1. SURAH AL-ALAQ [THE EMBRYO]

 

INTRODUCTION TO SURAH AL-ALAQ

Named after the word alaq in the second verse, this surah was the first surah revealed in Mecca. It is possible to understand Surah Al-Alaq in all its subtleties by knowing that it is the first surah revealed and taking this into consideration. By analogy with the “muqaddima” in literature, this surah can also be called “the preface of the Qur’an”. Acknowledging this feature allows one to explore the entirety of the Qur’an based on the surah’s wording, allusions, indications, and implications, and to reach a general conclusion about what is contained in the Qur’an and what the Qur’an contains.

 

In this Surah, Allah Almighty addressed Muhammad and spoke to him. With this speech, which was a unilateral address, He appointed Muhammad b. Abdullah as the last prophet of the religion of Islam, which He sent to all mankind. With this Surah, He revealed His first messages to him and resolved some of the questions that arose in the prophet’s mind about the fulfillment of these messages. These features are crucial for a deeper understanding of the surah’s content.

 

The Famous Account about the Revelation of the Verses

 

The account about the first revelation to the Prophet is as follows:

“It was narrated to us by Yahya b. Bukhayr, and to him by Lays, and to him by Ukayl, and to him by Ibn Shihab, and to him by Urwa b. Zubayr, and Urwa narrated from Aisha, the mother of the believers. Aisha, the mother of the believers, said:

The first revelation to the Messenger of Allah began when he dreamed a true dream in his sleep. Every dream he had was like the light of the morning. Later on he was made to love solitude. He would retire to the cave on Mount Hira in solitude, and on certain nights he would pray until he came back to his family. He would take food and drink again and leave again. He would return to Khadijah, get food and drink and leave again. Until the revelation came…

One day when he was in the cave of Hira, the angel came to him and said, “Recite إقرأ”. He said, “ما انا بقارئ I am illiterate.” The Prophet said: “Then the angel took me and pressed me until I lost my strength. Then he left me and said to me again, “Recite إقرأ.” I said to him, “I am illiterate.” He took me and squeezed me a second time until I lost my strength. Then he left me and said again, “Recite إقرأ.” I again said, “I am illiterate.” Then he pressed me a third time. Then he left me and said:

“Recite in the name of your Lord, the Creator, who created man from a drop of blood. Recite! Your Lord is the owner of the greatest generosity.”

Then Rasulullah returned to Khadijah, his heart trembling with these verses. He said, “زمّلونى زمّلونى Cover me, cover me, cover me!” They covered him until his fear subsided. Then he told Khadijah what had happened. He said, “I feared for myself.”  Khadijah said:

“No, by Allah. Allah will never disgrace you. Because you do good to your relatives, help the poor, and assist them in earning what others cannot. You receive the guest. You help the righteous.” And he immediately took the Prophet to his uncle’s son Waraqa. He had embraced Christianity during the pre-Islamic period of ignorance. He knew how to write in Hebrew and wrote in Hebrew as much of the Bible as Allah willed. And he was blind. Khadijah said to Waraqa:

“The son of my uncle, listen! What is your brother’s son saying?” Waraqa:

“What is it, son of my brother?” Rasulullah informed him of what he had seen. Then Waraqa said:

“What you see is the Namus that Allah revealed to Moses. Would that I had been young in the days of your call, and that I had been alive when your people were going to expel you and force you to migrate.” Then Rasulullah said:

“Will they expel me?” he asked. He said:

“No one has brought a revelation like yours without facing enmity. If I reach the days of your invitation, I will help you immensely.” Not long after that, Waraqa died. And the revelation ceased for a while.”^[1]

Until now, Surah Al-Alaq has been understood based on this account. However, the best way to understand the verses is to try to understand the surah within the general meaning of the Qur’an, starting from the principle of explaining them with other verses of the Qur’an. This principle requires, first of all, a careful examination of the famous account of the beginning of revelation, summarized above, in the light of the Qur’an. The first conclusions that this analysis will lead us to are the following:

-It is established by the Qur’an that the first revelations did not come during sleep.

(Najm/11-13) If the first revelations were revealed in a dream, as claimed in the account, this must have occurred before Surah Al-Alaq and there must have been other verses of revelation revealed in that dream. Accepting this would imply that the revelation was incomplete, contradicting both historical records and our Lord’s promise to safeguard His Scripture. If what was narrated from Aisha is true, then the revelations mentioned in the account can only be from the time when she was able to remember the events and when she was part of the Prophet’s household.

 

The account is told in Aisha’s own words, as if she had witnessed and narrated the events, and no further information is given. However, everyone knows that Aisha was a small child when the first revelations came.

– When the first revelation came to the Prophet, he was not frightened or trembled. (Najm/13-17) Waraqa does not and cannot know the unseen. In this account, Waraqa makes a prophecy that extends beyond mere speculation. This part of the account about the expulsion of the prophets from their homeland seems to be taken from verse 13 of Surah Ibrahim. Thus, the unchangeable and unquestionable declaration of our Lord is attributed to Waraqa.

 

 ^13,14And the infidels; those who consciously deny the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb said to their messengers: “Either we will surely drive you out of our land or you will definitely return to our religion/lifestyle!”. Their Rabb revealed to their messengers: “We surely will manipulate/destroy those who do wrong; act against their own good by associating others with Allah and make you dwell in that land after them. This is for the one who fears My position and My threat”.

(Ibrahim/ 13,14)

 

                  ^88,89And the chiefs among his people who were arrogant said: “O Shu’ayb! Either we definitely drive you and those who have believed with you out of this city or you will return to our religion/lifestyle!” And Shu’ayb said: “Even if we are unwilling? If we returned to your religion/lifestyle after Allah saved us from it, we would certainly invent lie against Allah. It is not for us to return to it except that Allah, our Rabb should will. Our Rabb encompasses everything with His knowledge. So we trust and rely only on Allah”. – O our Rabb! Judge justly between us and our people. Because You are the best of those who judge! –

(A’raf/ 88, 89)

 

                  ⁸⁶And you were not expecting that the Book would be revealed/sent down to you. It has been given to you as a mercy from your Rabb. So, do not help the infidels; those who consciously deny the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb.

(Qasas/86)

 

According to the Qur’an, the first revelation did not take place in the Cave of Hira, but in Masjid al-Aqsa, in a place called Jannah al-Ma’wâ. The stories about the Cave of Hira undermine both the Prophet and the revelation.

– If this story were true, it would imply that the Qur’an is missing three occurrences of the word ‘iqra’.

– If this story is correct, then the first believer and the first Muslim is not the Prophet, but Khadija, contrary to An’am/l4, l63 and Zumar/12. This implies that Khadija believed in the revelation before the Prophet.

 

The phrase ‘the revelation ceased for a time’ in the story introduces the issue of ‘fetret’. In this context, ‘fetret’ is defined as ‘relaxation after agility, softening after hardness, weakness after.strength, interval, gap”. In this context, it means ‘a period without revelation. The duration of this period varies from one account to another; there are stories claiming that it lasted for 12, 15, 25, 40 days, or even 3 years. These accounts also contradict each other on the causes of Fetret. The accounts of Fetret, referring to the cessation of revelation and its cause, are far from reliable.

The following views on the causes of Fetret, quoted by al-Razi, illustrate why the accounts on the subject are unreliable:

1- There were some among the Ahl al-Bayt who had long fingernails.

