Description of Surah Al Alaq
Surah Al Alaq is chapter number 96, which, with its 19 verses, is part of the Juz Amma. Being one of the shortest surahs of the Holy Quran, it is relatively quite easy to memorise. It is above all known for being the first surah revealed and it contains the first commandment to the Prophet Mohamed, peace and blessings be upon him, which he received while he was still in Mecca.
According to many scholars, Surah Al Alaq contains the first five verses of the first chapter revealed to the Prophet Mohamed, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Even though there are other opinions that would grant the place of the first revelation to Surah Mudathir or to Surah Fatiha, in the majority of cases it is Surah Al Alaq that is considered to be the one that Mohamed received first in Mecca.
He was indeed a man of highly regarded and respected human values among all his people, the Quraish, when he began to have more and more premonitory dreams, which he saw come true before his eyes during the day, as he himself related in a hadith reported by Aisha, the Mother of the Believers.
Then he began to prefer solitude and isolation, peace and blessings be upon him, and it is in this context that, in the cave of Hira, he received the first revelation of the Holy Quran, which consists of the first five verses of Surah Al Alaq. Indeed, the Angel Gibril (Gabriel) pressed his chest so hard that he had the impression of being suffocated and asked him to read, but the Prophet told him that he did not know how to read. Then he asked him what he should read. This was repeated three times before the Angel Gibril recited to him the first five verses of Surah Al Alaq. The Prophet Mohamed, peace and blessings be upon him, would say, according to one version, that « it was as if the verses were inscribed in his heart ».
He returned home, terrified, fearing for his life, peace and blessings be upon him, and his wife Khadija, Mother of the Believers, may Allah be pleased with her, comforted him by reminding him of the noble qualities that characterised him. She told him that God would assuredly not humiliate him but would raise him up, and she covered him with a blanket, so much was he trembling. She was the first person to believe in the divine Message and testified that Mohamed was the Messenger of Allah : Rasul Allah.
Explanation of Surah 96
Surah Al Alaq is the introduction of the Holy Quran to humanity. It is composed of a first commandment : Read!
For all those who resist the idea that the Message carried by the Prophet Mohamed is a divine revelation, it can be recalled that Arab society in Mecca was a society whose transmission was of oral tradition. The poetry and the moral values of that time were not read but memorised and were the affair of a few lettered men and women. It is the Quran that propelled the Arab world to one of the highest levels of education, from which even today the most sophisticated educational systems in the world are derived, issuing from the systems of learning and of rewards for the learning of the Quran : ijaza.
From the Manifestation of the Word of Allah, the Quran, were distributed sciences complementary to that of the understanding of the Quran : exegesis, the circumstances of revelation, jurisprudence, Arabic grammar etc.
The Prophet Mohamed was not versed in classical Arabic poetry and was illiterate.
When someone tells you to read, this cannot come from oneself. Someone who is known for not knowing how to read cannot order others to read while hoping to have credibility. The persons renowned for their poetry refused to listen and ordered those around them to plug their ears for fear of being bewitched, for the beauty and perfection of the Message of Allah left them speechless. The Quraish recognised that this could not come from Mohamed, known to be illiterate, but their ego prevented them from renouncing the worship of idols.
Mohamed, peace and blessings be upon him, was and remains the best example of humility. All the information that the human being perceives or transmits is of the order of three kinds of knowledge :
The knowledge of the senses
The knowledge of the intellect
The knowledge of the heart.
Revelation comes from that type of knowledge.
Surah Ash Shu’ara Verse 192-194 :
192 This (Quran) is indeed sent down by the Lord of the universe,
193 the faithful Spirit has descended with it
194 upon your heart, so that you may be one of the warners,
This first commandment « read! » brought the Muslims of that time out of a dark era into the light of the highest level of education there is, at the request of the Most High.
What subject does Surah Al Alaq deal with ?
There is a parallel to be drawn between the preceding surah At Tin and that of Surah 96 :
In the chapter At Tin, Allah deals more with faith, whereas in Surah Al Alaq it is more a question of deeds, of actions. One can notice the virtuous circle that exists between these two subjects : when one has faith, one multiplies good deeds in the search for the Satisfaction of Allah, and when one acts thus, one's faith increases.
In Surah At Tin the prophets are evoked in a general manner, whereas in Surah Al Alaq Allah addresses Mohamed, peace and blessings be upon him.
When Allah speaks of the creation of the human being in a general manner in At Tin, in Surah Al Alaq Allah speaks of creation in a more detailed manner.