[‫]سورة العلق‬

ِ ‫بِ ۡس ِم ٱهَّلل ِ ٱل َّر ۡح ٰ َم ِن ٱل َّر ِح‬

‫يم‬
‫ ٱلَّ ِذي َعلَّ َم‬٣ ‫ ۡٱق َر ۡأ َو َربُّ َك ٱأۡل َ ۡك َر ُم‬٢ ‫ق‬ ٍ َ‫س َن ِم ۡن َعل‬ َ ٰ ‫ق ٱإۡل ِ ن‬َ َ‫ َخل‬١ ‫ق‬ َ َ‫ٱس ِم َربِّكَ ٱلَّ ِذي َخل‬ ۡ ِ‫ۡٱق َر ۡأ ب‬
ۡ ُ‫ أَن َّر َءاه‬٦ ‫س َن لَيَ ۡط َغ ٰ ٓى‬
َّ‫ إِن‬٧ ‫ٱست َۡغنَ ٰ ٓى‬ َ ٰ ‫ َعلَّ َم ٱإۡل ِ ن‬٤ ‫بِ ۡٱلقَلَ ِم‬
َ ٰ ‫ كَٓاَّل إِنَّ ٱإۡل ِ ن‬٥ ۡ‫س َن َما لَمۡ يَ ۡعلَم‬
َ ‫ أَ َر َء ۡيتَ إِن َك‬١٠ ‫صلَّ ٰ ٓى‬
‫ان َعلَى‬ َ ‫ َع ۡب ًدا إِ َذا‬٩ ‫ أَ َر َء ۡيتَ ٱلَّ ِذي يَ ۡن َه ٰى‬٨ ‫ٱلر ۡج َع ٰ ٓى‬ ُّ َ‫إِلَ ٰى َربِّك‬
‫ أَلَمۡ يَ ۡعلَم بِأَنَّ ٱهَّلل َ يَ َر ٰى‬١٣ ‫ب َوتَ َولَّ ٰ ٓى‬  
َ ‫ أَ َر َء ۡيتَ إِن َك َّذ‬١٢ ‫ى‬ ٓ ٰ ‫ أَ ۡو أَ َم َر بِٱلتَّ ۡق َو‬١١ ‫ى‬ ٓ ٰ ‫ۡٱل ُه َد‬
١٧ ُ‫ع نَا ِديَ ۥه‬ ِ ‫صيَ ٖة ٰ َك ِذبَ ٍة َخ‬
ُ ‫ فَ ۡليَ ۡد‬١٦ ‫اطئ َٖة‬ ِ ‫ نَا‬١٥ ‫صيَ ِة‬ ِ ‫ كَاَّل لَئِن لَّمۡ يَنتَ ِه لَنَ ۡسفَ ۢ َعا بِٱلنَّا‬١٤
١٩ ۩ ‫ٱس ُج ۡۤد و َۡٱقتَ ِرب‬ ۡ ‫ كَاَّل اَل تُ ِط ۡعهُ َو‬١٨ َ‫ع ٱل َّزبَانِيَة‬ ُ ‫سنَ ۡد‬َ

1. Read!1 In2 the name of your Lord so that people understand that
this Qur'an is from Allah the one who created3

1
Allah is telling the masses who are unread to read. So the Arabs who were predominantly
illiterate people became the leaders of the greatest civilization which encouraged the high
class, and lower classes equally to become literate, and become of the most knowledgable
civilizations in the world.
Even today only certain people have access to read their holy books (hindu brhaman and christial catholic pope)
and for the lower cast, they have to place brhaman or pope in order to connect with god. But Qur'an is different
from that. It allows all clasess of people to read and make a connection with God anytime you want without
placing someone between you and God. The only person who helps us to build that strong connection is the
Messenger ‫ﷺ‬
2
Bi means certain other things too
1. Read the name of your Master
2. Read what has been revealed to you from your Master
3. Read with the support/help of your Master
4. Read in the name of your Master – let the people know that this is from your Master
3
Khalaqa – Allah has more right over you than anyone else, since He owns you. created what? It is mutlaqan =
what He created is not specified, so it can refer to Him having created everything.
 2. He created1 man from a clot of blood in a clinging form2.
3. Read!3 Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One4
4. who taught5 by means of the pen6,
5. Who taught man what he did not know.
6. Certainly!7 But man exceeds all bounds8

1
In this ayah Allah again uses the word khalaqa and now He specified.
2
'Alaq - 'aliqa - to cling and to hang off. 'alaq - a clot of blood, more literally a piece of wet sticky fluid which hangs
off something.
3
Iqra' [Read] - Allah's Messenger is being encouraged a second time to Read again.