2- In a battle, the Prophet hit his foot on a stone and made it bleed, whereupon he complained, “Are you a finger that bleeds and what it encounters is counted in the way of Allah?” Allah was angry and stopped the revelation.

This incident is mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari on other occasions and occurred many years after the first revelations.

3- There were puppies in the Prophet’s house belonging to his grandsons Hasan and Hussein. For this reason, the angel Gabriel could not enter the Prophet’s house.

According to the Ahlul Sunnah sources, Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter, was a child of about five years old at the beginning of the revelation. According to Shia sources, she was born five years after his prophethood. Her marriage to her husband Ali took place in the second year of the Hijrah. Hasan and Hussein, who are said to have been children at the time of the first revelations, were actually born after the second year of the Hijrah.

4- The Jews asked our Prophet about Zulqarnayn and Ashab al-Kahf, and the Prophet said, “I will answer tomorrow,” but he did not say “Inshallah”.

However, the first mention of Zulqarnayn and Ashab-ı Kehf is in Surah Al-Kahf, 69th Surah. There is a gap of at least ten years between the descent of Surah Al-Alaq and Surah Al-Kahf.

In reality, there was no such period called fetret, and revelation continued uninterruptedly. In fact, the verse Ad-Duha/3 has been used as a material for the issue of fetret. Many translators and commentators have interpreted this verse to mean that your Lord has not abandoned you and is not offended by you, and have concluded that there was a period of fetret between the first revelation and this verse. However, Surah Ad-Duha is the 11th surah in the order of its descent. If their assumption were correct, there would have been no revelation after the first until this verse, or Surah Ad-Duha would have been the second surah.

The correct meaning of this verse is that your Lord will not be displeased with you nor forsake you (Ad-Duha/3). That is, the Prophet and his mission have been guaranteed by this verse in unequivocal terms. The expressions in this verse are in the past tense in order to give certainty to the content of the verse. There are hundreds of examples of this in the Qur’an, such as the splitting of the moon. The wording of Surah Ad-Duha also points to this.

The reason for the opening of this Surah is that our Lord has prescribed mercy and guidance for Himself. We will learn from the following verses that our Lord, being the Most Merciful and Compassionate, has made mercy an obligation upon Himself (An’am/12, 54); He has written guidance upon Himself (Layl/12, An-Nahl/9); He has made provision for every living creature an obligation upon Himself (Hud/6).

When freedoms are abolished on earth, human dignity is trampled underfoot, some gods and lords are created, shirk, injustice, wrong deeds and chaos become widespread, and the balance in nature is disturbed, Allah intervenes in accordance with His mercy and sends messengers along with the Scripture to those societies. Allah has made mercy a commitment upon Himself. It was under these conditions in Mecca that Muhammad was chosen as a messenger and became the recipient of revelation.

Our Lord, who made these commitments, has guided humanity by endowing them with reason and conscience, and by sending messengers and Scripture.

The conditions under which Allah Almighty sends prophets to societies are mentioned directly or indirectly in many surahs of the Qur’an.

In accordance with the Divine Sunnah of sending prophets to corrupt societies, the whole of humanity was in need of a general call for guidance. In the Mecca of that day, religious belief had degenerated, and as a result of this degeneration and corruption, a polytheistic society with hundreds of gods had emerged. The gradual combination of this mass with a taghut system was a direct result of the belief in shirk. As in every tahgut system, new pharaohs and arrogant nobles who despised the people of the lower classes had emerged. They were passionately striving to ensure that their lordship and the order they had established were not shaken.

Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allah, who was born and raised in such an environment, was subjected to a different treatment despite being a member of that society, and he received a special blessing from his Lord. This blessing, which was bestowed upon him before he became a prophet, was the “ability to find the truth,” the same gift Allah had bestowed upon Ibrahim (as), a monotheistic Muslim  (Anbiya/51).

It was because of this ability to understand and comprehend that he was freed from misguidance and assumed the identity of a person who struggled for tawheed and contradicted his society for this cause. He was no longer one of them, but he actively protested against their polytheism and the taghut system.

At that time, the Ka’bah was the Meccans’ public parliament, their center of worship. Their worship at the Ka’bah was degenerate worship, such as the barefoot worship of the Ka’bah, and the ostentatious performance of salaat by whistling and clapping their hands (Al-Anfal/35). The Ka’bah and its surroundings were filled with hundreds of idols of false gods. The administration was under the control of the members of Dar al-Nadwa, who were like local pharaohs. However, there was now only one man among them who could stand up to them: Muhammad b. Abdullah.

 

To compare, consider the role of the Ka’bah among the Arabs, starting with Abu Jahl, the emir of Mecca, and then Muhammad b. Abdullah, who was also born and raised in Mecca..

In these circumstances, Muhammad b. Abdullah attempted to perform salaat in the Ka’bah one night, to enlighten some people, to provide social support, but was prevented from doing so by Abu Jahl (Alaq/9-10). According to Al-Baqara/185, this night, which falls within the month of Ramadan, is called the “Mubarak Night” in Ad-Duha/3 and the “Night of Qadr” in Surah al-Qadr. The “servant” mentioned in Alaq/9-10 is unanimously Muhammad b. Abdullah.

After this argument and being prevented from performing salaat, Muhammad b. Abdullah walked from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa. Indeed, this event is described in Al-Isra/1 with the words, “The one who walks… … carried out by Allah”,

We know about Masjid al-Haram, but where is Masjid al-Aqsa?

The Masjid al-Aqsa mentioned in the Qur’an is not the same as the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem that we know today. The Qur’anic Masjid al-Aqsa is an old mosque in Mecca, on the edge of the Haram area, on the road to Taif, on the slope of the Jirana valley. In the early years of Islam, the mosque in Jerusalem – on the site of today’s Al-Aqsa Mosque – was called Bayt al-Maqdis. The construction of Bayt al-Maqdis dates back to the Prophet Solomonn. Abdul Malik b. Marwan built the present mosque on the ruins of Bayt al-Maqdis and named it “Al-Aqsa Mosque”. Although it is unrelated to the mosque mentioned in the Qur’an, the mosque built by Abdul Malik became famous under the same name. More detailed information on the subject will be provided in the analysis of Surah Isra.

The reason for Muhammad b. Abdullah’s night journey, as we learn from Surah Isra, is that our Lord willed to show him some of His signs:

 

                  ¹Purified from all deficiencies is the One Who, by one night, made His servant walk from Masjid Al-Haram to Masjid Al-Aqsa¹⁸⁴, a side of which We blessed, so We might show him of Our Ayat/evidences/signs. Indeed, He is the One Who hears best and sees best.

(Isra/1)

 

What happened there?

 

¹Every descending of the Ayat which have descended group by group is the evidence that, ²your companion has neither gone astray nor has he transgressed. ³And he does not speak of his vain, transitory desire. ⁴What he says to you; those groups of Ayat that have descended, are nothing but the revelations which have been revealed to him. ⁵The One Who has mighty powers, Who is supreme in intelligence, Who has established the dominion⁵² has taught to your companion what he says.

^6,7And the One Who has mighty powers, Who is supreme in intelligence, Who has established dominion is the owner of the highest horizon. ^8,9Then, He; the One Who has mighty powers, Who is supreme in intelligence, Who has established dominion qualitatively approached and drooped bucket after bucket / HEAPS OF REVELATIONS descended at once one after another. First, He was at a distance of two bows⁵³, then He was closer. ¹⁰He; the One Who has mighty powers, Who is supreme in intelligence, Who has established dominion and Who is the owner of the highest horizon then revealed to His servant what He revealed ¹⁴by the last cherry tree – next to it there is a resting place worth stopping by-.^{54 16}At that time, the cherry tree was covered by what covered it. ¹¹The mind of the servant did not deny what he saw. ¹²Do you doubt what he saw?/Do you argue with him about what he saw?

