AL ‘ALAQ or IQRA’ (Read!)
In the Name of God,1 the Gracious, the Merciful 2
1 Proclaim! In the Name of your Lord, who created;
2 Created man, out of a clot of congealed blood:
3 Proclaim! And your Lord is most bountiful,
4 He who taught you to write,
5 Taught man that which he knew not.
6 No, but man transgresses all bounds,
7 In that he looks upon himself as self-sufficient.
8 Truly, to your Lord is the return.
9 Do you see one who forbids
10 A votary when he prays?
11 Do you see if he is guided?
12 Or enjoins righteousness?
13 Do you see if he denies and turns away?
14 Knows he not that God sees?
15 Let him beware! If he desist not, we will drag him by the forelock,
16 A lying, sinful forelock!
17 Then, let him call to his council:
18 We will call on the angels of punishment!
19 No, heed him not, but bow down in adoration, and bring yourself closer!
- God, in Arabic allah, referring to the one true God, as opposed to an idol or “god.” It is the Arabic equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew), alaha (Syriac), and theos (Greek), all of which accurately translate into English as “God.” This translation choice is consistent with respected English Quran translations including those of A. Yusuf Ali (original edition), S.H. Nasr (Study Quran), T.B. Irving, and T. Itani (Clear Quran). ↩︎
- the Gracious, the Merciful, the highlighting of God’s grace and mercy predates the Quran, coming down from the many hundreds of references in the Taurat, Zabur, and Injil. A few samples follow:
Taurat, Exodus 34:6 — …YAHWEH, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
Zabur 145:8 — YAHWEH is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
Taurat, Joel 2:13 — Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to YAHWEH your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.
Taurat, Yunus 4:2 — …I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.”
Injil, 1 Timothy 1:2 — …Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and AL-MASIH ‘ISA our Lord.
Injil, Hebrews 4:16 — Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need. ↩︎