'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of [Surah Al-Alaq]

It is a Makki surah by consensus. It is the first that was revealed from the Book of Allah, the Exalted. Its beginning was revealed in the Cave of Hira, according to what has been established in Sahih al-Bukhari and others. It has been narrated through the route of Jabir ibn Abdullah that 'the first thing that was revealed was: "O you who is wrapped up (in a cloak)!"' Abu Maysarah Amr ibn Shurahbil said: 'The first that was revealed is the Opening of the Book, and the first saying is more correct. The order in the reports of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, necessitates that.'

His saying, the Exalted:

﴿Read in the name of your Lord who created﴾ ﴿Created man from a clot﴾ ﴿Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous﴾ ﴿Who taught by the pen﴾ ﴿Taught man what he did not know﴾ ﴿Indeed, man certainly transgresses﴾ ﴿When he sees himself as self-sufficient﴾ ﴿Indeed, to your Lord is the return﴾ ﴿Have you seen the one who forbids﴾ ﴿A servant when he prays﴾ ﴿Have you seen if he is upon guidance﴾ ﴿Or enjoins righteousness﴾ ﴿Have you seen if he denies and turns away﴾ ﴿Does he not know that Allah sees﴾ ﴿Indeed, if he does not stop, We will surely drag him by the forelock﴾ ﴿A lying, sinful forelock﴾ ﴿Let him call his associates﴾ ﴿We will call the angels of punishment﴾ ﴿Indeed, do not obey him, but prostrate and draw near.'

In Sahih al-Bukhari from the hadith of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, she said: "The first thing that was begun with the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, from the revelation was the good dream. He would not see a dream except that it came like the break of dawn. Then, he loved to seclude himself in the cave of Hira. He would spend nights in it, secluding himself for a number of nights, then he would return until the angel came to him while he was in the cave of Hira. He said to him: 'Read.' He said: 'I am not a reader.' He said: 'Then he took me and squeezed me, then likewise three times. Then he said to him in the third time: 'Read in the name of your Lord who created.' 'Created man from a clot' until His saying: 'What he did not know.' He said: So the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, returned with it, his heart trembling." The hadith in full. The meaning of this verse, 'Read this Qur'an in the name of your Lord,' is to begin your action by mentioning the name of Allah, as He, glorified and exalted is He, said: 'And He said: Embark in it in the name of Allah' [Hud: 41]. This is one aspect. Another aspect in the 'Book of al-Thaalabi' is that what was commanded to be read is 'in the name of your Lord who created,' as if He said to him: 'Read this word.' And when He mentioned 'the Lord,' and the Arabs in the pre-Islamic period used to call the idols lords, He came with the attribute that the idols have no share in it, which is His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'Who created.' Then He exemplified to them from the creations what there is no disputing in, and what every creature finds in itself. He, glorified and exalted is He, said: 'Created man from a clot.' And the creation of man is one of the greatest lessons, to the extent that there is no creation among those we have that is more instructive than him in his intellect, perception, bodily connections, and bones. And 'the clot' is the plural of 'alaqah,' which is a small piece of blood. And 'man' here is the name of the genus, and the mind goes along with it to all animals, and the reference is not to Adam, peace be upon him, because he was created from clay, and this was not established among those addressed by this verse. Therefore, He left the origin of creation and directed them to the branch that they are almost in agreement upon for the sake of their understanding.

Then He, glorified and exalted is He, said to him: 'Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous,' in a manner of reassurance, as if He, glorified and exalted is He, is saying: 'Proceed with what you have been commanded, and your Lord is not like these lords, but He is the Most Generous who is not afflicted by any deficiency, so He will support you and grant you victory.'

Then He enumerated the blessing of the book by the pen upon the people, which is a place of reflection and the greatest benefit in communications and the preservation of knowledge. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'He taught man what he did not know.' It is said: The intended one is Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and it is said: The name of the genus, which is more apparent. And He, glorified and exalted is He, enumerated His blessings in acquiring knowledge after being ignorant of it.

'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' And His saying, exalted is He: "No! Indeed, man..." The verse was revealed after a period concerning Abu Jahl ibn Hisham. This is because he transgressed due to his wealth and the multitude of people who frequented his gathering. He opposed the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and forbade him from praying in the mosque. It is reported that he said: 'If I see Muhammad prostrating by the Kaaba, I will step on his neck.' It is reported that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, responded to him and rebuked him. Abu Jahl said: 'Is Muhammad threatening me? By Allah, there is no greater gathering in the valley than mine.' It is also reported that he came while the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, was praying, and he intended to reach him and prevent him from praying. Then he recoiled and turned away. It was said to him: 'What is this?' He said: 'Between me and him was a trench of fire and terror and wings.' It is reported that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "If he had come near me, the angels would have taken him visibly." So this surah, from His saying, exalted is He: "No!" to its end, was revealed concerning Abu Jahl. And "No!" is a response to the sayings and actions of Abu Jahl, and it can mean "truly," as it affirms what follows from the saying. And "transgression" is exceeding the beautiful limits, and "wealth" is a cause of transgression except for whom Allah, exalted is He, protects. And the pronoun in "he saw him" refers to the mentioned man, as if it is said: that he saw himself as wealthy. This is a vision of the heart that brings one closer to knowledge. Likewise, it is permissible for the doer to act upon himself, as you say: 'I found you' and 'I thought you,' and it is not permissible to say: 'You struck me.' The majority read: "that he saw him" with elongation on the pattern of "that he tended to him," and they differed regarding the inclination and leaving it. Ibn Kathir read - through Qunbul -: "that he saw him," without elongation, on the pattern of "that he tended to him," by omitting the letter of the verb, and that is a simplification. Then Allah, exalted is He, belittled the wealth of this man and his state by His saying, exalted is He: "Indeed, to your Lord is the return." That is, the gathering and resurrection on the Day of Resurrection. And "the return" is a source like "the returning," and it is on the pattern of "the end" and similar to it. In this news is a warning for the transgressors among the people.

