Iqra'a (Recite)/ Al Alaq (The Clinging Clot) (96) - 19
1 Proclaim! (or Read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher Who created
#6203 Iqraa may mean "read", or "recite or rehearse", or "proclaim aloud", the object understood being Allah's Message. In worldly letters he was unversed, but with spiritual knowledge his mind and soul were filled, and now had come the time when he must stand forth to the world and declare his mission. 6204 The declaration or proclamation was to be in the name of Allah the Creator. It was not for any personal benefit to the Prophet: to him there was to come bitter persecution, sorrow, and suffering. It was the call of Allah for the benefit of erring humanity. Allah is mentioned by his title of "thy Lord and Cherisher", to establish a direct nexus between the source of the Message and the one addressed. The Message was not merely an abstract proposition of philosophy, but the direct concrete message of a personal Allah to the creatures whom He loves and cherishes. "Thy" addressed to the Prophet is appropriate in two ways: (1) he was in direct contact with the divine Messenger (Gabriel) and Him Who sent the Messenger; (2) he represented the whole of humanity, in a fuller sense than that in which Christ Jesus is the "Son of Man".#
*** In any other theological book, this should have been the first Sura of the Quran since this was the very first alleged 'revelation' to Muhammad.
Unfortunately, the Quran has been composed by mortals with a very deliberate theological and political agenda of misrepresentation, character assassination, misinterpretation and misinformation on a colossal scale as has been shown in these pages.
The above verse is clearly a commandment to 'read'. The details of this alleged encounter between Muhammad and Gabriel was described in Ibn Ishaq 's
"The Biography of the Prophet" written 140 years after his death and based on transmitted stories.
These details (p 106 of A. Guillaume's "The Life of Muhammad") contradict the 'perverted' version by his followers centuries later to make it appear as if Muhammad was illiterate/unable to read and write instead of just being unlearned/ignorant of Scriptures, thus making it appear as if the Quranic 'revelations' had to be divine instead of having been created and scripted by Muhammad himself ***
2> Created man out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:
#6205 Cf. xxiii. 14, The lowly origin of the animal in man is contrasted with the high destiny offered to him in his intellectual, moral, and spiritual nature by his "most bountiful" Creator. No knowledge is withheld from man. On the contrary, through the faculties freely given to him, he acquires it in such measure as outstrips his immediate understanding, and leads him ever to strive for newer and newer meaning.#
*** This is the most monstrous misrepresentation of the Biblical story of the creation that can be imagined.
Genesis 1: "26. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.27. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female He created them" and Genesis 2: 7. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" -
The Quran has at least TEN utterly inconsistent, incompatible and different versions for the creation of Man, from :
Water, Clot, Clay, Leech, Sperm etc.
The Arabic word Alaq which is translated above as (Clot), is incorrect since Arabic dictionaries describe it as a (Leech) which is the same as in Hebrew (Alqa).
If the angel Gabriel meant it as a clot/leech, then something is catastrophically wrong in the whole of the Quran and would negate its alleged divine origin at a stroke especially since this was the FIRST verse of 'revelation' that Muhammad allegedly received and is utterly wrong.
Considering the great number of misrepresentations in the Quran of items plagiarised, plundered, pirated and or perverted from the Bible and Hebrew Scriptures, this too could be based upon his misunderstanding of a verse - most probably transmitted to him by a Rabbi - from the Mishnah in Tractate Avoth,
Chapter 3:1 "…. Whence thou art come - from a fetid drop; and whither thou art going - to a place of dust, worms and maggots…***
3> Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful
4> He Who taught (the use of) the Pen
# 6206 See n. 5593 to lxviii. 1. The Arabic words for "teach" and "knowledge" are from the same root. It is impossible to produce in a Translation the complete orchestral harmony of the words for "read", "teach", "pen" (which implies reading, writing, books, study, research), "knowledge" (including science, self knowledge, spiritual understanding), and "proclaim", an alternative meaning of the word for "to read". This proclaiming or reading implies not only the duty of blazoning forth Allah's message, as going, with the prophetic office, but also the duty of promulgation and wide dissemination of the Truth by all who read and understand it. The comprehensive meaning of qaraa refers not only to a particular person and occasion but also gives a universal direction. And this kind of comprehensive meaning, as we have seen, runs throughout the Qur-an -for those, who will understand.#
*** After the first 'revelation' of the Quran, that of literacy (read!), the second most important is that of the 'Pen' which exalts the written word (write!) by which a 'hard copy' of communications is made permanent and clear.
The angel Gabriel was commanding him to read, in the first 'revelation' of the Quran and not to recite them.
The angel obviously should have already known whether Muhammad could read and write or not ***
5> Taught man that which he knew not.
# 6207 Allah teaches us new knowledge at every given moment. Individuals learn more and more day by day; nations and humanity at large learn fresh knowledge at every stage. This is even more noticeable and important in the spiritual world.#
*** This verse refers obviously to the written Torah, the first of Allah's 'revelations'.
If we assume that Muhammad was not able to read and write at the beginning of his mission, then, as the fanatically obedient and servant 'slave' of Allah, he should have obeyed his commandments to learn to Read and Write during his almost Twenty Three years mission as the messenger of Allah.
Neither the Hadiths nor the Quran clearly show that he had done so hence bringing us back to square one which indicates that he actually must have been able to read and write and that was exactly why the angel Gabriel commanded him to read and not recite as is alleged by Muhammad and his followers for propagandistic and theological reasons***
6> Nay but man doth transgress all bounds
7> In that he looketh upon himself as self-sufficient.
8> Verily to thy Lord is the return (of all).
9> Seest thou one who forbids.
10> A votary when he (turns) to pray?
11> Seest thou if He is on (the road of) Guidance?
12> Or enjoins Righteousness?
13> Seest thou if he denies (Truth) and turns away?
14> Knoweth he not that Allah doth see?
15 Let him beware! If he desist not We will drag him by the forelock
16 A lying sinful forelock!
17 Then let him call (for help) to his council (of comrades):
18> We will call on the angels of punishment (to deal with him)!
19 > Nay heed him not: but bow down in adoration and bring thyself the closer (to Allah)!