¹³Indeed, he saw it in another descend. ¹⁷The sight did not swerve nor did it transgress. ¹⁸Surely, He saw the greatest of the evidences/signs of His Rabb.

^15,21The condition of those who hide, flee for not listening to the Qur’an, concealing the truth-departure of ignorance, arrival of enlightenment-ability to distinguish between good and evil is the evidence that, indeed this is the word of a noble messenger who is held in honor before the powerful, the owner of the greatest throne and obeyed, trusted. ²²Your companion is not one who is supported by secret forces/who is mad. ²³Indeed, he saw that which he saw while he was very sound and right minded. His mind did not deny, his sight did not swerve not did it transgress. ²⁴And he is not withholder concerning the revelations given to him which nobody sees, hears, feels. ²⁵And this is not the word that his thinking ability produced.

(23/53, An-Najm/1-18, At-Takwir/15-25)

 

Yes, he saw the greatest verse: He received revelation, he became a prophet. The first revelation he received was “iqra!”

Muhammad b. Abdullah is now a prophet. From now on he will act only in the name of his Lord.

 

SURAH AL-ALAQ

Meaning of verses

 

^1-2Learn-teach³ in the name of your Rabb² Who formed. He formed man from an embryo!

^3-5Learn-teach!

Yet, Your Rabb is superior to those who proclaim themselves supreme. It is your Rabb Who taught by the pen [through all sources of the knowledge]. ⁴He taught man what he did not know.

^6-8Certainly not as you think! Even though the return is to your Rabb, man certainly transgresses when he sees himself self sufficient. ^9-10Have you seen the one who forbids a servant when he fulfills Salah⁶ [supports financially and spiritually; strives to enlighten the community]? ^11-12Have you ever thought, if that servant who fulfills Salah is upon the righteous path or commands taqwa! [being under the guardianship of Allah]⁷! ¹³Have you ever thought, if that one who forbids the one who fulfills Salah denied and turned away!… ¹⁴Does that one who forbids Salah not know that Allah definitely sees?

^15-16Certainly not as you think! If that one who forbids the one who fulfills Salah; supports financially and spiritually; strives to enlighten the community does not desist from forbidding Salah; supporting financially and spiritually; striving to enlighten the community, indeed, We will drag him by his hair. ¹⁷Then, let him call his council/associates. ¹⁸We will call those who repel, prevent.

¹⁹Certainly not as you think! Do not obey that one who forbids fulfilling Salah; supporting financially and spiritually; striving to enlighten the community. Submit to your Rabb and let yourself to be close/let your Rabb make you close to Himself.

 

Analysis of Verses

Verses 1-2:

^1-2Learn-teach in the name of your Rabb Who formed. He formed man from an embryo!

 

The term “Iqra” in the original verse is the command form of the verb “karae”. This word also exists in Hebrew and Syriac. For instance, even now in Syriac, the word “kıryono” is being used for “read”. The word “iqri” also means “take a step, read”. The researchers are not certain from which language the word “iqra” has passed from one language to another.

Before the advent of books and notebooks, the word “karae” originally referred to ‘the collection and discharge of menstrual blood in the uterus. Over time, it came to be used to describe the menstrual period itself and the subsequent days of non-bleeding. As a matter of fact, this is also the meaning of the same word in Al-Baqarah/228.

Later, the word came to be used metaphorically in the sense of “accumulating and distributing things, transferring them to other places”. “When a camel becomes pregnant and carries the calf in the womb and then gives birth to it”, it was called karaet’in-nâqatu.^[2]

In addition to the above, the same word is also used for the act of “putting letters, words, sentences or information together and relaying them to another person”. This is why the word is also used in the sense of “reading”.

However, it would be inaccurate to translate the word “karae” as “reading”, and translating it as such would be misleading in terms of understanding why it is used in the Qur’an. In Arabic, the word “tilâvet” corresponds more closely to the English word “reading”. We can call it reading a text that is ready. However, it is clear that the Qur’an does not mean reading in this sense by the word iqra. Indeed, “6-8Afterlife We will render in you a knowledge base and make it to be conveyed to the others and you will not forget/abandon. Except what Allah wills. Indeed, He knows what is disclosed and what is hidden. And We will ease for you “The Easiest”/that which will make you happy the most.”^[3] shows that qiraat is “the act of first collecting and preparing something in the mind, in a book, etc., and then conveying it to others verbally or in writing.” Reading a newspaper, magazine, or book silently to learn something is not “qiraat” but rather “tilawat”. As can be seen, the basic meaning of the word iqra cannot be expressed in a single word. Even if we have given the word iqra the meaning of “read” in the translation and analysis, the accurate meaning is as we have explained. This point should not be overlooked.

In this case, the command “iqra” should be understood as accumulating knowledge in our Prophet, which he would then distribute. In other words, our Prophet will learn from Allah and teach what he learned to people, either orally or in writing. This is what he was commanded to do [his duty]. We can refer to the following verses on this subject: Al-Isra/14, 45, 93, 106; An-Nahl/98; Ash-Shu’ara/199; Al-A’raf/204; Al-Inshiqaq/21; Al-A’la/6 and Al-Muzzammil/20.

However, it must be remembered that when these verses were revealed, our Prophet did not yet know what to read, what to collect in his mind, what to store, or what to convey and distribute.

As stated in Hud/1, following the Qur’anic style of ihkam [codification] first and then tafsil [detail, elaboration], what is introduced in this Surah, which serves as a preface to the Qur’an, will be elaborated upon in the following verses and Surahs.,

The word “Qur’an” is an infinitive and a noun derived from the same root as “furqan.” This word, chosen by Allah as the name of His final revelation, means “command, prohibition, parable, what is gathered and distributed [received from Allah and communicated to His servants], and what is learned from Allah and taught to His servants.”

To summarize, the command “iqra” means “to collect, read, and distribute in your mind what is to be revealed, and convey it”—essentially, to gather and distribute. For this reason, we have found it appropriate here to express the command “iqra'” as “learn and teach”.

The duty given is in the name of the Lord, the Creator, and is to be fulfilled without any personal purpose or interest..

From now on, our Prophet will gradually come to know his Lord: The Creator, the Supreme, the One who teaches by the pen… Then Rabb al-‘Aalamin [the programmer of all creatures], Rahman [the Most Merciful], Rahîm [the Ever Merciful], Mâlik-i yawm al-dîn [the Ruler of the Day of Judgment], Rabb al-falâq [the Programmer of the Cracking], Rabb al-nâs [the Programmer of Human Beings], Habîr [the Omniscient]… As revelation descends, the beautiful names and attributes of our Lord, which we call “Asma-i Husnâ”, will gradually be learned and our Lord will be recognized in a way worthy of Him.

Rabb means “the one who disciplines and educates, who leads his creatures to certain goals in accordance with a specific program, who programs and directs development”. This word is used only for Allah in an absolute sense. For human beings, it is used as “the Lord of the house” or “the Lord of the workplace”. The word with the closest meaning to this expression is “boss”, a term borrowed from French. While “boss” has a similar meaning, it does not fully capture the essence of “rabb”, as it is limited to a business context. Because it is impossible to encapsulate the full meaning of “rabb” in just a few words, we have retained the Arabic form in our translation. Therefore, our readers should keep the above definition well in their mind.