Allah is enobling His Messenger again by telling him to read. This is because Allah's Messenger will be insulted many
times by the disbelievers, so he has to be reminded that he is reciting for Allah - who is the most Noble and
honorable. And by Allah chooosing him for the reciting of His message - He has honored him above the rest of
mankind.
4
So we see Allah describes the lowly origin of man, then He describes Himself as the Most Noble. Karam in arabic

is something which should be respected for what it is.

5
Allah has said Iqra' (Read) twice, and He has said 'Alam-ma (learn) twice. This is a strong emphasis on Reading

and Learning and gaining knowledge for humanity.

Learning the Qur'an is the Sunnah of Allah's Messenger. Teaching the Qur'an is not just the Sunnah of Allah's
Messenger, but also Allah's Sunnah. ('alama al qur'an [He (Allah) taught the Qur'an] - Surah Rahman 55:2).
6
He has also mentioned Qalam (the Pen), which signifies writing knowledge you have Learnt ('Alam-ma). This

knowledge will then allow people to Read (Iqra') that knowledge to benefit themselves and humanity and future
generations. Qalam - Allah alluded to the fact that Allah taught humans the Qur'an, but He guaranteed it will also be
penned / documented.
7
Kalla - (haqqan (certainly) - no doubt). For sure. It is a means of yelling at someone for disobeying Allah.
8
yatgha - tughyan - you know your limits but you purposelly break past them. i.e. tughyan ul maa' - water when it

comes out of its limits and floods the land. taghiy - someone who rebels - one who does not want an authority
[Rabb/owner] to place rules upon him. The ultimate result of ignorance is rebellion. The most rebellious of people
are those who don't read, who don't have knowledge.
 7. when he thinks he is self-sufficient1
8. all will return to your Lord.
9. Have you seen the man2 who forbids
10. A magnificiant noble3 servant4 to pray?
11. Have you seen if he was committed upon guidance 5,
12. Or encourages other with true piety?

1
So Allah is telling us that the root cause of human rebellion is because he thinks he is free of need, he does not

need anyone / does not want anyone to place laws upon him. There are two kinds of laws – physical (natural)
which human has to follow else they will face the consequences immediately (gravity, fire burns etc.) – moral laws
(helping the weak) which human can easily break and they don’t face any consequences immediately as a result they
feel that when they rebel against moral laws no one is there to punish them.
2
This phase is about Abu Jahal - Abu Jahl was made in a perfect form, with characteristics of the greatest people on

Earth (loyalty, manhood, strength, honour, perseverance etc.) however - he was rejected to the lowest of the low for
using all these great characteristics for disbelief / polytheism and oppression.
3
Tanween -
4
'Abd in the Qur'an when referring to Allah's Messenger refers to Allah honoring His Messenger as the perfect slave
and worshipper of Allah.
5
The Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬prayed to Allah for the guidance of one of the two ‘amir’s (Umar ibn khattab or Abu Jahal) as

the Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬saw some good in Abu Jahal that he prayed for him. The words in the hadith signify; If he (Abu
Jahl) had accepted Islam, he could have been like 'Umar in his greatness and benefit (of being the second best man
after the Prophets' of Allah). Both Umar and Abu Jahl were made in a perfect form, with characteristics of the
greatest people on Earth (loyalty, manhood, strength, honour, perseverance etc.) however - Abu Jahl was rejected to
the lowest of the low for using all these great characteristics for disbelief / polytheism and oppression. The main
difference however is that Abu Jahl had an Ego which prevented him from his Islam, whereas 'Umar humbled
himself and submitted in Islam. People are able to get rid of their nationalism, however - it is harder to remove the
Ego personally, and requires effort to humble yourself to a truth.
 13. Have you seen whether he denies the truth and turns away
from it?1
14. Does he not realize2 that God sees all?3
15. No! If he does not stop4, We shall drag him by his forehead5

