The First Revelation | Shaykh Navaid Aziz | Ramadan Immersion

The First Revelation

And Jibreel asking the Prophet ﷺ to read. Now, why would Jibreel ask the Prophet ﷺ to read? Some of the scholars speculate that Jibreel wanted to test the Prophet ﷺ. Would the Prophet ﷺ try to introduce something or make something up or fabricate something? So this is Jibreel's way of testing the Prophet ﷺ. This is one interpretation that I found amongst the scholars of hadith saying, why does Jibreel keep asking the Prophet ﷺ to read?

Then the second thing that needs to be noted over here is Iqra — while it can mean to read, it can also mean to recite. The Prophet ﷺ saying مَا أَنَا بِقَارِئٍ can also be interpreted as "there is nothing there for me to recite," or "I am not one that is able to read." It can be interpreted in many ways.

The Prophet ﷺ as Al-Nabiyy Al-Ummi

Now, how do we address the Prophet ﷺ? And this is something that's important to understand — that in the Qur'an, the Prophet ﷺ is referred to as النَّبِيُّ الْأُمِّيُّ, al-ummi meaning that the Prophet ﷺ was unlettered. He did not know how to read or to write.

And there are a couple of important points I want to mention over here. Number one, we shouldn't refer to the Prophet ﷺ as uneducated or as illiterate. Those are disrespectful terms and are not befitting of referring to the Prophet ﷺ in such a way. A term that we should use is unlettered. The Prophet ﷺ did not know the alphabet and was unable to write it.

Number two, why is this something significant and important? Because as we come to find out many hundreds of years later, there is this famous allegation that the Prophet ﷺ stole the scriptures from the Jewish people, from the Christian people, and that is how he was able to come up with the Qur'an. And Allah and his Prophet ﷺ are above and beyond such statements. But the fact that the Prophet ﷺ was unable to read and was unable to write makes it very, very difficult for the Prophet ﷺ to doctor something like that.

Likewise, the Prophet ﷺ only had a limited amount of interaction, so his ability to have heard all of the Torah and all of the Injil and memorized it and then come up with a text like the Qur'an is impossible — is absolutely impossible. So that is why we highlight that the Prophet ﷺ was unlettered.

Why Did Jibreel Squeeze the Prophet ﷺ?

So then the Prophet ﷺ added: the angel caught me forcefully and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it anymore. He then released me again, asked me to read, and I replied, "I do not know how to read." Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it anymore. He then released me and then again asked me to read, but again I replied, "I do not know how to read" — or "what shall I read?" And that is the different versions of this hadith as well as the different interpretations of those statements.

Now we want to look at why is Jibreel squeezing the Prophet ﷺ? And there are multiple reasons that the scholars mention. Number one, to make sure that the Prophet ﷺ understood that this was not a hallucination — this is not a daydream, this is not a nightmare — but rather this is a physical event. And that is why that element of touch was so important. Number two, was to have the undivided attention of the Prophet ﷺ. So the Prophet ﷺ wouldn't try to escape and get distracted and focus on other things. He would squeeze the Prophet ﷺ to have his undivided attention.

And then number three is to keep the Prophet ﷺ in close proximity and to keep him conscious in front of him — that as he's holding him, hopefully the Prophet ﷺ will not collapse. And that is why he squeezes him and lets him go. So this physical interaction lets the Prophet ﷺ know that this is a real interaction and is not a figment of his imagination or something that he hallucinated.

The First Five Verses of Surah Al-Alaq

Then he lets him go the third time — thereupon he caught him for the third time and pressed him, then released him and said:

And Allah revealed the first five verses of Surah Al-Alaq to the Prophet ﷺ. So here Jibreel is teaching the Prophet ﷺ that this journey that you're about to go on — yes, you're going to take physical steps to it, but it is only by the might and power of Allah that you'll be able to do so. And that is why it's so profound that these verses came down:

اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ — "Read in the name of your Lord that has created you." It is with the power of Allah that you will be able to do anything. If that power and might of Allah is not there, you're not going to be able to function. You're not going to be able to convey this message.

And this teaches us the value of:

There is no might or power except with Allah. And thus that revelation is so significant.

Lessons from Iqra

The significance of اقْرَأْ — to read, to recite, to increase yourself in education, to continuously learn, to continuously seek — these are all lessons behind that first revelation that I'm sure all of us who have attended tafsir classes have heard many, many times: the importance of education and the importance of reading and reciting, particularly the Qur'an, and making that our primary source of knowledge.

وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ — reminding us that Allah is the Most Generous. The fact that Allah blessed us with Islam, blessed us with the Prophet ﷺ as our Prophet, and blessed us with the Qur'an as our book — these are all great, generous gifts from Allah.

Which Surah Was Revealed First?

So now, is there a difference of opinion as to which revelation came down first to the Prophet ﷺ? And the answer is, yes, there is a difference of opinion, but we also have a clear majority and the ability to verify which one is correct.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the very first revelation that came down to the Prophet ﷺ was the first five verses of Surah Al-Alaq — from Iqra. But you had certain companions that believed Surah Al-Mudaththir was the first revelation. You had other individuals — other mufassirun — that believed Surah Al-Fatiha was the first revelation. But this hadith clearly shows us that Surah Al-Alaq was the first revelation.

Now why would some of the other companions think that Surah Al-Mudaththir or the beginning parts of Surah Al-Mudaththir were the first parts of revelation? This shows us that not all of the ahadith reached all of the companions. And if that was the case during the time of the Prophet ﷺ, you can imagine after the time of the Prophet ﷺ that it is very possible that you had certain scholars whom not all of the hadith had reached.

And alhamdulillah, it is from the blessings of our times that we have access to so many manuscripts and to so many of the books of hadith that we are able to confidently say that the first revelation that came down to the Prophet ﷺ was Surah Al-Alaq.