Read With His Name

“Recite with the name of your Lord who created.” (Al-Alaq, 1)

All originates from Almighty Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and ends with Him. It is He who existed before everything else, brought everything into existence, and made his existence known to us. Any action or undertaking that does not start with the name of Allah the Exalted is dry, barren, and fruitless.

First revelation, first ayah

The surah, in which the ayah “Recite with the name of your Lord who created” is found, is called “the surah of iqrah.” There’s no disagreement concerning its time of revelation being within the Makkah period. The surah consists of nineteen ayahs, with the first five of its ayahs being the very first ones revealed to our Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). The number of surahs revealed in whole in a single revelation were few; most surahs were revealed in five-ayah or ten-ayah groups.

These ayahs are the first glad tidings of our exalted book, the Qur’an al-Karim. As  declared in a hadith, the Qur’an is a link, one end of which is with our Rabb. It brings those who hold onto it to Allah. For those who believe in it and live by it, it is an excellent provision of honor in this world and a book that secures eternal peace and happiness in the afterlife. It will be preserved to a degree of absolute certainty without alterations to even a single letter until the end of days. It’s unequivocally impossible to add to or remove from it. The preservation of the Qur’an does not only entail the preservation of its words to the letter. It also involves the existence of believers who live by each and every one of its judgments. Until the qiyamah, there will always be believers who live by these judgments.

In surah al-Alaq the superiority of learning, the creation of mankind, and the unique attribute of the qalam (pen) are told. The surah also reveals that these are all a blessing of Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) upon humanity, that humans need to ponder on its facts and obey their Rabb and that, otherwise, they will end up suffering from a most dire punishment.

As narrated by our beloved mother Aisha (radiyallahu anha), it is said in a hadith that when Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) desired to send Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) as an agent of mercy, the first revelation came in the form of a genuine, prophetic dream. Whenever Our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had a dream, it would come true as sure as the light of dawn. (Bukhari, Badu’l-Wahy, 3)

Likely, the reason why Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) received revelations in this manner initially is to ready him for and not terrify him in his first encounter with Jibril (alayhissalam). This is because, without such preliminary preparation, a human being cannot withstand such an encounter. Therefore, authentic dreams were the first element to confer upon Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) a degree of familiarity with revelations; this continued for six months.

Afterwards, as recounted by our beloved mother Aisha (radiyallahu anha), “The Angel came to him and said’ “Read” to which he replied: “I am not a reader.” In the rest of the hadith, our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) details the event as follows: “He took hold of me and pressed me, till I was hard pressed; thereafter he let me off and said: Read. I said: I am not a reader. He then again took hold of me and pressed me for the second time till I was hard pressed and then let me off and said: Read, to which I replied: I am not a reader. He took hold of me and pressed me for the third time, till I was hard pressed and then let me go and said: Read in the name of your Lord Who created, created man from a clot of blood.” (Bukhari, Badu’l-Wahy 3, Tafsir 1; Muslim, Iman 252)

Even when ample time had elapsed since that incident, Jibril (alayhissalam) still did not reappear to Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). The most likely reason for this is that the apprehension Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) felt needed to be assuaged by the passage of time so that he could reawaken in himself the desire to see Jibril (alayhissalam) again. This period, during which no wahy was revealed, is called “the fatrah (intermission) period.”

There are reasons why the first revealed ayahs, which state the decree “Recite with the name of your Lord,” are located near the end of the codex form of the Qur’an. It can be argued that Surah al-Alaq was placed towards the end through divine ordering so as to prevent man, after reaching a certain level of maturity, from being caught up in the false assumption that he can now be held exempt from the duties of reading, learning ilm, religion, and servitude as a whole. In a sense, it can be said that every ending is intended to be regarded as a new beginning. So, this ordering accentuates the connotation that one can never dissociate oneself from learning and ilm.

Reading with the name of your Rabb

Essentially, what is signified by the first revelation can be summed up with the following statements:

“Read with the exalted name of your Rabb! Read by asking for help from your Rabb, Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala), who created all of existence from nothing, who rules and manages all things at every moment and commits them to an order. Read by starting with His sublime name. Begin to read with His name. O Muhammad, say Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, then read.” (Fakhruddin Razi, Tafsir al-Kabir; Abu’l-Lays al-Samarqandi, Tafsiru’l-Qur’an; İsmail Hakkı Bursevi, Ruhu’l-Bayan; Ibn Ajiba al-Hasani, Bahru’l-Madid; Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır, Hak Dini Kur’an Dili; Ömer Nasuhi Bilmen, Kur’an-ı Kerim’in Türkçe Meal-i Âlîsi ve Tefsiri)

