(1 - 19) “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Read in the name of your Lord who created * created man from a clinging clot * Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous * who taught by the pen * taught man what he did not know * No indeed! Man certainly transgresses * because he sees himself as self-sufficient * Surely to your Lord is the return * Have you considered the one who forbids * a servant when he prays? * Have you considered whether he is upon guidance * or enjoins piety? * Have you considered if he denies and turns away? * Does he not know that Allah sees? * No indeed! If he does not desist, We will surely drag him by the forelock * a lying, sinful forelock * Let him call his assembly * We will call the keepers of Hell * No indeed! Do not obey him. Prostrate and draw near.”
This surah was the first of the Quranic surahs to be revealed to the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
It was revealed to him at the beginning of his prophethood, when he did not know what the Book was or what faith was. Gabriel—peace be upon him—came to him with the message and commanded him to read. He demurred and said, “I cannot read.” Gabriel continued urging him until he read. Allah then revealed to him: “Read in the name of your Lord who created”—meaning that He created all creation. He then singled out man and mentioned the beginning of his creation “from a clinging clot.” It follows that the One who created man and carefully governs his affairs will also govern him through commands and prohibitions. This is accomplished by sending the Messenger to them (1) and revealing the Books to them. For this reason, after the command to read, He mentioned (2) His creation (3) of man.
He then said: “Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous”—that is, the One whose attributes are abundant and vast, whose generosity and beneficence are immense, and whose giving is boundless. One manifestation of His generosity is that He imparted knowledge (4).
And He “taught by the pen—taught man what he did not know.” Allah Most High brought him forth from his mother’s womb knowing nothing, endowed him with hearing, sight, and a heart, and facilitated for him the means of acquiring knowledge.
He taught him the Quran, taught him wisdom, and taught him by means of the pen. Through it, knowledge is preserved, rights are accurately recorded, and written words serve as messengers among people, taking the place of their spoken words. All praise is therefore due to Allah, and all favor is His. He bestowed upon His servants these blessings, for which they can render neither due recompense nor adequate thanks. He then further favored them with self-sufficiency and abundant provision. Yet, out of ignorance and injustice, when man sees himself as self-sufficient, he transgresses, acts unjustly, and arrogantly rejects guidance. He forgets that the return is to his Lord and does not fear recompense. He may even go so far as to abandon guidance himself and call [others] to abandon it, forbidding the prayer that is the best of the deeds of faith.
Allah says to this insolent rebel: “Have you considered,” O you who forbid a servant when he prays, “if” the praying servant “is upon guidance”—that is, possesses knowledge of the truth and acts upon it—“or enjoins” piety upon someone else?
Is it right to forbid someone of this description? Is such a prohibition not among the gravest forms of opposition to Allah and warfare against the truth? A prohibition should only be directed at someone who is himself not upon guidance or who commands others to act contrary to piety.
“Have you considered if he denies”—the one issuing the prohibition—“the truth and turns away” from the command? Does he not fear Allah and dread His punishment?
“Does he not know that Allah sees” all that he does and how he acts?
Allah then warned him of what would happen if he persisted in his conduct, saying: “No indeed! If he does not desist” from what he says and does, “We will surely drag him by the forelock”—that is, We will seize him violently by his forelock. It fully deserves this, for it is “a lying, sinful forelock”: lying in what it says and sinful in what it does.
“Let him call”—this man upon whom punishment has become due (5)—“his assembly”; that is, the members of his gathering, his companions, and those around him, so that they may help him against what has befallen him. “We will call the keepers of Hell” to seize and punish him. Let him then see which of the two parties is stronger and more capable.
This is the condition of the one issuing the prohibition and the punishment with which he is threatened. As for the one being forbidden, Allah commanded him neither to heed this man nor comply with his prohibition. He said: “No indeed! Do not obey him” [that is:] for he commands only that which brings ruin in this world and the Hereafter. “Prostrate” to your Lord “and draw near” to Him through prostration and all other acts of obedience and devotion, for they all bring one nearer to His pleasure and closer to Him.
This applies generally to everyone who forbids good and everyone who is forbidden ⦗931⦘ from it, although it was revealed concerning Abū Jahl, when he forbade the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—from praying, mocked him (6), and harmed him. It is complete, and all praise is due to Allah.