1
If he had turned good, how much benefit he would bring of good. If he turned bad, how much destruction he

would have brought upon himself. ara'ayt - Did you see.. This show's the great insight of Allah's Messenger, and it
also encourages the Muslims to have insight and think about the consequences of peoples; belief and disbelief,
good/bad etc. Ara'aahu astaghna - he sees himself self sufficient.
2
So Allah honors the believers by hinting that they are those who are taught by Him. And He humiliates the

rejector disbelievers, saying a lam ya'lam - Does he not know..? This shows that knowledge of Allah is true
knowledge, and those who do not know who Allah is are truly ignorant.
3
He thinks he is violating the Messenger alone, but Allah is watching his actions. Even polytheists believe in a Main God. But
Abu Jahl is so evil, he has even ignored that Allah/a God is watching him. Knowledge should bring you humility. Rejection of
this knowledge in effect will make you arrogant. When you humble yourself for Allah's sake - He raises you in ranks. If you
put yourself up in rebellion and arrogance - Allah humiliates you.
4
(la in - tawqeed and ighra (warning)) If he doesn't stop - Then We will for sure punish him. (the first part is an
'if' [if he does not stop] - the second part is a surety - for sure he will be punished). You decide - you can stop your
evil, or you can do get punished.
5
Naasiyah - forelock - the area of hair above your forehead. Normally animals are grabbed by the forelock, from

the front, when the master is angry with the animal. Allah did not say la nasfa'ana HU bin-naasiyah (We will grab
HIM by the forelock). Rather He said; - We will grab by the forelock. It is understood, Abu Jahl is not worth
mentioning. Especially in the same sentence of Allah's mention.
Nasiyah refers two things
1 - Your pride and dignity. (people would wear emblems or turbans on this part of the head as a sign of honour).
2- the Mind and knowledge.
Tthere is an ayah of Sajda (prostration) later on in the surah. What do you put down in sajdah? Your forehead,
especially the forelock area. So in the end of the surah, Allah is telling his Messenger to put his head down (in
prostration) for closeness to Allah, and even if Abu Jahl does not put his head down - then in the end, his head will
be dragged down into the hellfire. You will be brought down to your humility; either in this life or the next.
Nasfa'an - Safa'a - to grab something and pull something out so hard that it comes out of its roots.
 16. His lying, sinful6 forehead.
17. Let him summon his comrades2;
18. We shall summon the guards3 of Hell.
19. No!4 Do not obey5 him [Prophet]: bow down in worship and
draw close6.

6
khata - mistake whose consequences you do not know. He rejected the message and harmed the Messenger.
He doesn't know the consequences of all that. 'What's the big deal?' kind of attitude. The consequences really
are the hellfire and an extremely painful punishment awaiting him.
2
nad'u - da'a - call upon for help naadiyah - nadi - public place where there are many listeners. Now remember
that the disbelievers don't believe Allah is saying these words; they think one
man, Allah's Messenger is saying these words. It's an open challenge;
3
zibniya - security guard. Zabaaniyyah is the plural = security Guards. zabana - to protect / guard something with
force. I.e. Prison guards. So if something rebels, it will be attacked.
4
kal-laa - no, not at all. Completely disregard it (this is what kal-laa implies). Leave Abu Jahl.
5
itta'a - follow / pay attention / to succumb / to yield to.
6
waSjud - make Sajdah (prostration). Don't be like Abu Jahl who will be dragged into hellfire in a
sajdah position. Rather, prostrate and humble yourself in this life..
waQtarib - and you come close (qareeb - closeness) - to Allah.
People through history want to know what pleases God, and Allah is teaching us how to get
close to Him.
He has taught insaan (man) that which he did not know.
 [‫]سورة التين‬

‫يم‬ِ ‫بِ ۡس ِم ٱهَّلل ِ ٱل َّر ۡح ٰ َم ِن ٱل َّر ِح‬

‫س َن‬ َ ٰ ‫ لَقَ ۡد َخلَ ۡقنَا ٱإۡل ِ ن‬٣ ‫ين‬ِ ‫ َو ٰ َه َذا ۡٱلبَلَ ِد ٱأۡل َ ِم‬٢ ‫ين‬ َ ِ‫سين‬ ِ ‫ َوطُو ِر‬١ ‫ون‬ ِ ُ‫ين َوٱل َّز ۡيت‬ِ ِّ‫َوٱلت‬
‫ين َءا َمنُو ْا َو َع ِملُو ْا‬َ ‫ إِاَّل ٱلَّ ِذ‬٥ ‫ين‬ َ ِ‫سفِل‬ َ ٰ ‫ ثُ َّم َر َد ۡد ٰنَهُ أَ ۡسفَ َل‬٤ ‫س ِن ت َۡق ِو ٖيم‬َ ‫فِ ٓي أَ ۡح‬
‫س ٱهَّلل ُ بِأ َ ۡح َك ِم‬ َ ‫ أَلَ ۡي‬٧ ‫ِّين‬
ِ ‫ فَ َما يُ َك ِّذبُكَ بَ ۡع ُد بِٱلد‬٦ ‫ون‬ ٖ ُ‫ت فَلَ ُهمۡ أَ ۡج ٌر َغ ۡي ُر َممۡ ن‬ َّ ٰ ‫ٱل‬
ِ ‫صلِ ٰ َح‬
٨ ‫ين‬ َ ‫ۡٱل ٰ َح ِك ِم‬