The concept of Rabb should not be confused with terms such as “creator” and “god”.

Allah’s attribute of Rabb is inherent in every object, from the smallest particle to the vast sphere, from the moment of creation through to the final stage. No being is outside of this program. The attribute Rabb is the most frequently mentioned in the Qur’an, appearing 903 times.

The word “Alaq” in the original verse was translated as ‘clot of blood’ in early commentaries, which does not reflect the literal meaning of the term.. This was either because of the influence of the early Greek physician Hippocrates and his followers, or because of the crude impression of a miscarried fetus mixed with the blood of the uterus.

The word “alaq” means “to unite, to join, to be attached, to be suspended, to attract, to love from the heart”.^[4]

The “alaq” stage in human creation follows the “’nutfah” stage  (Al-Mu’minun/14, Al-Hajj/5). The egg inseminated by the nutfah attaches to the uterus. Thus, the embryo forms a root on the uterus and looks as if it is hooked to the uterus and feeds on that root. This inseminated egg hanging in the uterus resembles the position of a parasite. In other words, this “larva”, or embryo, acts as a parasite. The fetus feeds on the mother as a parasite during pregnancy.

The following interpretations can be drawn from this verse:

Allah is the One who created the perfect human being from the simplest, most insignificant thing, or He created the arrogant [Abu Jahl and his like] from a filthy thing. Man begins as jifa [an abomination] and ends as carrion. So why the arrogance? (The reproductive cells that people despise, the egg and sperm, are actually magnificent cells).

In fact, many living creatures, not just humans, were created from alaq. The verse specifically mentions humans because they are the only biological creatures endowed with intelligence and addressed with moral responsibility.

The verse can also be interpreted as suggesting that “your Rabb, who created a great human from a tiny cell, will create a great ummah from one Muhammad”.

Given that the nature of the alaq/embryo was not fully understood at the time of this verse’s revelation, it can be regarded as a miracle today.

Although it is addressed specifically to Abu Jahl, the message is inclusive of all humanity..

Creation from Alaq

The word ‘خلق halq’ does not refer to the act of “creating out of nothing,”’ which is exclusive to Allah. Instead, it means “to make something out of something else” or “to fashion or create,” similar to a tailor making a dress from cloth or a carpenter crafting a cabinet from timber..

The word ‘خلق halq’ is not exclusively used in the Qur’an for Allah’s creation.

For example, in verse 8 of Surah al-Fajr, our Lord uses the expression “’لم يخلق مثلها Lem yuhlaq misluha [the like of which was not created]” to describe the gardens/towers of Babylon, saying, “To Irem, the master of the pillar, whose like was not created in the countries.” We know that it was human beings who built Irem, which the Qur’an refers to as “halq” [created].

Furthermore, in verse 49 of Surah al-Imran, our Lord says “…انّى اخلق لكم anni ehluqu lekum [I create for you] …”, and in verse 110 of Surah al-Ma’idah, “واذ تخلق wa iz tahlüqu mine’t-tıni [when you were creating from mud] …” where He uses the word “create” in reference to Prophet Jesus. Additionally, in verse 17 of Surah al-Ankabut, “…وتخلقون إفكا wa tahlüqûna ifken [you create slander] …”, He uses the word “create” in reference to the actions of polytheists.

The use of the word “halq” with “mâ-i mevsule” in the seventh-century verse Al-Layl/3 is considered miraculous in terms of biological science. More details on this can be found in verses 45 and 46 of Surah An-Najm and verses 18-20 of Surah Abasa.

Verses 3-5

^3-5 Learn-teach!

Yet, Your Rabb is superior to those who proclaim themselves supreme. It is your Rabb Who taught by the pen [through all sources of the knowledge]. He taught man what he did not know.

The expression “rabbike” [your Lord] in this Surah will be “Rabbi al-‘Alamîn” [the Lord of the Worlds] in Surah Fatiha.

The vav, translated as [if] in the verse, is extremely important for the meaning because it indicates that a comparison is being made in the sentence. Abu Jahl’s obstruction and delusions against Muhammad (pbuh), who was performing salat in the Ka’bah and engaging in social activities, show that Abu Jahl is the one being compared. That is, “if he [Abu Jahl] is kareem [generous, respectable], then your Lord is the Most Generous [the most generous, the most respectable, the most superior].

Since the vav in the verse is often omitted, the word “if” does not appear in most translations and commentaries. As a result, the reference to Abu Jahl’s grace is lost, and the sentence is not properly understood.

Allah begins to introduce Himself to our Prophet: The Lord, the Creator, the most generous, the most superior and the most informative.

The most important and necessary thing for the servants is knowledge. This means that from now on, Allah will pour out, reveal knowledge, and the Prophet will collect it, memorize it, write it down and convey it to the people.

Our Prophet should fight against tâğût, against depravity, with knowledge for the time being; in other words, he should try to inform everyone.

The pen is the symbol of knowledge. Literally, it signifies the necessity of writing down the revelations with a pen and preserving them. Indeed, our Prophet ensured that every verse was written down by scribes.

The pen is also a figurative expression, representing the most important tool in the development and elevation of humanity. “Pen” here refers to knowledge, education, schools, and all forms of educational materials. This also underscores the need to prepare the entire infrastructure and superstructure of education.

If the pen is not understood metaphorically, fabricated stories come to the forefront, where angels are imagined sitting around the Arsh, pens placed in front of them, and our Prophet listening to the squeaking of pens during the Mi’raj and recounting the tale.

Verses 6-8:

^6-8 Certainly not as you think! Even though the return is to your Rabb, man certainly transgresses when he sees himself self sufficient  ^9-10Have you seen the one who forbids a servant when he fulfills Salah⁶ [supports financially and spiritually; strives to enlighten the community]? ^11-12Have you ever thought, if that servant who fulfills Salah is upon the righteous path or commands taqwa! [being under the guardianship of Allah]⁷! ¹³Have you ever thought, if that one who forbids the one who fulfills Salah denied and turned away!… ¹⁴Does that one who forbids Salah not know that Allah definitely sees?

The word Kella [no, no] in the original verse is used to deny or reject a thought or action of the addressee. The objection in Kella is similar to a father’s intervention with his child or a teacher’s correction of a student; it is not simply a negative response of ‘no’ to a question. If what is objected to and what is rejected in the verse is not correctly identified, the verse becomes meaningless, and thus the Qur’an, which is a literary miracle, would be riddled with grotesqueries and ambiguities.

Some exegesis have interpreted this phrase as a refutation of what Abu Jahl and his like did, and have understood it as “No, it is not as he thinks”. However, the addressee is not Abu Jahl or others like him. At that moment, at the time of the first revelation, our Prophet was the only one in front of Allah, and Allah was saying to our Prophet kella [no, no]. That is, Allah is intervening in something our Prophet is doing or thinking.

Unfortunately, in many translations and tafsirs, the meaning of kella is either neglected or misrepresented.

Since our Prophet did not do or say anything during the revelation, but only listened to what was revealed to him, what is Allah intervening in? Indeed, Allah is addressing what is in the Prophet’s mind, for Allah knows what passes through the mind.