As explained in the tafsir “Ruhu’l-Bayan,” the first ayah to descend upon the earth is “Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.” Basmalah was first revealed to Prophet Adam (alayhissalam). When this ayah was revealed, he said, “I realized that as long as they adhered to basmalah, my descendants would not be punished in Hell.” Basmalah was revealed to Prophet Ibrahim (alayhissalam) as he waited to be catapulted into the flames of the legendary pyre. Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) saved His prophet from the fire with basmalah. Later, it was revealed to Prophet Musa (alayhissalam), who brought the armies of the Pharaoh to their knees with it. It was also later revealed to Prophet Sulayman (alayhissalam), to whom angels said: “We swear by Allah that your mulk (sovereignty, dominion, and wealth) has now been consummated.”

Basmalah is Allah’s (subhanahu wa ta'ala) ayah of mercy and reassurance to His prophets. It is a key that opens the doors of all that is good and a constant word that believers keep on their lips. That being so, it is fitting that basmalah is given the appropriate attention by the heart to affirm what the tongue pronounces.

Basmalah and the name Allah

With the name of Allah, who is ar-Rahman (the most compassionate) and ar-Rahim (the most merciful)...

Al-Haqq (subhanahu wa ta'ala), who gave existence to everything in the universe, is the origin and cause of our existence.

Reading the book of the universe and being able to comprehend the truth of the wondrous order within without accepting and affirming the existence and oneness of Almighty Allah is but a fanciful notion. Any science, art, knowledge, or education that isn’t affixed with and placed into an ordered structure by the name “Allah” can never rise above being a mere disjointed amalgamation of bits of knowledge and ideas. Any result one can garner from such science, art, or education will only amount to degradation.

Kalima-i Shahadah contains only the name “Allah.” A non-Muslim would not enter the fold of Islam by making shahadah uttering any of Allah (subhanahu wa taala)’s other names.

Just as our minds are incapable of comprehending the divine personage of Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala), we are also limited in our understanding and capacity to fathom his proper name. There is no other word in the entire Arabic language resembling the word “Allah” in usage. Linguist scholars have analyzed the name “Allah.” A scholar of nahw (grammatical syntax) and mufassir of Andalusia, Abu Hayyan (rahmatullahi alayh), says: The majority holds the view that the name “Allah” is not a derived word but one that is unique and original. It exists as a symbol of the Almighty Creator. According to Fakhraddin al-Razi (rahmatullahi alayh), this word is the symbolic name of the Rabb of the Universe. Linguists such as Imam Khalil and Sibawayh, as well as scholars of usul and fiqh, also subscribe to this view.

Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) is the sole owner of everything in existence and the only One worthy of worship. People might worship idols, fire, the sun, or the taghut (anything other than Allah that is wrongfully worshipped). For such people, these objects of worship are each a deity, a god. However, because they sometimes realize a lacking, shortcoming, or imperfection in the divine attributes of these objects, they cease to worship them. Regardless of whether people recognize Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) as the One and only deity or not, He is the only One worthy of it.

The sublime name of “Allah” has another distinctive attribute in Arabic that His other names do not bear:

If one removes the letter alif in the word “Allah,” what remains is the word “lillah,” which means “only for Allah, belonging only to Allah.” If one removes the first letter lam in the word “lillah,” it becomes “lahu.” This means “only for Him, belonging only to Him.” Indeed the word “lahu” in the ayah, “To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth,” (Ash-Shura, 12) means “belonging to Allah.” If the letter lam in the word “lahu” is removed, what’s left is the word “hu,” which means “He.” This word signifies Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) just the way it does in the ayah, “He is Ever-living. There is no god but He” (Al-Ghafir, 65). The word “huwa” is used in this ayah. The letter waw in this word is an excess, meaning that it is not needed for the semantic integrity of the word. It is omitted in the pronoun’s dual and plural forms. Each of the letters in the word “Allah” symbolizes the Rabb of the Universe. (Imam Nasafi, Tafsiru’n-Nasafi; Mehmed Vehbi Efendi, Hulasatu’l-Bayan; Tafsir al-Kabir; Hak Dini Kur’an Dili)

For instance, someone who prays to Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) by speaking his name “Rahman” will not have attributed the quality of qahr (the quality of overwhelming, prevailing, and dominance) to Him but will only have referred to His mercy. Similarly, someone who prays to Him invoking his name “Al-Alim” will not have associated Him with the quality of qudrah, His infinite and absolute might, but will only have beseeched Him with reference to His quality of ilm, which is His infinite and absolute knowledge. Conversely, someone who utters the name “Allah” will have called upon Him and ascribed to Him all of His qualities.