1. By the fig1 of that place where Nuh’s Ark stopped, by the

olive2 of that place where Isa prayed
2. By Mount3 Sinai where Allah spoke with Musa

1
In Classical Arabic, people would call a location by what it was famous for. So some scholars thought that fig and

olive might be two locations.possibly referring to Prophet Noah, the location where his Ark ship landed.
2
Some say it refers to Mount of Olives, just like the Mountains of Figs mentioned earlier. (Toori Teena, Toori

Zaytaan - these are Hebrew/jewish terms.] possibly referring to Jesus who was born in Palestine where olives grow.
In bible luke 22:39-41 mentioned that jesus went to the mount of olives
3
Toor - a lush, full of trees, green kind of mountain.
 3. By this town1 which was built by Ibrahim and Allah make it
safe2 through Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬.

1
Balad - a city with defined borders. well fortified , well defined city.

Connection of this surah with surah Balad

In balad the Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬was being persecuted so Allah remove the safety of the city as Qurayesh was violating
the safety of the city. And as a result Allah was angry over them so Allah didn’t mentioned amen there.
Both ayah mentioned the struggle of man balad – man was creted in hardship; teen – man was created in the best
form which makes them more responsible than any other creation
Both surah has three oath mentioned and the word Balad mentioned
Balad-11 with teen-5; if you didn’t pass the difficulty where are you? At the lowest point
Altogether there are 3 locations, even though 4 things are mentioned. 3 locations: Palestine (ayah 1), Mount Sinai
(ayah 2), the Peaceful city - Makkah (ayah 3). Palestine birth and grave of a lot of Prophets especially Jesus; mount
Sinai known for Moses and Makkah was made a peaceful city by Allah because of the Du'a of prophet Abraham and
Allah made it peaceful throught the Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬and confirm the respect and truthfulness of the prophets before
the Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬,
2
The word ameen can come from amaanah - trust to whoever lives in it (they have to abide by

its rules/sanctity).
It can also mean that it contains trusts, i.e. Allah entrusted it to be a sacred place for Hajj/'Umra
pilgrimage, He also entrusted His final Messenger to be sent in this city.
Amn - incredibly peaceful, blessings and miracle. No matter how violent the arabs were, they
would not commit violence near the Ka'ba. Even if they saw their father being killed there, they
would not do anything out of the sanctity of the Ka'ba.
Even tribes which robbed and plundered, they would not do it in the city of Makkah.
This is a blessing Allah put in this city.
When someone visits this city - they feel a sense of peace overcome them.
 4. For sure1 We2 already3 designed human4 in the
finest balanced state5 on the outside and inside and the best
examples of them are mentioned above

1
La – for emphasis
2
He created is ba'eed / distancing. We created is taqreeb - closeness. Allah is showing His
closeness when He says We. We (royal we) is used to show One's power and strength and
majesty.
Allah's name is not mentioned next to weakness. Allah is distanced from evil.
So when Allah mentions that the human is created weak, He did not mention Himself because
the weakness of a human is due to his own sins. And evil is not attributed to Allah.
3
qad - already (Allah had already honored the human when he was being created in the womb)
4
Who forgets that who created him and how he get this honor and he has certain responsibility
According to the oath Nuh (Teen), Jesus (Zaytoon), Moses (Mount Sinai), Abraham (Balad), Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬
(Ameen) are the best of the best of the human being and we should study them in order to understand what should
be the quality to be from best.
5
taqweem - qaama (to stand) - to make something stand up straight/upright.
Qawwama - used to straighten a spear which has become bent in battle.
taqweem - to get multiple parts/components and to balance them together so they are
straight.
It also means to design something perfectly in the way you intended to make it.
 5. Then1 because of his disobedient and distancing himself from me
We2 lower3 him to the lowest4 of the low5in his
life and in the hell

1
thumma - (thereafter (after a long time period [with a time gap]). The word 'thumma' puts gap
between the time of purity and lowest of the low. thumma also signifies a space of time. So
Allah did not make people the lowest of the
low when they did sins. Rather - Allah gave them time to repent and return to Him, if
they never - He rejected them to the lowest of the low.
2
it is not a flaw in Allah's creation that this human slave went to the lowest of the low.
Rather, Allah made him low because of his distancing from Allah.
Allah purposelly mentioned Himself lowering this human, because if He never - people might
think that Allah's creation was not really in perfect form.
3
Old age - The weakness of those who used to be strong in body and mind, but they returned to a weak state

with a weak mind, like a baby who can't talk.