We learn from the indication of the verses in the first revealed surahs, such as Qalam, A’la, Al-Muddaththir and Al-Muzzammil, that many things came into the Prophet’s mind in the face of this event: He doubted his election as a prophet (Yunus/94); he did not find himself fit for it; he thought that the task was difficult and the people he had to fight against were powerful and cruel; he thought about the rumors that might arise about him, such as “he was mad or possessed”. Our Lord pointed out the futility of these thoughts and instructed His messenger to purge them from his mind, saying to him, Kella [no, no!]. This is the meaning of kella here.

That is to say, it is because of humanity’s arrogance, depravity, and the fact that they created an oppressive system… that I am appointing you a prophet. From now on, you must collect what has been revealed to you, carry it to others, and convey it to them.

The tughyan [transgression/depravity/rebellion] mentioned in the verse is not a mere display of spoiled behavior in a neighborhood or on the street. For this reason, it would be useful to provide a more detailed explanation of tughyan and its representative, tâğût:

Tughyan means “transgression, oppression, cruelty, depravity, perversion, rebellion, disbelief”.^[5]

The word “tughyan” is mentioned in nine places in the Qur’an as the infinitive of the verb tağa [he transgressed, depraved, he oppressed]. It is also used in six places in the sense of “people and communities who transgress the limits” [tağ] and in eight places in the sense of “devil”, “idol” and “diviner” [tâğût]. Together with its infinitive form and other derivatives, this word is mentioned in thirty-nine places in the Qur’an.

Tugyan is inherent in human nature. The selfish man who turns a deaf ear to revelation, who is arrogant and sees his own intellect as the sole guide, and when he starts to have a lot of wealth and starts to see himself as far from need, he falls into tughyan.

When a man feels that he has the power, knowledge, and ability to do whatever he wants, he forgets Allah and that only Allah possesses true power, knowledge, will, and ability. This is a gateway to tughyan for man; he does as he likes and knows no right, no law and no boundaries. He begins to associate partners with Allah, substituting his nafs for Allah, and follows his desires and whims. This is the state of tughyan and such people are, in the language of the Qur’an, “taği”.

In the Qur’an, Pharaoh is presented as the symbol of tughyan. He believed that he held all power in his hands, belittled people, killed them, and subjected them to the worst tortures (al-Baqara/49, Ibrahim/6). According to Pharaoh’s logic, all people were his servants and slaves, and Egypt and the rivers were his property (Az-Zukhruf/51).

If Moses (pbuh) and Aaron (pbuh) had not reminded him of his apostasy and called him to Allah, Pharaoh could have made an excuse against Allah in the Afterlife and said, “My Lord! A messenger did not come to me!” Because he did not realize his transgression; he considered it his natural right to enslave, torture and kill people. He was proud of his reign.

Arrogance and selfishness lie at the root of tughyan. The Devil’s arrogance and selfishness were also the cause of his rebellion. Therefore, in An-Nisa/51, taghut also includes the Devil [Iblis]..

Taghut means “a person or organization that is unruly, perverse, a leader of evil and perversion, a tyrant, a devil, an idol, a pagan, a soothsayer, a magician, a person or organization that turns its back on Allah’s laws”.

The word “taghut”, derived from the same root as tughyan, means “a violent person, one who rules people by force, a disbeliever, a tyrant'”.

In the Qur’an, Allah is portrayed as the friend and helper of the believers and the taghut as the friend and helper of the disbelievers, and it is stated that the believers “fight in the way of Allah” and the disbelievers “fight in the way of taghut”:

 

²⁵⁷Allah is the familiar Who is helper, guide, protector of the believers; He brings them out from all darkness into the light. And as for the infidels; those who consciously deny the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb; their familiar who helps, guides, protects is Taghut and it brings them out from the light into the darkness. These are the companions of Jahannah [Hell]. They will abide therein eternally.

(Al-Baqara/257)

 

⁷⁶Those who have believed fight for the cause of Allah. And the infidels; those who consciously deny the divinity of Allah and the fact that He is Rabb fight for taghut. Therefore, fight against the companions, helpers of satan. Surely, very weak is the plot of satan.

(An-Nisa/76)

Any person or institution that opposes the laws revealed by Allah and invents laws to replace them is a taghut.

In addition to rebelling against Allah, a taghut seeks to make His servants serve him. In this regard, taghut may refer to the devil, a priest, or a religious or political leader.

Allah Almighty says in the Qur’an, “And certainly We have sent a messenger to every nation, saying, ‘Serve Allah and beware of Taghut.’ So Allah has guided some of these nations, and to some of them perversion has prevailed. Now travel through the earth and see what was the end of those who disbelieved”;^[6] 76The believers fight in the way of Allah. And the disbelievers, those who have rejected the divinity and lordship of Allah, fight in the way of taghut. So fight against the companions and minions of Satan. Surely, indeed, the devil’s trap is very weak.^[7]” With these verses, our Prophet informs the believers about the Taghut and explains the attitude they should adopt towards taghut.

Laws imposed by human beings in opposition to the laws of Allah, in whatever form they may take, are called “taghuti laws”. Allah Almighty says:

⁶⁰Have you not seen/thought about those who claim that they believe in that which has been revealed to you and that which was revealed before you by wishing to make taghut³⁷⁴, which they have been commanded to disbelieve, an arbitrator between themselves? Satan wishes to lead them astray with a distant/an irrevocable astray.

(An-Nisa/60)

 

Those who see such authority in themselves and do not rule by what Allah has revealed, but instead rule according to their whims and desires, are essentially claiming “divinity”. Therefore, those who establish rules other than the rules of Allah and those who follow those rules are disbelievers, oppressors and transgressors. Allah has described those who do not judge by what Allah has revealed as disbelievers, oppressors and transgressors (al-Ma’idah/44-47).

As is clear from the verse in question, Allah Almighty sent all our Prophets from Noah (pbuh) to Muhammad (pbuh) to call mankind to tawheed, i.e. to believe in the unicity of Allah and that He has no associate, to fight against the taghut, which does not accept His decrees but rules according to its whims and desires, and to refrain from worshipping anything that is deemed taghut.

These taghuts were the prominent and idol-worshiping figures of society, such as Nimrod in the time of Abraham (pbuh), Pharaoh in the time of Moses (pbuh), Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab in the time of Muhammad (pbuh), as well as the idol-worshipping tribes during the times of other prophets, who denied the tawheed covenant/belief sent to them and persisted in their ancestral beliefs..

The era of the taghuts is not over. Taghuts have continued to exist in every era, with or without the presence of a prophet. They are not only the powers that emerged and survived in the ancient tribes, but they are also the people, groups and organizations that today inflict the most vicious enmity and the most destructive propaganda on Muslims. Taghut has seized the sources of economic, social, and cultural power and has advanced its enmity to the extent that it seeks to reduce moral values [religion] to a state of disrepute in the eyes of societies, making people afraid to be believers. In addition to its direct actions, it has also transformed many concepts, under the guise of common human values, into ideas that harm Muslims. In short, the taghut has surrounded Muslims from all sides, denying them the right to live.

We understand, then, that our Prophet’s task was not to fight spoiled individuals in the streets but to challenge the founders of the taghut system. His first duty was to warn the unruly mob who sat on the path of guidance, thuggishly obstructing it.

It is clear from the prepositions like ‘inna’ and ‘lam’ in the original verse, as well as from the repetitions and reinforcements, such as the use of a noun phrase, that the enemy of our Prophet was extremely austere. If the enemies of Moses, such as Pharaoh, are compared with the enemies of our Prophet, it can be said—based on the three repetitions in the verse—that the ruthlessness of our Prophet’s enemies is even greater than that of Pharaoh.

