Surah Al-Alaq

Chapter 96 · Verse 1 · Revealed in Makkah

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ٱقْرَأْ بِٱسْمِ رَبِّكَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ

Recite in the name of your Lord who created -

Translation: Saheeh International

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Mishary Rashid Alafasy

Reflection — Ibn Kathir

Which was revealed in Makkah

This was the First of the Qur'an revealed

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Reflection — Maarif ul Quran

Beginning of The Qur’ anic Revelation

It is universally agreed that the first five verses of Surah Al-` Alaq or Iqra' mark the very beginning of Qur’ anic revelation. [ Baghawi ]. Bukhari, Muslim, other authentic sources and overwhelming consensus of scholars, ancient and modern, all concur on this point. However, some scholars state that Surah Al-Muddaththir was the first Surah to be revealed, and yet others say that Surah Al-Fatihah [ The Opening ] was revealed first. It is possible to reconcile between these different views as follows: After the revelation of Surah Al-` Alaq or Iqra', there was a temporary break in the revelation during which the Holy Prophet used to be very sad, but after some time, the Angel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) appeared to him once again, and he faced the same situation as he faced when the first verses of Surah Iqra' were revealed to him. On this occasion, the opening verses of Surah Al-Muddaththir were conveyed to him by the angel. From this point of view, it may be said that the first Surah to be revealed after the temporary break was Surah Al-Muddaththir. Some of the Companions held the view that Surah Al-Fatihah was the first Surah to be revealed. They probably meant to say that this was the first Surah to be revealed in a complete form. Undoubtedly, some verses (of Surahs Al-` Alaq or Iqra', Al-Muzzammil and Al-Muddaththir) were revealed earlier, but the rest of the verses of those Surahs were revealed at later dates. Al-Fatihah is the first Surah that was revealed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ in its entirety, all seven verses at once. [ Mazhari ]

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