Proclaim! All of you who care, Proclaim!

Proclaim! You the reader, Proclaim!

“In what capacity do I proclaim? In whose name do I proclaim?”

“Proclaim, in the name of your Lord who created man from (what you could never imagine it could be made from. A thing nothing in its essence, then what is it that fills you with arrogance.)”

“Proclaim, the fact that your Lord is the most Bounteous (for it is he who has given all that he has given to anyone who has anything. There is nothing to be proud about).”

Proclaim! You who has lost courage, Proclaim!

“What do I tell them who it is that taught me what to proclaim?”

“(Proclaim that it is He) who taught mankind by the pen.”

“(Proclaim!) He gave all men (including us and you) that knowledge (of deen and of duniya, of metaphysics and of physics, of religion and of science, of why and of how, and of all that which we know today) which we knew not (before).”

Proclaim! You who is sleeping with lethargy filling your blood and skin!

“I don’t know what to proclaim, What do I proclaim!”

“(Proclaim!) Man is rebellious as he considers himself self-sufficient (an end in himself as if this world of his is all that there is. As if his is the world that will last forever. As if it has no effect on his hereafter. As if there is no hereafter.)”

“(Proclaim! This arrogance wont last!) Surely to His Lord will he return (one day and there only those acts of his will count which were done for the sake of aakhirah. His acts for the world may or may not yield their fruits in the world and the ones planted for aakhirah will surely yield their fruits in the aakhirah.)”

“(There are others who proclaim too.) Look at them discouraging the servants of God from their humble way of life (calling them the upholders of old traditions, as if that were a disgrace, calling their tales the tales of the old, calling for a new way of life that would enlighten the duniya at the cost of aakhirah.)”

“(O the proclaimers of what is not Islam! O the claimants of reform!) Have you considered if these servants of God, (who you view in a very demeaning light, who you consider the ones lacking intellect as if you were the only ones with intellect), are on the right path or (what if all they do is) urge others to piety? (Those of you who) deny and turn away (from Us, our message and these proclaimers of our message), do you not know that God is observing (all of you)?”

“(Proclaim, O the Upholders of Truth! Proclaim to the upholders of falsehood! Proclaim!) If they desist not they shall be dragged into perdition by their intellect, a lying sinful intellect. (At that time) let them call their help-mates (from philosophers and orators, from friends and their deities, some of which are stone made and others that are intellect made. Let them call these ideologies and philosophies which they have turned as their gods). (Proclaim! At that time when you call your guards) We shall summon Our guards (then whose guards will prevail!)

“(O the upholder of truth and what is right, the one who discouraged falsehood and what is wrong), Pay no heed to them (those that understand not, nor to their intellect if they listen not), instead bow down in prostration (in awe of your Lord) and draw near (him, for he grants hidayah to whosoever he wills and keeps others away from it through his law that he never guides the arrogant rebellious people. It is His creation and it operates under His command, all that happens is His will).”

Disclaimer: This is not a translation of Surah Alaq. This is not even the Tafsir of Surah Alaq. I have followed its outline to make the point that I wish to make.

Color Code: When the angel Gabriel (as) visited the Prophet (saw) in the cave of Hira, he (Gabriel) held the Prophet (saw) and said “Iqra” to which the Prohet (saw) replied “maa ana bikarin”, this was repeated two times more with Gabriel (as) saying “Iqra” again and the Prophet (saw) making the same reply again. Since I have taken the structure from the same story, the three pronouncations by Gabriel (as) have their counterparts in Blue, the three responses of the Prophet (saw) have their counterparts in Black. In red is the outline I took from Surah Alaq.