Today's verse

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيْم

ﺳﻮﺭﺓ ﺍﻟﻌَﻠﻖ
Chapter 96
Suratul 'Alaq
(The Clot)

Verse 1

Arabic

ﺍﻗْﺮَﺃْ ﺑِﺎﺳْﻢِ ﺭَﺑِّﻚَ ﺍﻟَّﺬِﻱ ﺧَﻠَﻖ

Transliteration

Iqra h bismi robbikal ladhi khalaq

Translation
1. Read! In the Name of your Lord Who created.

Introduction to Suratul 'Alaq

The Beginning of the Prophethood of
Muhammad and the First of the Qur'an
revealed

Imam Ahmad recorded that `A'ishah said: The first thing that began happening with the Messenger of Allah from the revelation was dreams that he would see in his sleep that would come true. He
would not see any dream except that it
would come true just like the (clearness
of) the daybreak in the morning. Then seclusion became beloved to him. So, he used to go to the cave of Hira' and devote himself to worship there for a number of nights, and he would bring
provisions for that. Then he would return to Khadijah and replenish his provisions for a similar number of nights. This continued until the revelation suddenly came to him while he was in the cave of Hira'. The angel came to him while he was in the cave and said, "Read!'' The Messen- ger of Allah said,

‏«ﻓَﻘُﻠْﺖُ : ﻣَﺎ ﺃَﻧَﺎ ﺑِﻘَﺎﺭِﻯﺀ‏»
(I replied: "I am not one who reads.)

Then he said, "So he (the angel) seized me and
pressed me until I could no longer bear it. Then he released me and said: `Read!' So I replied: `I am not one who reads.' So, he pressed me a second time until I could no longer bear it. Then he released me and said:

﴿ﺍﻗْﺮَﺃْ ﺑِﺎﺳْﻢِ ﺭَﺑِّﻚَ ﺍﻟَّﺬِﻯ ﺧَﻠَﻖَ﴾
(Read in the Name of your Lord who has created.) until he reached the Ayah,

﴿ﻣَﺎ ﻟَﻢْ ﻳَﻌْﻠَﻢْ﴾
(That which he knew not. )'' So he returned with them (those Ayat) and with his heart trembling until he came (home) to Khadijah, and he said,
‏« ﺯَﻣِّﻠُﻮﻧِﻲ ﺯَﻣِّﻠُﻮﻧِﻲ‏»
(Wrap me up, wrap me up!) So they wrapped him up until his fear went away. After that he told Khadijah everything
that had happened (and said),
‏« ﻗَﺪْ ﺧَﺸِﻴﺖُ ﻋَﻠَﻰ ﻧَﻔْﺴِﻲ‏»
(I fear that something may happen to me.)

Khadijah replied, "Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep
good relations with your relatives, you speak the truth, you help the poor and the destitute, you serve your guests
generously, and you help the deserving, calamity afflicted people.'' Khadijah then
accompanied him to her cousin Waraqah bin Nawfal bin Asad bin `Abdul-`Uzza
bin Qusay, who, during the period of ignorance became a Christian and used to scribe the Scriptures in Arabic. He
would write from the Injil in Hebrew as much as Allah willed for him to write. He was an old man and had lost his
eyesight. Khadijah said to him, "O my cousin! Listen to the story of your nephew.'' Waraqah asked, "O my nephew! What have you seen'' Allah's Messenger described what he saw.
Waraqah said, "This is An-Namus whom Allah had sent to Musa. I wish I was young and could live until the time when
your people would drive you out.'' Allah's
Messenger asked,
‏«ﺃَﻭَ ﻣُﺨْﺮِﺟِﻲَّ ﻫُﻢْ؟‏»
(Will they drive me out) Waraqah replied in the affirmative and said, "Anyone who came with something similar to what you have brought, was treated with hostility and enmity; and if I should remain alive
till that day then I would firmly support you.'' But Waraqah did not remain. He died and the revelation paused until
Allah's Messenger became sad according to what we were told. Due to this grief he set out a number of times
with the intent of throwing himself from
the mountain tops. However, every time
he would reach the peak of a mountain to throw himself from it, Jibril would appear to him and say, "O Muhammad! You are truly the Messenger of Allah!'' Therefore, his worry would be eased, his soul would be settled and he would return (down from the mountain). Then, when the revelation did not come again for a long
time, he set out as he had done before. So when he reached the peak of the mountain, Jibril appeared to him again and said to him the same as he had said
before.''

This Hadith has been recorded in the Two Sahihs by way of Az-Zuhri.

So the first thing that was revealed of the Qur'an were these noble and blessed Ayat. They
are the first mercy that Allah bestowed upon His servants and the first bounty that Allah favored them with.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir