96: Al-Alaq

اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ

"Read in the name of your Lord the one who created" [96:1]

خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ

"Created the Man from a Clot" [96:2]

اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ

"Read and Your Lord is the most generous" [96:3]

الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ

"The one who gave knowledge with the Pen" [96:4]

عَلَّمَ الْإِنسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ

"He gave knowledge to the Man what he did not know" [96:5]

حدثنا احمد بن محمد الشيبانى قال: حدثنا محمد بن احمد قال: حدثنا اسحاق بن محمد قال: حدثنا محمد بن علي قال: حدثنا عثمان بن يوسف عن عبدالله بن كيسان عن ابى جعفر عليه السلام قال: نزل جبرئيل على محمد صلى الله عليه وآله فقال: يا محمد إقرأ قال وما أقرأ؟ قال إقرأ باسم ربك الذي خلق يعني خلق نورك الاقدام قبل الاشياء خلق الانسان من علق يعني خلقك من نطفة (علقة ط) وشق منك عليا (إقرأ وربك الاكرم الذي علم بالقلم) يعني علم علي بن ابي طالب (علم الانسان ما لم يعلم) يعني علم عليا مالم يعلم قبل ذلك

Narrated to me Ahmad bin Muhammad Al-Shibani, from Muhammad bin Ahmad, from Ishaq bin Muhammad, from Muhammad bin Ali, from Usman bin Yusuf, from Abdullah bin Keesan from Abi Jafar (as)

Abi Jafar (as) said, "Jibraeel descended upon Muhammad (saww) and said, "O Muhammad, Read"

Prophet Muhammad (saww) said, "And what should I read?"

Jibraeel said, "Read in the name of your Lord the one who created" [96:1], meaning He created Your Noor (light) long before (creation of) other things."

"Created the Man from a Clot" [96:2], meaning He created You from a clot (of Noor as per the above words) and split from you Ali (as)."

"Read and Your Lord is the most generous. The one who gave knowledge with the Pen" [96:3-4], meaning He taught Ali ibn Ali Talib (as)."

"He gave knowledge to the Man what he did not know" [96:5], meaning He taught Ali (as) what He did not know before."

[Source: Tafseer-e-Qummi, Pg. 432]