As for someone examining a particular question, he needs two things: to find evidence that guides, and to be guided by it and benefit from it.

The revealed Law therefore commands him to do what brings the causes of guidance down upon his heart and turns away the causes that obstruct it. This concerns remembrance of Allah Most High and heedlessness of Him. Satan is a whisperer who withdraws: when the servant remembers his Lord, Satan retreats; when he neglects the remembrance of Allah, Satan whispers. “Remembrance of Allah” imparts faith and is the foundation of faith.

Allah, glorified be He, is the Lord and Sovereign of everything, and He teaches and bestows all knowledge. Just as He Himself is the source of everything that exists, remembrance of Him and knowledge of Him are the foundation of all knowledge; and remembrance of Him is in the heart. The Quran provides detailed knowledge and thus increases faith, as Jundub ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Bajalī and other Companions said:

“We learned faith, then we learned the Quran, and so our faith increased.”

For this reason, the first revelation Allah sent down to His Prophet was:

“Read in the name of your Lord who created.”

He commanded him to read in Allah’s name. This included the command to remember Allah and the truth that had been revealed. He said:

“In the name of your Lord who created.”

“He created man from a clinging substance.”

“Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous.”

“Who taught by the pen.”

“Taught man what he did not know.”

Thus He, glorified be He, speaks of His creation in general and, in particular, of man, the noblest of existing beings; and of His teaching knowledge in general and to man in particular. He mentions teaching by the pen, which is the final stage, thereby necessarily implying the teaching of speech and the imparting of knowledge within the heart.