Radad = to return / reject / lower. Rejected him and lower him. ar-Rad - reject something on
the basis that it is unacceptable. Allah created him in the best form, but he did bad things - so
Allah rejected him.
4
Sifla - also refers to; dirty / wretched / bad people (in morals.)
Everything on Earth - Allah created for the human. (i.e. The cat, dog, car etc.) The angels were
told to prostrate to the human. Yet the human can go lower than the other things on Earth
even lower than beasts and animals - if he forgets Allah, because he has not fulfilled his role as
a noble human in service to Allah, his Master. We humans were supposed to worship Allah the
Most High, yet those who worship other than Him lower themselves infront of a tree, or stone
idol, or another human etc. So they are humiliating themselves by humbling themselves to
something lower than themselves.

Animals will usually only attack other animals when they are hungry or in danger etc. However,
humans attack others even when they are full, with the intent of wanting more and more and
more wealth. So again, the human can be returned to the lowest of the low. Animals will not do
crimes like humans do; genocide, mass rape etc. If the animal is low, then the human has
become the lowest of the low.

If Allah has honoured the human being, and he has lowered himself to the lowest of the
low in morals, then Allah will throw him into the lowest parts of the hellfire.
 6. Except those few people who like the best of the best
mentioned before believe in heart and as an expression of

their believe they do few good deeds, They will have

an unfailing1 reward which is not going to discontinue
from them.

Humans were pure before when they took the covenant from Allah
Humans were born pure, sinless, upon the Fitrah - then as we grew older we did sins and
diverted from the fitrah. - when the message first came to him - he was upright. But when he
got tested, he got to the lowest of the low.
5
Allah creates the human in a balance of body and spirit. When there is an imbalance in
these, i.e. Too much worldly affairs and too less spiritual connection with Allah - man
gets weak/hasty/ungrateful etc. But when there is a balance of spiritual worship to Allah
and permissible worldly matters - man gets strong and in the most upright position.
1
Gair mamnoon - that which will not be cut off. maneen - in dictionary of lisan al 'arab -
dust - that separates itself from the ground. Ghayru mamnoon - reward which does not be
separated from.
 7. After all of this mentioned before, what1 makes you2
force you o man deny3 the Judgement?4 Or who lied
against you beloved Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬and against the Judgment?

8. Isn’t Allah5 the most decisive6 of judges?7

1
Maa masdariyyah - What will make you lie against the religion/deen. What is it that is 'so
powerful' that is making you lie against the religion?
Maa bi ma'na man - What kind of person (= who)..
2
If you have realised that the human being is more higher than other animal species. If you
know
the human; has an intellect, can study the sciences, and live life more better than animals.
Doesn't that then lead you to think that you might actually have a higher purpose?
Then what is going to make you lie against the religion?
3
yukazib - takzeeb - you know it's true, but you're lying against it [the religion] anyway.
yukaziBU KA - against you (O Muhammad).
What kind of person would it have to be, to lie against you (yukazibuka) with the religion /
deen.
It could only be the lowest of the low who would lie against Allah's Messenger. This is a direct
humiliation to those who reject Allah's Messenger.
4
Deen - precise Judgment (in this world and the next).
The Messengers' brought the Deen - precise judgment - for wrong and right - for this life and
the next.
5
Allah does not use 1st person,rather He uses 3rd person speech because He cannot show
closeness to His slave, since Justice comes first in the sight of the judge.
6
hikmah - wisdom, and hukm - judgment.
So the word Ahkam could mean wisest (from hakeem), and it could also mean the most
appropriate Judge/Ruler (from hukm = judgment)
7
The way this question is asked is to poke at someone who is ungrateful.
Allah's Messenger would respond to this ayah - even in Salah/prayer - with;
"‫"سبحانك ا و بل أنا على ذلك من الشهيدين‬
subhanakAllah wa bal-laa ana 'ala dhalik min ash-shahideen
(Glory be to Allah, and no doubt I am on that from the witnesses).