96
The Blood Clot
al-ʿAlaq
Al-ʿAlaq is an early Makkan sūrah. The first five verses are considered by most to be the first verses of the Quran to be revealed; the remaining verses were revealed later in the Makkan period when opposition to the revelation arose among the leaders of the Quraysh. This initial revelation is said to have taken place during the last third of the month of Ramadan, in 610 of the Christian era, twelve years before the migration to Madinah (hijrah) in 622, which marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.
According to the Prophet’s wife ʿĀʾishah, “The first thing that began happening with the Messenger of God from the revelation were dreams he would see in his sleep that would come true. He would not see any dream except that it would come to be, like the break of day in the morning. Then seclusion became beloved to him. So he used to go to the cave of [Mount] Ḥirāʾ and devote himself to worship there for a number of nights, and would bring provisions. Then he would return to [his wife] Khadījah and replenish his provisions for a similar number of nights. This continued until the revelation suddenly came to him while he was in the cave of Ḥirāʾ.
“The Archangel [Gabriel] came to him while he was in the cave and said, ‘Recite!’ The Messenger of God said, ‘I replied, “I am not a reciter.”’ Then he said, ‘So he seized me and pressed me until I could no longer bear it. Then he released me and said, “Recite!” So I replied, “I am not a reciter.” Then he pressed me a second time until I could no longer bear it. Then he released me and said, “Recite!” So I replied, “I am not a reciter.” Then he pressed me a third time until I could no longer bear it. Then he released me and said, “Recite in the Name of thy Lord Who created” until he reached that which he knew not.’
“Then he [the Prophet] returned with those verses and with his heart trembling until he reached Khadījah and said, ‘Cover me, cover me.’ So they wrapped him up until his fear went away. Then he said to Khadījah, ‘What is wrong with me?’ and told her what had happened and said, ‘I fear for my soul.’ She replied, ‘Never! By God, God will never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your relatives, you speak the truth, you help the poor and the destitute, you serve your guests generously, and you help the deserving who are afflicted by misfortune.’
“She then accompanied him to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal, who, during the period of ignorance in pre-Islamic Arabia, became a Christian and used to write the scriptures in Arabic. He would write from the Gospel in Hebrew as much as God willed for him to write. He was then an old man and had lost his eyesight. Khadījah said to him, ‘O my cousin! Listen to the story of your nephew.’ Waraqah asked, ‘O my nephew! What have you seen?’ The Messenger of God described what he saw. Waraqah said, ‘This is the Nāmūs [from the Greek nomos, indicating a revealed law] that God sent to Moses. I wish I were young and could live until the time when your people will drive you out.’ The Messenger of God said, ‘Will they drive me out?’ Waraqah replied, ‘Yes, no man has come with something similar to what you have brought but that he was treated with hostility and enmity; and if I should remain alive till that day, then I would firmly support you’” (Bg, IK, Q). The sūrah begins with an injunction to recite (vv. 1–5) followed by an admonition of mankind in general (vv. 6–8) and a more specific admonition of those who prevent others from practicing religion (vv. 9–16). It concludes with a challenge to those who call upon what is other than God to protect them (vv. 17–19).
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
¡ Recite in the Name of thy Lord Who created, * created man from a blood clot. + Recite! Thy Lord is most noble, J Who taught by the Pen, Z taught man that which he knew not. j Nay, truly man is rebellious z in that he considers himself beyond need. { Truly unto thy Lord is the return. | Hast thou seen him who prohibits Ċ a slave when he prays? Ě Hast thou seen if he does so out of guidance, Ī or to enjoin reverence? ĺ Hast thou seen if he denied and turned away? Ŋ Does he not know that God sees? Ś Nay, but if he ceases not, We shall surely seize him by the forelock— Ū a lying, iniquitous forelock. ź So let him call his cohorts. Ɗ We shall call the guards of Hell. ƚ Nay! Obey him not! But prostrate and draw nigh.
Commentary
¡ Recite in the Name of thy Lord Who created,
1–5 For the account of the revelation of these verses, see the introduction to this sūrah. These verses begin by discussing creation; the first mention of creation in v. 1 can be taken as a reference to the fact that God creates all that exists from nothing (Aj). The passage then moves to the creation of the human being, who is honored and ennobled through knowledge, the faculty that distinguished Adam from the angels (IK). The creation of the human being and knowledge are related in the first revelation, because human beings are created for knowledge of God and His creation, and God teaches Adam and thus all humanity the names of all things (2:31) before commanding, providing laws, and judging. According to some, the mention of recitation precedes that of writing because, although both are means of conveying knowledge, there could be speech without writing, but not writing without speech (IK). Thus although recite could also be translated “read,” recite is the better option because the Prophet was not given something to read and is reported to have been “unlettered” (see 62:2c).
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* created man from a blood clot.
2 Several verses refer to different periods of gestation as a sign of God’s creative power. The blood clot appears to be the third stage in the most extensive Quranic account of gestation: O mankind! If you are in doubt concerning the Resurrection, [remember] We created you from dust, then from a drop, then from a blood clot, then from a lump of flesh, formed and unformed, that We may make clear for you. And We cause what We will to remain in the wombs for a term appointed (22:5). For the stages that follow the clot, see 23:14; 40:67c; 75:38. Vv. 1–2 can also be seen as a commentary on 95:4–5, where created in v. 1 refers to creating man in the most beautiful stature (95:4) and v. 2 refers to casting him to the lowest of the low (95:5).