Two reasons have been given for man’s transgression, in other words, his becoming a taghut: A) Denial of the Afterlife, and B) Istiğna. Istiğna means “believing oneself to be rich or self-sufficient (whether it is true or merely perceived)”. The word derives from the root “Istif’al”. In accordance with the rules of Arabic grammar, this root gives the meanings of “demand”, “question”, “change”, “belief”, “conscience”, “revolution”, “hit”, “rather”, “more”, “nazar” and “surrender” to any verb with three root letters that it is applied to. For this word, it gives the meaning of faith or belief.

The spoiled and unruly behavior of those who consider themselves rich and self-sufficient is also emphasized in Surah al-Humaza.

Verses 9-10:

^9,10 Have you seen the one who forbids a servant when he fulfills Salah [supports financially and spiritually; strives to enlighten the community]?

In the following verses, the transgressing man is depicted concretely, and the reasons why our Prophet was chosen as a prophet are explained through examples. One of the characteristics of the Qur’an is that it is full of parables. Allah Almighty has provided parables so that even those with the lowest level of understanding can grasp the Qur’an, and He has not hesitated to do so. (Al-Baqara/26)

The word salla in the verse is often translated as “he prayed” in various translations and commentaries. However, it does not actually mean “to pray”. This interpretation has likely been introduced with the intention of distorting the religion of Islam and has become ingrained in people’s minds over time. Since this is the first occurrence of the word Salat in the Qur’an, we will conduct the necessary analysis here and refer to it in future discussions.

[SALAT]

MEANING OF  الصّلوة[SALAH]

It appears that the word الصّلوة [Salah] may have been derived from the roots ص ل ى [saly] and ص ل و [salv], as it can be structurally linked to both roots according to Arabic grammar rules. Both words, ص ل ى [saly] and ص ل و [salv], are considered “nakıs” (defective) because their last letters are “harf-i illet” (weak letters that may disappear or change to another letter). When a word is derived from these roots, the harf-i illets at the end are often omitted or transformed into another letter. This can lead to confusion if a thorough analysis is not conducted to determine the correct root from which a new word is derived. For instance, in many inflections derived from the root ص ل و [salv], the letter و [vav] changes into ى [ya], making it appear as though the word was derived from the root ص ل ى [saly] at first glance.

To accurately understand the message of the Qur’an, it is crucial to examine the meanings of the roots from which a word might have been derived. Therefore, we begin our analysis by looking at the roots ص ل ى [saly] and ص ل و [salv], from which the word الصّلوة [Salah] might have originated.

صلى [saly, sıla] means “cooking, burning, throwing on fire, resting and leaning.” The word is used with this meaning in the surah of Haqqah:

Surah Haqqah 31 :

Then throw him into Jahannah [Hell] [صلّوه/sallûhû].

Additionally, the word appears numerous times in the Qur’an in various forms derived from this root, such as إصلوها [islavha], يصلى [yesla], وسيصلون [veseyeslavne], ساصليه [seüslîhi], لايصلاها [la yeslaha], all carrying similar meanings. For example, the word المصلّين [musallîn], derived from the root صلى [s-l-y], is not used to mean “someone providing support, helping,” but rather as “leaning on the back or thigh of an animal.”^[8]

The root صلى [saly] is also the origin of words meaning “throwing” and “resting, leaning” in Turkish.

However, if we assume that the root of the word Salah is saly, then it would be necessary to accept that all instances of الصّلوة [Salah] in the Qur’an mean “throwing into fire, resting, leaning.” For example, this would imply that the imperative form صلّ [salli] in Surah Al-Kawthar or صلّواعليه [sallû aleyhi] in Surah Al-Ahzab 56 would mean “Throw/swing him [Mohammed] into fire.” Clearly, this interpretation does not align with the meaning of Salah, which involves “help, support, struggle, endeavor,” and does not correspond to صلى [saly], which means “throwing into fire, resting on fire, cooking, and burning.”

ص ل و[salv]: The word that means “thigh, back” as a noun is explained as follows: صلو [salv] refers to “The back of a person or a four-legged animal, and the area between the buttocks and the knee of a person or animal.” When used as a verb, the word means “thigh-ing” or “shouldering,” referring to the action of positioning the thigh horizontally and extending it beneath a load or taking a load on the back, symbolizing the support of a burden.

According to our analysis, the root of the word Salah is not saly but salv. The original form of the word is صلوة [salvet], and because the root word is nakıs (defective, containing a weak letter at the end), as per general grammar rules, the word صلوة [salvet] transformed into the form الصّلوة [Salah]. This is evident in the word صلوات [salavat], the plural form, where the و [vav]—the original letter of the root—remains intact. This phenomenon occurs in other words as well. For example, the infinitive of ğaza [warred] is غزوة [ğazve], and its plural becomes غزوات [ğazevat]. In other verb inflections, the “vav” in ğaza either transforms into ى [ya] or is omitted. This agreement on the derivation of Salah from the root s-l-v led to the decision to write Salah in the mushafs as الصّلوة [Salah] with و [vav] instead of ا [elif] to avoid confusion

On the other hand, the meaning of the word صلّى [salla] (whose infinitive is Salah) derived from the root صلو [s-l-v] is clearly explained in Al-Qiyamah 31-32, leaving no room for misunderstanding:

فلا صدّق ولا صلّى ولاكن كذّب و تولّى [fela saddaqa vela salla velakin kezzebe ve tevella= …………..].

As seen above, four actions are mentioned in this sentence, with two shown as opposites to the other two: صدّق [saddaqa] is paired with كذّب [kezzebe] (i.e., “confirmation” vs. “denial, confutation”), and تولّى [tevella] is paired with صلّى [salla]. Since tevella—meaning “continuity”—implies “staying back continuously, turning away continuously, abstaining, showing disinterest, passivity, and thwarting ongoing initiatives,” صلّى [salla], as its opposite, means “continuously supporting, not remaining an onlooker.”

Despite its clear definition in the Qur’an, the meaning of Salah has been nearly circumvented by the assertion in Raghib al-Isfahani’s Mufradat that “The majority of dictionary experts” define Salah as “prayer, congratulation, and exalting.”

As a result, the word الصّلوة [Salah] can be summarized as meaning “to support, help, shoulder problems, and undertake their solutions.” However, it is important to note that these problems encompass not only individual issues but also societal ones. Therefore, it is incorrect to reduce the meaning of الصّلوة [Salah] to simply “helping those nearby.” It should be understood in a broader sense, encompassing “supporting and enlightening the society, and shouldering, undertaking, and solving its problems.” The realization of this help and support has two dimensions: “mental” and “financial.”

• Salah, in its mental aspect, involves enlightening individuals, and thus society, through education and training, ensuring their maturity, and guiding them to the surest path.
• In its financial aspect, Salah means helping those in need by providing work opportunities and support systems, assisting them in difficult times, and thereby resolving societal issues..

Verses 11-12:

^11,12 Have you ever thought, if that servant who fulfills Salah is upon the righteous path or commands taqwa! [being under the guardianship of Allah]!

The verse highlights that even a servant (i.e., the Prophet), who is on the righteous path and commands and teaches taqwa (the price of entering Paradise) to those around him, is wronged, drawing attention to the strangeness of this situation.

