سُورَةُ العَلَقِ
Surah 96 - Al-Alaq
The Clot
- 19 verses
- Juz 30
- Page 597 of the Mushaf
Al-Alaq has nineteen verses. It opens on an order: to read, in the name of the Lord who created. The next four verses say what man was drawn from, then what was taught to him by the pen. The tone shifts at verse 6: man goes past all measure as soon as he sees himself beyond need, while the return is towards his Lord. The text then turns to one precise case, set out in three questions: the one who stops a servant from praying, and who denies and turns his back. The closing verses warn him, invite him to call his own people, and shut the surah with an order to the addressee: to prostrate and to draw near.
The main parts
The text of the surah
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ٱقْرَأْ بِٱسْمِ رَبِّكَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ
Recite in the name of your Lord who created -
خَلَقَ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ
Created man from a clinging substance.
ٱقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ ٱلْأَكْرَمُ
Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous -
ٱلَّذِى عَلَّمَ بِٱلْقَلَمِ
Who taught by the pen -
عَلَّمَ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ
Taught man that which he knew not.
كَلَّآ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ لَيَطْغَىٰٓ
No! [But] indeed, man transgresses
أَن رَّءَاهُ ٱسْتَغْنَىٰٓ
Because he sees himself self-sufficient.
إِنَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ ٱلرُّجْعَىٰٓ
Indeed, to your Lord is the return.
أَرَءَيْتَ ٱلَّذِى يَنْهَىٰ
Have you seen the one who forbids
عَبْدًا إِذَا صَلَّىٰٓ
A servant when he prays?
أَرَءَيْتَ إِن كَانَ عَلَى ٱلْهُدَىٰٓ
Have you seen if he is upon guidance
أَوْ أَمَرَ بِٱلتَّقْوَىٰٓ
Or enjoins righteousness?
أَرَءَيْتَ إِن كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّىٰٓ
Have you seen if he denies and turns away -
أَلَمْ يَعْلَم بِأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَرَىٰ
Does he not know that Allah sees?
كَلَّا لَئِن لَّمْ يَنتَهِ لَنَسْفَعًۢا بِٱلنَّاصِيَةِ
No! If he does not desist, We will surely drag him by the forelock -
نَاصِيَةٍۢ كَٰذِبَةٍ خَاطِئَةٍۢ
A lying, sinning forelock.
فَلْيَدْعُ نَادِيَهُۥ
Then let him call his associates;
سَنَدْعُ ٱلزَّبَانِيَةَ
We will call the angels of Hell.
كَلَّا لَا تُطِعْهُ وَٱسْجُدْ وَٱقْتَرِب ۩
No! Do not obey him. But prostrate and draw near [to Allah].
Key verses of the surah
The first verse: the order to read, which gives the surah its other name.
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ٱقْرَأْ بِٱسْمِ رَبِّكَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ
Recite in the name of your Lord who created -
The verse naming the pen as the means of teaching, just before the one naming man.
ٱلَّذِى عَلَّمَ بِٱلْقَلَمِ
Who taught by the pen -
The last verse: an order to prostrate; the Mushaf carries the prostration sign there.
كَلَّا لَا تُطِعْهُ وَٱسْجُدْ وَٱقْتَرِب ۩
No! Do not obey him. But prostrate and draw near [to Allah].
What is surah Al-Alaq about?
Of two things held together: what man received - existence, then knowledge - and what he does with it when he thinks himself self-standing. The second half follows a man who hinders someone at prayer, and ends on an order given to the addressee.
How does surah Al-Alaq begin?
With a verb in the imperative, said again in verse 3. The first five verses hold reading, creation and teaching together: the pen is named in verse 4, and verse 5 states that man learned what he did not know.
What does surah Al-Alaq say about the pen?
Verse 4 names it as that through which teaching passes. It is its only mention in the surah, and it takes three words in the Arabic text. The next verse widens the point: man was given knowledge he did not have.
How does surah Al-Alaq end?
With verse 19: not to obey the one just spoken of, then to prostrate and draw near. The four verses before it were still addressed to that figure; the last one returns to the addressee of the opening.
Why is surah Al-Alaq called that?
“Al-Alaq” names what clings, the substance verse 2 says man was created from. The name therefore comes from that verse, not from the general subject of the surah. The text is also called by its first word, which is the order to read.
How many verses does surah Al-Alaq have?
Surah Al-Alaq has 19 verses. It stands at number 96 in the order of the Mushaf, which holds 114.
The Arabic text is that of the Mushaf. The summary, the outline and the answers on this page describe the text and how it is built: they are not religious commentary.