Why Allah's First Command Was 'Read'

Alhamdulillah.

[Silence]

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in the opening verses of surah or which we have reviewed the story and the context behind these verses. He tells us subhanahu waala and these were the first verses to the prophet sallall.aii wasallam. An important point to take here is first impressions last. The thing that a person first hears and the thing that a person last hears from someone, those are the things which stick out the most in any encounter or dialogue when it comes to human beings. And so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has set up the Quran in that way. every chapter of the Quran. Most of the chapters that have a beginning, middle, and end, not the very short chapters, which are usually all just one subject matter, but chapters of the Quran that deal with multiple subjects, the very beginning of the chapter, the opening verses and the very end of the chapter chapter, the closing verses. These are the points and most prominent things that are to be taken away from each of these chapters. And that's why in his book he mentions that we have no authentic narration that tells us that the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam would only recite the ends of a chapter in salah or the openings of a chapter in salah and not recite anything else. There are a few narrations in which the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam may have recited a particular verse or a particular section of a chapter repeatedly. However, his sunnah was that whenever he would start a chapter in salah, he would always end it in that prayer either in the same or in the following and subsequent raqa. So anytime he would start a chapter, he would end it. Why? Because the beginning and the end of the chapters they are connected and these are the most important takeaways. The beginning of the chapter is usually like a preface an introduction and it is going to summarize what is going to be mentioned in the chapter and the points that should be mentioned in the chapter. At the end it derives lessons and leaves the mood and the attitude of the reader when he ends that particular chapter. If we look at the Quran entirely, what was the beginning? The very first recite or read. Notice the double antandra here. This is referred to. It's a statement that has multiple meanings that are intended both simultaneously. Could mean recite and could mean read something that is written contrary to is mentioned in the Quran. Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala said recite. There is a word for recitation which means just recitation. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala used this word which means both recite and read. Why? Because both are intended. And this recitation will arrive a person at reading. And this recitation that Allah is revealing is going to be preserved by the pen. It is going to be preserved by men who will memorize it committed to memory and the pen will serve as a backup to that institutional memory of the Muslim and so the prophet sallall.aii wasallam is commanded recite in the name of your lord who has created all of the creation. He created the humankind from clinging drops of blood from clinging clots of blood. Subhanahu wa ta'ala. What is the first stage the human being goes through that Allah mentions in his mother's womb? Does anybody know what is it? Is the second stage. What's the first stage? Nutah is a drop. Right? So the first stage is a nut and the last stage just before the soul is put into the body is the mudra, right? Which is a a lump of flesh, a bite-sized lump of flesh, if you will. The middle stage is the the clinging clot of blood. Why this stage? Why didn't Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mention created the human being from drops? That's the beginning. Or created the human being from a a lump of flesh from a mud because that's just when the soul is put into the body. Why the middle stage of the human evolution in his mother's womb? The scholars mention because this middle stage is the stage when it moves from inanimate just drops that could or could not be consequential or a mudra where it has already advanced to the point that it is being formed as a male or female. But this center stage this represents the place that the prophet was at sallall.aii wasallam when he received the Quran spiritually. He is receiving the Quran now. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala had kept him pure throughout his life. He was upon the fra as much as any human being can remain upon the fra. Now comes what? The next stage which is the mudra when the soul is put into the body and this stage is achieved spiritually by way of the Quran's revelation to him and this is what is meant by the statement of Allah in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says light upon light what is light upon light. The light of revelation upon the light of the fra the human preisposition that the human is created upon the general knowledge of right and wrong the general knowledge of good and bad and the oneness of Allah in a very macro way a very general way. So this light of the fra when the light of revelation comes upon it. This is the believer and here is the prophet sallall.aii in this position. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he says I'm having problems today. He he says subhanahu waala recite or read and your lord is the most generous. This wow here This wow is called wow. It means recite and know that as you recite or read your lord is the most generous. What does this mean? This means that if you take a path to reach something, Allah is more generous than his servant and his slave. And Allah will always reciprocate your effort. For this reason, the mere act of stepping onto the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to seek knowledge of Allah and his messenger to seek knowledge of revelation immediately a person is put on a path to paradise. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then says he taught with the pen taught the human being what he did not previously know. Here we have another double antandra alma because in the Arabic language could mean taught here means taught by the way of the pen. and also means left an imprint in that which is being imprinted upon. It left an impression to leave an impression in something. Where are there verses similar to this in the Quran? Allah says in and we will end with this inshallah.

[Silence]

Why did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mention it in that order? He's saying he taught the Quran or he wrote the Quran in the preserved tablet. Both of those meanings are intended. Then he says he created the human being and taught him the eloquence of speech and the highest level of the highest level of articulation made the human being articulate. What do we understand from this? What we would expect from the way that the verses are in order? We would expect alman created the human being then taught him eloquence in speech and then taught the Quran because that was the order with respect to us. However, that's not the order that it's mentioned in. It's mentioned alman he taught he wrote or taught the Quran. He created the human being. He taught him eloquence. The scholars derive from this order that the human being will never reach his full potential until he embodies the Quran. That is considered to be the full potential of the human being and the human being was created for that potential. That was the bar that was set. He then created the human being and taught him eloquence in order that he could live up to his potential which is the Quran. And that was the plan from the very very beginning. Knowledge is so important in our religion. And I'm not speaking about knowledge of worldly things. I'm speaking about knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah. That is what the Quran came to encourage. knowledge of the revelations of Allah. Knowledge which is heavenly divine knowledge. This knowledge is so critical and it is very sad to see many people confused as to the importance of knowledge. The general idea is almost you know, as long as I have really good intentions and as long as I just do the best that I know how to do, I don't have to learn anything because I'll get to Jenna eventually cuz Allah said that I'm going to go to Jenna as long as I sayahillah and just practice whatever I know. And I'm either in Jenna or I'm not. This kind of black and white ideology, this is what has caused the regression for the Muslim in their own knowledge and in their own sciences. Knowledge is a map. It takes you places. If you don't have that map, you'll never get to those places ever. Ever. You will never be able to access them. It doesn't matter how sincere you are. The only way to reach those stations of belief and eman and that station of relationship with Allah is if you have that map. That's the only way to get there. There's no other way. And the prophet sallallah.aii wasallam said as much to Omar of all people. Once Omar told him and the narration is in Muslim. He said, Yeah.

[Silence]

The prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam once was told by Omar wall messenger of Allah I love you more than everyone except my own self my own soul that is what Omar understood at the time that that was the most a person could love the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam more than my own soul more than everything except for my own self the prophet Sallallah.aii wasallam said, "No, not until I am even more beloved to you than your own self." He said, "Now you are more beloved to me than my own self." And the prophet sallallah.aii wasallam responded, "Now you have reached those heights." Omar didn't know that before. He did the best that he knew how. And had he not been taught by the prophet in that moment, he would have never reached that station of belief, impossible. No matter how sincere you are, you cannot stumble upon Allah's pleasure. You have to know where it is and be guided to it. That is why prophets and messengers were sent. Otherwise, people were sincere before prophethood. Why do they need prophets to teach them? Just do your best and do whatever you can and you'll get there eventually. Allah's pleasure is not something you accidentally earn.

[Arabic recitation]