Exegesis of Surat al-'Alaq, from the saying of Allah the Exalted: "Read in the name of your Lord who created," to His saying: "who taught by the pen."

The Shaykh : This session today will be about what we discuss from the Book of Allah, which is Surat al-'Alaq. Since, praise be to Allah, we have completed what came before. Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate: There is a discussion regarding the Basmala that was previously mentioned, but there is no harm in repeating it. The question is: Is the Basmala a verse of the surah that follows it, or is it an independent verse? The correct view is that it is an independent verse and is not part of the surah that follows it. It is not part of al-Fatihah, nor al-Baqarah, nor Aal 'Imran, but rather it is an independent verse. For this reason, if a person in prayer recites al-Fatihah without the Basmala, his prayer is valid because the Basmala is not part of it. However, the Basmala was not written in Surat al-Bara'ah because the Basmala was not revealed between it and Surat al-Anfal. But the Companions were mistaken when they compiled the Qur'an; they made a separator between Surat al-Anfal and Surat al-Bara'ah and did not write the Basmala. Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate: These verses were the first of the Qur'an to be revealed to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). They were the first of the Qur'an to be revealed to him. It was revealed to him while he was worshipping in the Cave of Hira. The first thing the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) began with regarding revelation was that he would see true dreams in his sleep. He would see them in his sleep, and they would come true like the break of dawn, meaning: what happens confirms these dreams. The first time he saw these dreams was in Rabi' al-Awwal, and he remained for six months seeing such dreams, seeing them come true like the break of dawn. In Ramadan, the revelation that occurs in a state of wakefulness descended. What is the duration between Rabi' al-Awwal and Ramadan? Six months. The period of revelation was twenty-three years. For this reason, it came in the hadith that a true dream is one part of forty-six parts of prophecy.
When he saw this vision that came like the break of dawn, seclusion became desirable to him, meaning he would be alone with himself and distance himself from this pre-Islamic age of ignorance society. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) considered that the best place to be secluded was the cave in Mount Hira, which is a cave at the peak of the mountain that a strong man can hardly climb without difficulty. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) would climb it, practice asceticism, and worship Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with what Allah had revealed to him in this cave for nights of a number, meaning several nights, and he would take provisions with him, stocking up on food or drink. Then he would descend and stock up on the same from his family, and return to worship Allah (Mighty and Majestic) until the revelation descended upon him while he was in this cave. Jibril came to him and ordered him to read, so he said: And the meaning of "I am not a reader" is that I am not one of those who read, and his intention was not disobedience to Jibril's command, but rather that he was unable to do so, as he was not one of those who read, for he (peace and blessings be upon him) was unlettered, as Allah the Exalted said: And He the Exalted said: So he did not read or write. And this is from the wisdom of Allah that he did not read or write, so that his need and necessity for this message would become clear, and so that no doubt would remain for any doubter regarding his truthfulness. And Allah alluded to this in His saying: He said to him: So he covered him twice or three times, then said to him: Five verses were revealed, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) returned with them, his heart trembling with fear and panic, until he came to Khadijah. The hadith of the revelation and its beginning is found at the beginning of Sahih al-Bukhari; whoever wishes to refer to it should do so.
Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: His saying: It was said: Its meaning is being engaged with it. And it was said: seeking help with it. Meaning: Read seeking help with the name of Allah, for the names of Allah the Exalted are all good, all help. A person seeks help with them. Therefore, a person seeks help with them in his ablution, and seeks help with them in his eating, and seeks help with them in his intercourse. So they are all help. and so on.
And He said: without saying "In the name of Allah," because the context is one of lordship, management, and planning of affairs, and the beginning of the message. For this reason, He said: indicating that Allah the Exalted raised him (peace and blessings be upon him) with a special upbringing, and He raised him with a special lordship as well.
Created what? He created everything, as He the Exalted said: And He the Exalted said: So there is nothing in the sky or on earth, whether hidden or apparent, small or large, but it is created by whom? By Allah the Mighty and Majestic. For this reason, He said: And the omission of the object indicates generality, because omitting the object implies generality. If the object were mentioned, the action would be restricted to it. Do you understand the meaning of this statement? Meaning, if he said "He created such-and-such," the creation would be restricted to what was mentioned only. But if he said "He created" and left it open, it becomes general. So He is the Creator of everything, (Exalted and Majestic is He).
