Tafsir of Al-`Alaq 96:5

His saying, the Exalted: "Taught man that which he knew not," is an appositional substitute (badal ishtimal) for "Taught by the pen." It means: He taught him—by means of it and without it, regarding matters universal, particular, evident, and hidden—that which had not occurred to his mind. The omission of the object [of the first verb] and its explicit mention under the title of "that which was unknown" [in the second] contains a demonstration of the perfection of His power—the Exalted—and the perfection of His generosity—the Mighty and Majestic—and an intimation that He—the Exalted—teaches him [the Prophet], peace and blessings be upon him, sciences which intellects cannot encompass; this is something that cannot be hidden. This was stated in al-Irshad.

Some have estimated the object of "taught" to be "writing," and considered "by the pen" as related to it. They supported this with the recitation of Ibn al-Zubayr: "Who taught writing by the pen," as he explicitly stated it therein.

Al-Jubba'i said: The first "Read" is a command to read for himself—and it is said, absolutely—and the second is a command to read for the purpose of conveying [the message]. It is also said that it refers to the prayer mentioned later. The sentence "And your Lord is the Most Generous" admits of being a state (hal) or an initiation (isti'naf). The sum of the meaning, upon the intent of reading for conveying—in the saying "Convey to your people"—is: "And your Lord is the Most Generous, who rewards you for your work according to what His generosity necessitates, and strengthens you to memorize the Quran for the purpose of conveying it."

The soundest and most apparent of these viewpoints is that of emphasis. Some have gone very far and claimed that "Bismillah" in the Basmala relates to [the first] "Read," and "In the name of your Lord" relates to the second "Read," so that the precedence serves to signify the exclusivity of Allah’s name for the beginning. It is also permitted that "In the name of Allah" remains as it is famously known, and [the first] "Read" is an order for the inception of reading, while "In the name of your Lord" relates to the second "Read" for that reason. It is not hidden that the apparent meaning is the relation of "In the name of your Lord" to what precedes it. The precedence of the verb here is more appropriate, because the aforementioned surah, according to the correction previously mentioned, is the first surah to be revealed; therefore, reading in it is more important, given the context. It is said that even if one were to concede that other surahs were revealed before it, it does not harm the appropriateness of the verb's precedence, for the meaning, as you heard from Qatadah, is: "Read, starting with the name of your Lord," meaning: "Say 'In the name of Allah,' then read." If one were to start with something other than the Basmala, he would not have been compliant, let alone if he were to start with what is contrary to it, such as the names of idols. If it had been preceded [by the prepositional phrase], it would have yielded a different meaning, namely, that what is required when reading is that the opening be with the name of Allah the Exalted, and not with the names of idols, and that reading itself is not requested. This is because the requirement of precedence is that the essence of the action remains as it is, whether it is a request or a statement of fact. Those who attached the prepositional phrase to the second [command] answered that the requirement of the reading itself is derived from the first "Read," so do not be heedless.

The apparent meaning is that the "teacher" is not specified. It is said that it is every prophet who wrote. Al-Dahhak said: He is Idris, peace be upon him, and he was the first to scribe. Ka'b said: He is Adam, peace be upon him, and he was the first to write. They have attributed specific scripts for writing the letters of the alphabet to Adam and Idris, peace be upon them. What prevails in the conjecture is that this is not authentic.

The Glorified and Exalted has incorporated an admonition regarding the virtue of the science of writing, because of the great benefits and noble ranks attained through it. Were it not for it, religion would not be established, nor would livelihood be set right. Even if there were no evidence of the precise wisdom of Allah the Exalted and the subtlety of His arrangement—the Glorified—the matter of the pen and writing would suffice as proof. It has been said regarding it: The saliva of the killing vipers is its saliva; And I see the jinn having gathered it with industrious hands.

And from what al-Zamakhshari attributed in that regard to some others—and he intended himself, as it is said: And spotted markings like the tracks of snakes, Short-stepped, reaching the utmost limit, black-footed; Their path is not found Except when white blades have played upon them.

They have definitive discourse on this subject, which this book is too narrow to contain. The apparent consensus of the reports is that writing among nations other than the Arabs is ancient, while among them [the Arabs] it is a later occurrence, especially among the people of the Hijaz. More than one has mentioned that writing was transferred to them from the people of al-Hirah, and that they took it from the people of al-Anbar. Al-Kalbi and al-Haytham ibn 'Adi mentioned that the one who transferred the Arabic script from Iraq to the Hijaz was Harb ibn Umayyah; he had come to al-Hirah and returned to Makkah with it. It is said that it was asked of his son, Abu Sufyan: "From whom did your father take this writing?" He said: "From Aslam ibn Sidrah." He said: "I asked Aslam: 'From whom did you take this writing?' He said: 'From its founder, Maramir ibn Murrah.'"

The Himyarites had a script they called al-Musnad, separate and unconnected. It had a status among them, and none would engage with it except those who were permitted to learn it. The varieties of writing are many. Some claimed that the majority of the writings of nations are twelve types: Arabic, Himyaritic, Persian, Hebrew, Greek, Roman, Coptic, Berber, Andalusian, Indian, Chinese, and Syriac. Perhaps this, if true, is with regard to the foundations; otherwise, the branches are such that they are not to be counted by a pen, as is not hidden. Allah the Exalted knows best.

Some scholars of etiquette did not see it as proper to describe others with what is used for the Exalted, as many people do in their letters, writing to "so-and-so, the Most Generous (al-Akram)." Moreover, they consider it a lowly description and deem it inappropriate regarding kings and similar dignitaries, yet they may describe a Jew, a Christian, or their likes with it, despite the fact that He—the Exalted—says: "And your Lord is the Most Generous (al-Akram)." Therefore, the servant must observe etiquette with his Lord, grateful for the generosity He has bestowed upon him.