in the name of God.’ [Related by al-
Nasā’ī.]
34
When he saw the new moon, he used to say, ‘My Lord, let it come to us with
security, faith, safety and submission to You. New moon, God is my Lord and
Your Lord.’ [Related by al- Tirmidhī, Aĥmad and al-Dārimī.]
35
When he started eating, he used to say, ‘In the name of God.’ He also said,
‘When any of you eats, let him mention the name of God. If he forgets to do
so, let him say [when he remembers], in the name of God at the beginning
and at the end.’ [Related by al-Tirmidhī.]
36
Thus was the life of God’s Messenger. It was conditioned, down to every single
detail, by the divine instruction which he received at the very first moment of his
message. This instruction helped his faith to be established on a genuine basis.
Arrogance and Ingratitude
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
33
Ibid., Vol. 2, pp. 386-387.
34
Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 387.
35
Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 396.
36
Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 397.
Al-`Alaq (The Germ-Cell)
205
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.
Thus, we have a scene of tyranny trying to suppress the call of faith and obedience
to God. This is followed immediately by a stern warning stated explicitly this time:
“Nay, if he does not desist, We will most certainly drag him by his forelock, his lying, sinful
forelock. Then let him call his henchmen. We will call the guards of hell.” (Verses 15-18) The
Arabic term, lanasfa`n, used for ‘drag’ has a marked violence about it. The dragging is
by the forelock, the part of the head raised high by every conceited tyrant. It
undoubtedly deserves to be hit violently: “His lying, sinful forelock!” The tyrant may
think of calling his clan and supporters to come to his aid: “Then let him call his
henchmen.” On the other side, “We will call the guards of hell,” and they are powerful
and ruthless. The outcome of the battle is never in doubt.
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206
In the light of this frightening destiny for the unbelievers, the sūrah concludes with
an instruction to God’s obedient servants to persevere and follow the path of faith:
“No, pay no heed to him, but prostrate yourself and draw closer to God.” (Verse 19) Do not
obey this tyrant who tries to stop you from offering your devotion and conveying
your message. Prostrate yourself before your Lord and bring yourself closer to Him
through worship and obedience. As for the tyrant, leave him to the guards of hell
who are sure to mete out to him what he deserves.
Some authentic reports say that the sūrah, with the exception of the first part,
refers to Abū Jahl who once passed by the Prophet while he was praying at Maqām
Ibrahīm, close to the Ka`bah. He turned to him and said, ‘Muĥammad, have I not
ordered you to stop these practices?’ He also added some warning to the Prophet
who gave him a stern reply. This was possibly the time when the Prophet seized Abū
Jahl by the collar and warned him of his impending doom. Abū Jahl said,
‘Muĥammad, what do you threaten me with? I am sure I have the largest following
in this valley.’ Hence, the revelation, ‘Let him call his henchmen.’ Ibn `Abbās, the
Prophet’s learned Companion, said in comment: “Had he called them, the angels
charged with meting out punishment would have taken him away there and then.”
The sūrah, however, is general in its significance. It refers to every obedient
believer calling men to follow the path of God and to every tyrant who forbids
prayer, threatens the believers and acts arrogantly. The concluding divine instruction
is therefore: “No, pay no heed to him, but prostrate yourself and draw closer to God.”
(Verse 19)
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