Then He said: So He specified and singled out the creation of man, as an honor for man and an elevation for man. Because Allah the Exalted says: For this reason, He specified the creation of man. "Created man" means He began his creation.
'Alaq is a collective name for a clot, just as "shajar" is a collective name for what? A tree. So what is the 'alaq? The 'alaq is a small red worm from blood. And this is the origin by which life exists, because man is blood; if he were emptied of blood, he would perish. And Allah the Mighty and Majestic has made clear that He created man from a clot, but it develops. And He made clear in other verses that He created man from dust, and in another verse from clay, and in another verse from molded clay like pottery, and in another verse from gushing water, and in another verse from lowly water. In this verse, it is from a clot. Is there a contradiction in this? The answer is: No. It is impossible that there be any contradiction in the speech of Allah or in what is authentic from His Messenger, ever. For Allah says: But He, Glorified and Exalted is He, sometimes mentions the origin of creation from one aspect and the origin of creation from another aspect. So He created him from dust because the first thing man was created from was dust. Then water was poured on it, so what did it become? Clay. Then it continued for a period, so it became black, oozing clay. Then its duration lengthened, so it became molded clay, meaning if you strike it with your hand, you hear a ringing sound like pottery. Then He, the Mighty and Majestic, created him with flesh, bone, and sinews, and so on. This other creation is the beginning of the creation related to Adam. The other creation is from his descendants. The first origin of them is from a drop of fluid, which is the lowly water, which is the gushing water. This drop remains in the womb for forty days, then it transforms gradually. And upon the completion of the forty days, it changes through development and gradual stages until it becomes blood, a clot. Then it begins to grow and thicken, developing gradually. When eighty days are completed, it transitions to a lump of flesh, the size of what a person chews. And it remains so for forty days. So this is one hundred and twenty days. How many months is that? Hmm? Four months. After four months, Allah sends to it the angel in charge of wombs, and he breathes into it the spirit. So the spirit enters the body by the permission of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. And we cannot know the essence, reality, or substance of the spirit. We do not know from what substance it is. We know the body; from where is its origin? Its origin is from dust, then in the wombs of women from the drop. But the spirit, we do not know. We do not know from what essence it is, nor from what substance. The angel breathes the spirit into this fetus, and it begins to move, because its initial growth is like the growth of trees without sensation. After the spirit is breathed into it, it becomes a human being that moves. For this reason, if the fetus falls from the womb before forty days, it is buried in any place on earth without washing, shrouding, prayer over it, or anything else. And after it is completed—yes, I say that if it falls before four months, it is buried in any place on earth without washing, shrouding, prayer over it, and it is not resurrected. It is not resurrected because it is not a human being. And after four months, if it falls, it must be washed, shrouded, prayed over, and buried in the cemeteries, because it has become a human being. It is also named. It is named because on the Day of Resurrection it will be called by its name, and expiation will be made for it. But the 'aqiqah for it is not as confirmed as the 'aqiqah for one who has reached seven days after his birth.
In any case, this fetus in its mother's womb develops until it becomes a human being. Then Allah (Mighty and Majestic) grants it permission to exit after the period, which is usually nine months at most, and it comes out into the world. On this occasion, we would like to clarify that a human being has four stages: the first stage is in the mother's womb, the second is in this world, the third is in the barzakh (the interval between death and resurrection), and the fourth is in Paradise or the Fire, which is the final destination.
And what did we say about al-'alaq? It is a plural name for 'alaqah, which is a known worm of blood. This is the first stage of human creation, from which the substance of life is formed, and that substance is blood.
"Read" is a repetition of the first command, but is it an emphasis or an establishment? The correct view is that it is an establishment. The first command: is associated with lordship, and is associated with the Shari'ah. So the first is related to divine decree, and the second is related to the Shari'ah, because teaching by the pen is what the Shari'ah relies on most, as the Shari'ah is written and preserved, the Qur'an is written and preserved, the Sunnah is written and preserved, and the words of the scholars are written and preserved. Therefore, Allah repeated it a second time.
The rest of the discussion on this verse will come, if Allah wills, because we want to allow enough time for questions, so we will start with the right side.