The Names Rahman and Rahim in Basmalah

Our Rabb (subhanahu wa ta'ala) uses His names “Ar-Rahman” and “Ar-Rahim” in basmalah after His name “Allah.” This serves as clear evidence that His “rahmah,” which is His mercy, surpasses and eclipses His qahr.

The name Ar-Rahman is a name that exclusively belongs to Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala); it should be noted, though, that it’s not the name of His personage but that of an attribute of His. It is interpreted as “He whose mercy is infinite, who bestows blessings in the truest sense and is most gracious.” However, due to being one of the names of Allah, an exact translation is not possible. The commonly-used “most gracious” is not the translation of the name “Ar-Rahman” but a signification of it.

The names “Ar-Rahman” and “Ar-Rahim” both derive from the root rahmah, but there are profound distinctions between them. The quality of being “Ar-Rahman” is directed at a state of being without a beginning. Meanwhile, the quality of being “Ar-Rahim” connotes an existence in eternity, meaning that which cannot come to an end or to which there can be no end. To emphasize this point, the phrase “the Rahman of this world and the Rahim of the hereafter” is commonly referred to. Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) is the Rahman and the Rahim of both this mortal world and the akhirah. To put it more manifestly, He is the Rahman for both believers and unbelievers in this world, but the Rahim only for believers in the afterlife.

Because Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) is Ar-Rahman, His mercy that is eternally and timelessly preceding all of existence is all-inclusive and generalized to all of creation. All the natural traits bestowed upon every creation in their initial moment of creation are a consequence of Allah being Ar-Rahman. In this regard, no creation can be imagined that falls outside of the all-encompassing mercy of Ar-Rahman. The initial creation of any created being is utterly and entirely “wahbi,” meaning it is a gift given freely and can never be attained or earned by anyone’s personal effort or choice. Only the manifestation of the name “Ar-Rahman” can make this a reality. From this perspective, everything in the universe is a creation of Allah’s mercy as Ar-Rahman.

Considering this truth, “Ar-Rahman” is a source of security and hope. Everything in the universe, conceivable to us or not, is engulfed in the mercy of Ar-Rahman and kept safe from fear and anxiety in this regard. But if the manifestation of rahmaniyyah were a singular occurrence, there would be no distinction between knowledge and ignorance, justice and injustice, life and death, diligence and indolence, iman and kufr, or truth and falsehood. There wouldn’t be a trace of any action that is contingent on the will and desires of any creature. Knowledge and will, and the ability to make any effort and achieve progress, would be nonexistent. In such a situation, we would be no more than simple biological beings. We wouldn’t be able to grow crops on our fields, mill the grains into flour and bake bread with it. We would live out our days no different than animals.

Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) possesses the attribute of “Ar-Rahim” in addition to being “Ar-Rahman.” While the quality of “Ar-Rahman” is reserved only for His divine personage, a fraction of the mercy that proceeds from the quality of “Ar-Rahim” is allocated to those of His creatures that possess willpower.

Just as we can see countless subtle and evident indications of Allah’s quality of “Ar-Rahman” from the studies and observations by the branches of science that examine the anatomy of plants and animals and the functions of various biological organs, we also witness hints of His “Ar-Rahim” attribute in multiple ways; in a similar, yet divinely dissimilar fashion to how an author writes, the Author of the Universe creates, and if we read between the lines when we look upon the pages of His creation—the lives of the prophets and awliya and the perfection of human life in general—we see signs of His name “Ar-Rahim” reflecting in their works and their will. Giving freely from His generosity onto the realm of existence and everyone therein as a baseline condition regardless of their diligence or lack thereof, and exerting His rule over this realm with this unconditional giving is a sign of Ar-Rahman. Rewarding and giving to those who apply themselves to their work to recompense them for their effort is, on the other hand, a manifestation of His “Ar-Rahim” attribute.

It thus becomes evident that we wouldn’t come into existence in the first place if Allah’s (subhanahu wa ta'ala) “Ar-Rahman” attribute didn’t manifest. Likewise, if His “Ar-Rahim” attribute didn’t manifest, we wouldn’t be able to carry the potential and talents that are inherent in our creation into effect, nor would we be capable of advancing a single step beyond the initial stage of our creation.

This effectively shows that while in the mortal world and the afterlife, believers and unbelievers are equal in their benefit of the quality of “Ar-Rahman,” there comes a stark dichotomy in that regard as far as the “Ar-Rahim” attribute of Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) is concerned. It is for this reason that the names “Ar-Rahman” and “Ar-Rahim” cannot be repeated in a reduplicative way in the basmalah. They contain meanings that are essentially different from one another.