The one who forbids is Abu Jahl, and the praying servant is Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. And His saying, exalted is He: "Have you seen?" is a stopping point. It is an action that does not extend to two objects in accordance with the meaning of sight from knowledge, but rather it is limited to it. And His saying, exalted is He: "Does he not know that Allah sees?" is a completion of the reprimand and warning according to the three stopping points, which is suitable for each one of them. Thus, it came in a sequence, then the sufficient warning for all of them came concisely and briefly. And with every affirmation from the three, there is a complementary meaning that the expressions in it can encompass. And His saying, exalted is He: "Does he not know?" indicates it sufficiently. And His saying, exalted is He: "If he is..." means the praying servant. And His saying, exalted is He: "If he denies and turns away" means the person who forbids. And He, exalted is He, attributed the sight to Allah, exalted is He, in the sense that He perceives the actions of all with a perception that He called sight. And Allah, exalted is He, is free from any defect and from being likened to created beings. Then He threatened him, exalted is He, - if he does not stop - that he will be seized by his forelock and dragged to Hell in disgrace. The Arabs say: "I seized the forelock of the horse and the leg" if you pulled it, humbling it. Amr ibn Ma'dikarib said:

A people, when they hear the shouting, you see them between holding their horse or striking.

Thus, the verse is in line with His saying, exalted is He: "Then he will be seized by the forelocks and the feet" [Ar-Rahman: 41]. And some scholars said, in the interpretation of "We will surely seize" its meaning is: We will surely burn, from their saying: "The fire burned him" when it consumed him. And He sufficed by mentioning the forelock to indicate the face and the head. And "We will surely seize" in the written copy of the Mushaf has an alif instead of the noon. And Abu Amr - in the narration of Harun - read: "We will surely seize" with a heavy noon. And in the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud: "I will surely seize by the forelock, a lying, sinful forelock." And Abu Haywah read: [a lying, sinful forelock] in the accusative in all three. And it has been narrated from Al-Kisai that he read with the nominative in all of them. And "the forelock" is the front of the hair of the head. Then He, exalted is He, changed the indefinite from the definite in His saying, exalted is He: "a lying forelock," and described it with lying and error in relation to the description of its owner, just as you say: a stealing hand.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Let him call his assembly" refers to the saying of Abu Jahl: "And there is no assembly in the valley more than mine." And the assembly and the gathering: the council, and from it: the house of the gathering. And from it is the saying of Zuhair:

And in them are the places of beautiful faces, and assemblies where speech and action occur.

And from it is the saying of the Bedouin woman: "The master of his assembly, and the source of his sustenance."

And "the Zabaniyah" are the angels of punishment, one of them is "Zabaniyah." And Al-Kisai said: "Zibini." And Isa ibn Umar Al-Akhfash said: "Zabin." They are those who push people into the Fire, and "zabn" means to push. And from it is "a war that pushes," meaning: it pushes people into itself. And from it is the saying of the poet:

And one who is astonished by what he sees from our moans, and if the war had pushed him, he would not have trembled.

And from it is the saying of Utbah ibn Abi Sufyan: "And the war has pushed us and we have pushed it, so we are its sons and it is our mother." And from it is the saying of the poet:

The adversities have prevented me from visiting you. A fierce war has come between us.

The 'waw' has been omitted from "sanad'u" in the script of the mushaf for brevity and ease. The meaning is: we will call the guardians for the punishment of this one who calls his people. Ibn Mas'ud read: "Let him call to his people."

Then Allah, the Most High, said to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, "No!" in response to the words and actions of this disbeliever. "Do not obey him," meaning: do not pay attention to his prohibition and words. "And prostrate to your Lord," and "draw near" to Him with your prostration, obedience, and good deeds. In the hadith, the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "The closest a servant is to his Lord is when he is prostrating, so increase your supplication in prostration, for it is hoped that you will be answered." Mujahid said: Did you not hear "And prostrate and draw near?" Ibn Wahb narrated from a group of scholars that Allah's saying: "And prostrate" is an address to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and that "draw near" is an address to Abu Jahl, meaning: if you dare to see how you will perish.

And this surah contains a prostration according to a group of scholars, including Ibn Wahb from the companions of Malik.

The tafsir of Surah [Al-Qalam] is complete, and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.