Faith and Reason
\r\n Al-Alaq (The Blood Clots) - Chapter 96: Verses 1-5
![](\"/_img/quran-issue748.gif\")
"Read. In the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clot of blood. Read. Your Lord is the most Bounteous, who has taught the use of the pen; has taught man that which he did not know."
The first revelation was a remarkable event: it was the first contact between Earth and Heaven since, six hundred years earlier, Jesus Christ had preached the Gospel to the world. These initial verses of the Quran did not command obedience to God nor His glorification, nor attainment of His nearness, nor even rejection of idolatry or the rites and customs of paganism. These were left for later occasions.
\r\nIt was the beginning of an era which saw the most unprecedented and concerted efforts being made for the promotion of learning. It was the era in which Faith and Knowledge joined hands to create a new civilization. It was an age of Faith as well as of Reason.
\r\nThe command to read and acquire knowledge was to be executed under the guidance of a divine messenger and in the name of the Lord so that man proceeded ahead in his journey in the light of God's knowledge and the certitude of faith. The reference to the creation of man from a clot of blood was meant to point out that man should not exceed his limits, nor feel exultant on capturing the forces of nature, since this was to come about with the acquisition of knowledge.
\r\nThe pen was honoured by being mentioned in the revelation since it has always been the most important tool of learning. Thereafter the revelation referred to the teaching of man by God - for God is the ultimate source of all knowledge which could enable man to know what is unknown. All the discoveries made in any field have come from this ability of man to learn and extend the horizon of his knowledge.
\r\nThis was the starting point of the revelation to the Prophet of Islam, which had a deep impact on the subsequent course of attaining knowledge, preaching God's message and changing modes of thought. It made knowledge a fellow and ally of religion that could always help man in solving new social and cultural problems. Religion, on the other hand, was thereafter never frightened or timid in the face of knowledge.
\r\nCompiled From:
\r\n \"Islam and Knowledge\" - Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, pp. 2, 3