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+ Recite! Thy Lord is most noble,
3 Or, “Recite, for thy Lord is most noble.” In pre-Islamic Arabia nobility or magnanimity (karāmah) was considered the highest of all virtues, implying an unblemished pedigree, all virtuous character traits, and unbounded generosity; see 49:13c. In accord with the third quality, this verse could also be understood to mean, “Recite, for thy Lord is most generous,” for He blesses human beings with the greatest of blessings (Aj), creation and revelation. In pre-Islamic poetry, karīm, meaning “noble” or “generous,” was said of people, but not of God. The Quranic usage of the term thus introduced an aspect of God hitherto unknown to the pagan Arabs.
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J Who taught by the Pen,
Z taught man that which he knew not.
4–5 That God teaches human beings and brings them out of darkness into light (14:1, 5; 33:43; 57:9; cf. Isaiah 42:16; 1 Peter 2:9) is the extension and continuation of His unbounded generosity. Some say that pens are of three principal types: the first, corresponding to the Logos or Intellect, is the one that God commanded to write all that would be until the Day of Resurrection; the second are those with which the angels record the deeds of human beings (see commentary on 18:49; 82:10–12); and the third are those with which human beings write (Q). According to some, man indicates Adam, of whom 2:31 says, and He taught Adam the names, all of them (Q). Others say that it indicates the Prophet Muhammad, as in 4:113: God has sent down unto thee the Book and Wisdom, and has taught thee what thou knewest not; God’s Bounty toward thee is great indeed (Q). But here most commentators take taught man to mean that this verse refers to the manner in which God teaches all human beings, not only prophets. God’s teaching by the Pen can also be seen as an allusion to the Divine Intellect inscribing knowledge upon the tablet of the human soul. For more on the symbolism of the pen, see 68:1c.
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j Nay, truly man is rebellious
6–19 These verses were reportedly revealed several years after vv. 1–5 in reference to Abū Jahl, the leader of the Quraysh, who rejected the prophethood of Muhammad and tried to hinder the practice of Islam (Aj, IK, Q).
6 The use of the emphatic particle nay (kallā) here implies that despite the great blessings of creation and of knowledge, people deny them and are unthankful for them; thus they are disbelievers and rebels (Aj). In this context, rebellious can thus be seen as an allusion to those who rebel against what God teaches.
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z in that he considers himself beyond need.
7 Beyond need is literally “self-sufficient,” but beyond need better conveys the negative connotation of viewing oneself as “self-sufficient” vis-à-vis God. Such self-sufficiency can then be seen as the root of all rebelliousness (Aj).
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{ Truly unto thy Lord is the return.
8 The return to God is among the most central themes of the Quran; see commentary on 2:156: Truly we are God’s, and unto Him we return.
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| Hast thou seen him who prohibits
Ċ a slave when he prays?
9–10 These verses are usually understood as a direct reference to Abū Jahl’s preventing the Prophet from praying at the Kaʿbah (Aj, IK, Q).
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Ě Hast thou seen if he does so out of guidance,
Ī or to enjoin reverence?
ĺ Hast thou seen if he denied and turned away?
Ŋ Does he not know that God sees?
11–14 These verses are taken as a rebuke to Abū Jahl (IK, Q), meaning, “Do you have the capacity to judge whether the Prophet is guided?” This particular referent does not, however, contravene the general castigation of all who question the veracity of the Prophet and the Quran. Although some take vv. 13–14 as a continuation of the admonishment in vv. 11–12, in which case he continues to refer to the Prophet, others see the referent as Abū Jahl (Q).
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Ś Nay, but if he ceases not, We shall surely seize him by the forelock—
Ū a lying, iniquitous forelock.
15–16 These verses are taken by most as an answer to v. 14, meaning that Abū Jahl did not know that God sees. Thus Abū Jahl would not cease to attempt to prohibit the Prophet from praying. The application is nonetheless general, as in 55:41: The guilty shall be known by their marks; and they shall be seized by the forelocks and by the feet. From a Quranic perspective, there is no creature that crawls, but that He holds it by its forelock (11:56).
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ź So let him call his cohorts.
Ɗ We shall call the guards of Hell.
17–18 Cohorts is seen by most as a reference to the other members of the Quraysh who supported Abū Jahl. According to Ibn ʿAbbās, the Prophet was praying when Abū Jahl came to him and said, “Did we not warn you about this?” The Prophet went to him and reproached him. Abū Jahl retaliated by saying, “Indeed, you know very well that there is no one in Makkah who has more guards than me,” and as a response God revealed vv. 17–18. Ibn ʿAbbās is said to have commented, “By God, had he called, God would have sent the guards of Hell against him” (Aj, IK, Q).
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ƚ Nay! Obey him not! But prostrate and draw nigh.
19 Nay is either another rebuke to Abū Jahl or an address directly to the Prophet and his followers indicating that they should pay no heed to Abū Jahl and his threats, and persist in prostrating to God. Obey him not is echoed in 68:8: So obey not the deniers. More generally, these verses can be taken as an indication that people should not heed any who deny religion or the efficacy of prayer and should continue to prostrate and draw nigh through prayer, for that is the means by which one draws closer to God. According to a ḥadīth, “The closest that a servant can be to his Lord is when he is prostrating” (IK, Q; for the spiritual significance of prostration, see 32:15c; 19:58c).
This verse is one of fifteen verses after the recitation of which one is enjoined to prostrate; see 19:58c.