Taqwa, meaning “placing oneself under the protection of Allah by embracing good deeds, avoiding sins, and thus avoiding things that cause harm and pain in the Afterlife,” is a concept introduced in the Qur’an to first mean “avoiding polytheism” and “believing in the Afterlife,” and later expanded to include all deeds reflecting faith. Therefore, we have defined taqwa as “coming under the protection of Allah,” and muttaqi as “one who comes under Allah’s protection.”

According to the rules of grammar, verses 11 and 12 above are composed of two conditional clauses. As is well known, conditional clauses consist of two parts: the condition and the result (penalty). Here, the first part of the conditional clause is present, but the result is missing. The rules of literature were prioritized, and the concluding parts of the sentences were omitted through ijaz’ul-hazf (conciseness by omission). This literary method is used to enrich the sentence. Accordingly, the conclusion could be understood as: “Will that person ever be hindered? Will that person ever be persecuted? On the contrary, will they not be rewarded?”

 

Verse 13:

¹³ Have you ever thought, if that one who forbids the one who fulfills Salah denied and turned away!…

That is, do you see? The one who obstructs Salah denies the Day of Judgment and turns away?

This sentence is also a conditional sentence with no explicit conclusion. Ijaz’ul-hazf has been applied here as well. The conclusion can be interpreted as: “Is that man ever left unattended? Will you be a bystander to their denial and rebellion? Is there no effort to inform and educate them? Is a prophet not sent to warn them? Will they not be punished? Will the oppressed not be saved from oppression?”

 

Verse 14:

¹⁴ Does that one who forbids Salah not know that Allah definitely sees?

In other words, does that person who obstructs Salah not know that Allah sees everything they do?

So, all this must change. People should be freed from oppression; no one should deny or turn away. Everyone should know and learn that Allah sees everything. You have been given the task of bringing about these changes; you have been chosen as a prophet. Gather in your mind what will be revealed to you and proclaim it in the name of your Lord, the Creator. Recite it and convey it to others!

Note: The following verses (15-19) are not related to the previous verses and are not a continuation of them. These verses belong to the 5th-8th years of the Prophethood when the polytheists of Mecca intensified their struggle against our Prophet. Unfortunately, they were placed here by the team that created the official Mushaf.

 

Verses 15-16:

^15,16 Certainly not as you think! If that one who forbids the one who fulfills Salah; supports financially and spiritually; strives to enlighten the community does not desist from forbidding Salah; supporting financially and spiritually; striving to enlighten the community, indeed, We will drag him by his hair.

This part of the Surah is not a continuation of the previous verses. Verses 15 to 19 were revealed when the polytheists of Mecca began their struggle against our Prophet and must have been revealed in the 7th-9th years of his prophethood. In this chapter, attention is drawn to another dimension of his prophetic mission, besides imparting information and knowledge: If people, despite the fact that they will return to Allah, consider themselves to be self-sufficient [believing that they do not need anyone, not even Allah], and they attack and persecute those who are on the right path and command taqwa, they will be punished, both in this world and in the Afterlife…

The expression kella [no, no] in this verse is again a rejection of our Prophet’s thought that he could not deal with these taghut [wealthy, powerful, organized group of polytheists with sons and servants]. Thus, the irrelevance of this idea is pointed out, and the message is given that Allah Himself will solve such problems. Both the details and concrete examples of these will be seen in the following Surahs.

Dragging by the hair or the forehead is an Arabic idiom meaning “to disgrace a person in public, to cause him trouble, to humiliate him.” The literal meaning of the idiom is given above. The expression in the verse is a metaphor, a figure of speech, and “the owner of the forelock” is meant by the forelock. The figurative meaning is “the forelock whose owner is a liar and a sinner.”.

The above verse implicitly emphasizes that this will not be easy and that disbelief must be fought. The infidel may gather all his assembly [Dar al-Nadwa], his congress, his council, all his collaborators, and his men, and fight back.

Nadiya and nedwa are derived from the same root and have the same meaning, even though their forms are different. If the administrative, political, social, and economic situation of Mecca at the time of our Prophet is known, the subject can be better understood, and it will be possible to learn what Islam approves of and what it opposes.

Qusay b. Kilab, the fifth ancestor of our Prophet, who is estimated to have been born around 400 A.D., had established a council in Mecca called Dar al-Nadwa, which was open to those over the age of forty. He established separate units for the management of administrative, political, and economic affairs and divided the administration of the city-state of Mecca among the tribes. The units and areas of authority of this administrative system established by Qusay were as follows: Sidanet and hijabat: Maintenance and protection of the Ka’bah. Sikayet: Mecca’s waterworks. Rifade: Provision of food for poor pilgrims. Liwa: War affairs. Kiyade: Military affairs. Nadwa: The people’s assembly. Meshwarah: A committee where important events are discussed. Sefaret: Relations with other countries. Government: The settlement of disputes between people and the adjudication of cases. Işnak: Commercial court. Kubbe: Storage of weapons and ammunition. Îsâr: A committee that dealt with matters such as fortune-telling and witchcraft. Emval-i Muhajarah: The committee that looks after property and goods dedicated to idols. Imarah: A committee to ensure public order during worship. Ainne: The committee that takes care of horses during war.

According to the method called Munafarah, when a dispute arose over the chieftaincy of a tribe or when a new chieftain needed to be elected, the candidates for chieftain would debate in the presence of the people under the supervision of an arbitrator, and the one whom the arbitrator deemed superior would become the chieftain of the tribe. This system eliminated the system of succession [succession from father to son] in governance.

When Muhammad b. Abdullah became a prophet, Mecca was governed by this system established by Qusay. The administration was not in the hands of one tribe and one person. Administrative affairs were carried out by the Dâru al-Nadwa, a kind of consultative advisory board. The authoritarian and absolute administrative systems that existed in other societies did not exist in Mecca, and the administrative chiefs, who were only the first among equals in terms of their status, were in accordance with this civilized consultative tradition. Indeed, the Hılfu’l-Fudul [a social welfare organization of respected people], which was established before the advent of Islam and of which our Prophet was a member, is a good example of this established civic practice in Mecca. The activities of this voluntary association continued until the advent of Islam. Islam institutionalized these activities.

One of the points that should not be overlooked is that the Qur’an came to a society that was governed in this way. To understand the administrative, political, and economic system of Islam, it is necessary to know the behavior of the society in which the Qur’an was revealed and to determine which behaviors were approved or abolished by the Qur’an.

Zabani (singular: zibniyyah) in the verse means “repellent”. The Arabs use this word in the sense of “policeman.” It would be incorrect to understand the demons in this verse as the tormenting, powerful, cruel angels in Hell.

In the following Surahs, the punishment of those who deny the Afterlife in this world and the Afterlife will be explained in detail, and they will be given all the warnings. It is reported here that some of those who have not been mentioned above and who have been condemned only by characterizing their personalities, and their counterparts in all times, will suffer part of their punishment for their crimes in this world, and that the repellents will overcome them.

Abu Jahl was one of those who suffered part of the divine punishment while still in this world: If we remember how he was severely wounded in the Battle of Badr by Mu’az and Mu’awwiz, the sons of a woman named Afra, how he was left for dead on the battlefield, how he was found alive by Ibn Mas’ûd, whom he had wronged before, how he was insulted by this Companion who stood on his chest, and how he was beheaded by him and brought to our Prophet by dragging him by his forelock, it will be well understood that our Lord has disgraced many such tyrants while they were still in this world.

