The first word that was revealed in the Noble Qur’an is the word iqra (read), as it was revealed to our master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, when he was in the Cave of Hira and it was on the Night of Decree of the blessed month of Ramadan, and with it the revelation of Gabriel, peace be upon him, began in the Almighty’s saying: {Read in the name of God. Your Lord is the one who created}, where he began with this word for our Master Muhammad, peace be upon him, to open his recitation by mentioning the name of God Almighty, who is abundant in creation and who created every human being from a drop of blood, for he, peace be upon him, did not know what the book was, and he did not know the meaning of faith, so Gabriel, peace be upon him, came to him and commanded him by reading.

The reason for the revelation of Surat Al-Alaq

Surat Al-Alaq is the first surah revealed in the Holy Qur’an, and it is a Meccan surah with 19 verses. Peace be upon him seeing a true dream in his sleep before the revelation came to him, he saw the coming of Gabriel, peace be upon him, to him, our master Muhammad used to go every night to the cave of Hira to worship him, and on a day while he was in the cave, the revelation came to him and said to him iqra (Read) Our master Muhammad, peace be upon him, was afraid and said To him, I am not a reciter. The Messenger of God said he took me and covered me until I reached the level of effort. Then he sent me and said iqra (Read) I said I am not a reciter. Then Gabriel took him and covered him again until he reached the level of effort. Then he sent it and said to him iqra (Read) So our master Muhammad said to him, “I am not a reciter.” Then Gabriel, peace be upon him, took him and covered him a third time, and the word of God Almighty said to him:  iqra (Read) in the name of your Lord who created (1) He created the person from a relationship (2).

Where was Surat Al-Alaq revealed?

The people of interpretation mentioned that Surat Al-Alaq was revealed to the Messenger of God – may God’s prayers and peace be upon him – in Mecca and he was in the cave of Hira, but it was not revealed in its entirety in the cave of Hira, but only the first of it was revealed in the cave of Hira, which are the first five verses in which the Almighty says: Read in the name of your Lord, who created* created man from a relationship* Read and your Lord, the honorable*.

Why was Surat Al-Alaq called by this name?

The scholars went to the view that this surah was named in many of the Qur’ans by the name of Surat Al-Alaq in relation to the word Al-Alaq that was mentioned in the second verse of it, but in the era of the Prophet and the Companions it was not known by this name, rather they used to call it Surat iqra (Read), and Imam Al-Bukhari named it Surah “Read in the name of your Lord who created.” Others called it Surah “Read,” and others said that its name was Surat “Read and Al-Alaq.” Some commentators named it Surat “Al-Qalam,” but this name was given to Surat “n,” and that is why this name was not known.

Division of topics in Surat Al-Alaq

Surat Al-Alaq, which consists of 19 verses, whose topics varied, beginning with the matter and then on the creation and guidance of man, and on many topics that we will mention below:

• The command to read through the study of the universe and what God Almighty created.
• Sincerity to God alone and access to his satisfaction.
• Mention the attributes of God and his ability to create man and portray him in the best image.
• God’s guidance to man.
• God’s wisdom in His creation of man.
• Explanation of the blessings that God Almighty bestowed upon His servants and which man neglected and took arrogance and arrogance.