The quality of “Ar-Rahman” is exclusive to Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) and thus cannot be attributed to anyone else but is inclusive of everyone. “Ar-Rahim,” on the other hand, can be used to denote and qualify a broader classification but is inclusive of only specific subsets as opposed to all of creation.

It is such qualities of vast mercy that Allah Almighty holds within His divine being. These qualities alone are enough to expel any sense of hopelessness and insecurity from people and infuse them with optimism and trust instead. In its general outlines, this is the spirit of the faith and trust that is required of a believer. No matter the circumstances, there is no reason for a believer to despair. The very manifestations of the “Ar-Rahman” attribute of the Rabb of All the Worlds alone shall suffice the believer.

Rabb: He who carries everything to completion and perfection

With this command, a book that would come to be read, recited, and considered a miracle, began to be revealed to an illiterate prophet who had neither read nor written anything before. He was commanded to begin reciting the Qur’an with basmalah. The usage of the word basmalah is necessitated as a consequence of rububiyyah (lordship) by the use of the word “Rabb” (Lord).

Another hikmah—wisdom that enfolds the underlying reasons within its layers and is unknown to the general public—for the use of the word “Rabb” in the first ayah to be revealed could be said to be to alleviate the pangs of distress that troubled Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) prior to the revelation. Because while the word “Rabb” has a lexical root that is related to the word tarbiyah (the act of ensuring the growth and maturation of a subject or subordinate), its principal meaning is “the one who carries everything to completion and perfection.” Rububiyyah is one of the greatest divine attributes.

Rububiyyah involves the conduction and development of everything in creation to the degree of perfection ordained by Allah. Without tarbiyah, all of existence would be wanting and flawed. Without divine assistance, not one thing in all of creation can fulfill its purpose. Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) gave His decree to Rasulullah by using the name “Rabb” in the first ayah to be revealed to reassure him of any concerns and strengthen the hope in his heart that the intended purpose of the religion would be fulfilled. (Raghib al-Isfahani, Mufradat; Tafsir al-Kabir; Hak Dini Kur’an Dili; Hulasatu’l-Bayan)

There are two types of tarbiyah-givers:

• One who gives tarbiyah to secure direct and indirect benefit from the person that receives the tarbiyah.
• One who provides tarbiyah so that the recipient of the tarbiyah benefits from it.

All  the tarbiyah that the creations in existence provide is of the first type because people mentor, train, and give tarbiyah to others in order to bring in some sort of reward, praise, or  gain. The second type is exclusive to Allah (jalla jalaluhu); He gives tarbiyah to His servants only for their own benefit.

Because rububiyyah, as specified above, stands for carrying each and every dependent to the level of perfection and maturity in varying degrees as deserved by their station, “read the Qur’an by asking for help by invoking the name of your Rabb” means: “O Rasulullah! Your Rabb who didn’t allow you to wither away in your father’s loins and your mother’s womb and protected and preserved you by gradually delivering you to perfection can protect you again; fear not!”

Beings who have been created need their creator at the moment of their creation and at every single moment beyond this initial point. Our Rabb is the One who develops and maintains us and all creation as long as we continue to exist. Everything in creation needs Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) to continue its existence. Allah the Exalted mentioned His name “Rabb” specifically to draw attention to the fact that everything, without exception, absolutely needs Him to be created and to continue to exist once brought into being.

This ayah gives the following message to the believers:

Every Muslim must know that, in reality, there is no Rabb for them other than Allah the Most High and must contemplate on what they know and perform the worship by thought known as tafakkur. They must strive to understand accurately what they perceive and do what such an understanding requires. They should be kind and generous to those dependent on them, try to raise or develop them in the best way possible, see to their needs, and ease their way forward. They should watch over and protect them just as Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) watches over and protects them.

After declaring that He is the Rabb of His Rasul (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) lets us know that He is “Khaliq: The Creator” as proof of Rububiyyah. Since the act of creating is an inevitable part of all blessings, creation was chosen from among a multitude of evidence to signify Rububiyyah. This is because, if presented with any other evidence, mushriks who already deny rububiyyah and wahdaniyyah (oneness) would persist in their denial. So, the word “creation” was employed as the most apparent and easily understandable evidence; its usage ensures that all their avenues to denial are shut off. (Tafsir al-Kabir, Hak Dini Kur’an Dili, Hulasatu’l-Bayan)

Al-Haqq (subhanahu wa ta'ala) knows best.

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