Iqraa (Read, or Proclaim)!

Read! In the name of thy Lord
Who made man from a clot of blood.
Read! And your Lord is Most Generous.
(Holy Qur’an 96:1)


This verse of the Holy Qur’an is the first revealed by Allah to His Prophet Muhammad, especially the word ‘read’. If the word read is the first revealed, then it must be the most important. And take note that Muhammad (s.a.w.) was only an instrument of communication between Allah and the human kind. Therefore, reading is the foremost commandment of Allah enjoined to mankind. And Allah’s commandment is not without compensation. Verily, He promised that He is Most Generous to those who read. Generosity means giving, and you can just imagine how Allah gives – it is actually unimaginable, because He is the Most Generous of the generous.

This commandment was given more than a thousand years ago, yet is still as applicable and indispensable today. This only proves once again that the Holy Qur’an is truly living and timeless. As a matter of fact, Alvin Toffler (the author of the best-selling book The Third Wave), said that knowledge is power and wealth. Reading would give rise to power and wealth, which Allah promised. Is it not that what everyone needs in this material world is power and wealth? Then read! Experience and feel the generosity of Allah.

Take a lesson from all the great men that have lived on this world. Adolf Hitler ruled about half of Europe, and he was a reader of many books. The ancient Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were educators, therefore they lived on books. The wealthiest man Bill Gates must be a bookish as he looks. The late President Marcos was also scholarly. The school drop-out President Erap Estrada had most likely read a lot too since he is intelligent and could speak English very well despite having not made to higher education and had not lived in the English world.. And so on, and so forth. Try to find out the biographies of great men and see how they read too much.

Iqraa means also proclaim. Hence, if one had read enough and learned a lot, he/she must share what was learned. “The more you give the more you receive”. Otherwise, the blessings of Allah would be limited too.