 

Verse 19:

¹⁹ Certainly not as you think! Do not obey that one who forbids fulfilling Salah; supporting financially and spiritually; striving to enlighten the community. Submit to your Rabb and let yourself to be close/let your Rabb make you close to Himself.

Questions must have arisen in our Prophet’s mind again, for our Lord rejected them with the words “kella” [no, no]. We understand from Qalam/5-14 what is being rejected by the expression “kella” [no, no] here. Our Prophet must have thought that his opponents were rich, powerful, influential, and numerous, and that it would be difficult and perhaps unsuccessful to fight them. So Allah rejects these thoughts by saying, “Die, be defeated, but do not bow down to the polytheists!” The details about the word sajdah will be given, inshallah, in Surah Al-Najm. In the second lesson [revelation], these thoughts are clarified in the following verses::LENESFEANNE – LENEŞFEANNE

 

In the fifteenth verse, the word “lenesfean” (لَنَسْفَعاً) was read by Abu Amr, Mahbub, and Harun as “lenesfeanne” (لنسفعنً), and by Ibn Mas’ud as “leesfean” (لأسفعاً). In all these readings, the form derived from the root “S, F, A” means “TO GRASP TIGHTLY, TO DRAG.”

According to this meaning, it appears that in the first messages of the book and messenger sent as mercy, the disbelievers were threatened with brute force and declared war upon.

This message is not supported by other verses of the Qur’an. For Allah states that He will not immediately punish the disbelievers, that He will grant them respite, and that He will repeatedly warn them tirelessly, without giving up. This promise is mentioned in dozens of verses.

In our humble opinion, this word should be read as “leneşfeanne” (لَنَشْفَعَنَ). That is, the letter “s” should be read as “sh” (sh) (Let’s not forget that the dots and diacritical marks were added later in the Mushaf).

 

The word “leneşfeanne” (لَنَشْفَعَنَ) comes from the root of intercession (şefaat). The essential meaning of the word şefaat is “to add something to another similar thing, to support it, to pair it, and to protect.”

When the word is read as “leneşfeanne” (لَنَشْفَعَنَ), it will be seen that there is no threat in the verse in question; that warnings to the disbelievers will definitely be continuous and uninterrupted; and that continuous warnings will be given one after another.

 

For example:

 ⁵Then should We desist from sending you that Reminder/the Qur’an because you have become a people who show the truth incomplete?

(Zuhruf/5)

 ^1-5Those Ayat of the Qur’an which are set/set in ranks then shout and drag and then recite reminders after having shouted and dragged are evidences that your God is absolutely the One and the Only. He is Rabb of all that is in the heavens/universe and on the earth and all that is between. He is Rabb of the easts as well.

(Saffat/1-5)

 ⁴¹And, We have diversified/explained in many different ways in this Qur’an so they might be reminded. And these explanations have only increased their hatred.

(Isra/41)

 ⁵⁰And surely We have explained the Furqan in various ways so they may be reminded but most of the people only insisted on ungratefulness.

(Furqan/50)

 ⁵¹And surely, We sent down the Word [the Wahy [Revelation]/the Qur’an] one after other so they may be reminded.

(Qasas/51)

 ^27,28Indeed, We manipulated/destroyed lands that were your neighbors. We diversified the Ayat over and over again so they might return; they might act in accordance with the principles of Allah. Then, why did those fake gods that they took from among those that are inferior to Allah by which to be closer to Him not help them to avert their punishment? Rather, those fake gods have departed from them and perished. This is their lies/that which they invented.

(Ahqaf/27,28)

 ⁵⁴And indeed, We have diversified from every example in this Qur’an for the people. But, man is in dispute more than anything.

(Kahf/54)

And similarly in Isra/89, Ta Ha/113, An’am/46, 65, 105, A’raf/58, Mursalat/1-7, Saffat/1-5, Shuara/200-209, Hijr/1, 2, 12, Tariq/1-4, and many other verses.

 

Meaning of the Verse:

^15-16Certainly not as you think! If that one who forbids the one who fulfills Salah; supports financially and spiritually; strives to enlighten the community does not desist from forbidding Salah; supporting financially and spiritually; striving to enlighten the community, indeed, We will drag him by his hair. ¹⁷Then, let him call his council/associates. ¹⁸We will call those who repel, prevent.

¹⁹Certainly not as you think! Do not obey that one who forbids fulfilling Salah; supporting financially and spiritually; striving to enlighten the community. Submit to your Rabb and let yourself to be close/let your Rabb make you close to Himself.

(1/96, Al-Alaq/15-19)

 

الزَّبَانِيَةَۙ ZEBANI

The word Zebânî (singular; zibniye) in the verse means “repellers.” Arabs use this word to mean “police.”

In the verse, the zebanis are generally accepted as torturous, strong, rough angels in hell. This is due to the recitation of the word “lenesfean”. When the word is read as “leneşfeanne” and considering the above-presented verses, it appears that the repellers referred to are the VERSES OF THE QUR’AN.

In Arabic, the prefix س “sin” is attached to a present tense verb to give it the meaning of “soon, shortly.” The particle سَوْفَ “sevfe” is written separately from the present tense verb and gives it the meaning of “in a while; in the future.”

Given this, the task of the zebanis according to Allah will not be in the afterlife, but within the worldly life.

In the verbs “felyed’u” (فَلْيَدْعُ) and “sened’u” (سَنَدْعُ) in the seventeenth and eighteenth verses, the figure of speech Müşakele is used.

Therefore, we interpreted the verb “sened’u” (سَنَدْعُ) in verse 18 not as “we will call” but as “we will counter with”:

ART OF MUESHAKELE

This is a form of expression. The figure of speech called müşakele in the science of rhetoric is also present in world languages. Müşakele art is defined as “the naming of one of two opposite things with the name of the other” or “the use of a word said by one person in a contrary sense by another.” For example, in Arabic, the phrase “Do not act ignorantly towards us, lest we act ignorantly towards you!” the second word “ignorance” actually means “we will punish you, we will harm you.” In Turkish, there are similar expressions. For example, in the phrase “If you hurt me, I will hurt you,” the second “hurt” actually means “to punish.” As seen in the examples, the act [crime] and the response [punishment] to this act are expressed with the same word in such expressions.

 

We can see this style in the Qur’an in Alak/17, 18, Shura/40, Hashr/19, Al-Imran/54, Sajda/14, Nisa/142, Naml/50, Taha/126, Jathiyah/34, Baqarah/14, 15, 194; Tawbah/79; Ra’d/42; Naml/50; Ibrahim/46; Anfal/30.

^9-16They wished that you would flatter them, they would flatter you at once. Do not obey any of those despicable parasites who swear too much, who are scornful, mocker, slanderer, backbiter, mischievous, who seek scandals, who prevent the good for they have wealth and sons, who are aggressive, sinful, rude/greedy and who are sealed with evil. When Our Ayat are recited to him, that one who denies Akhirat [Afterlife] said: “Legends of the former ones”. We will soon aggrieve him.

(Surah al-Qalam 9-16)

 

Allah is the one who knows best

^[1] (Hadith No. 3 in the Book of Revelation in Sahih al-Bukhari)

^[2] (Lisan al Arab, article “k r e”)

^[3] (Al-A’la/6-8)

^[4] (Lisan al Arab, article “a l q”)

^[5] Lisan al Arab, article “t ğ y”.

^[6] (An-Nahl/36)

^[7] An-Nisa/76

^[8] Lisan, 5/387; Tac, 19/606.