The Essence of the Holy Qur’an

Read the words of Allah and His world

Read! in the Name of thy Lord Who created,(1) created man from a blood clot.(2) Read! Thy Lord is most noble, (3) Who taught by the Pen (4) taught man that which he knew not.(5)
(Surah No. 96, al-?Alaq, Verse No. 1-5)

Dear brothers and sisters,
‘Read’ is the first word of the Qur’an revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The Qur’an is the only holy book that opens with this word and command. Before ordaining prayers and fasting, before giving details of the creed and the law to be revealed, Allah said “Read”. In another verse, Allah says: “Allah, angels and those learned men who stand on justice bear testimony that there is no deity but He” (3:18). Here look, how Allah began attestation first by Himself, then His angels and then by learned. It is understood that the rank of the learned and their honour are much high in our religion.
Before taking any action, we should read about the world and acquire knowledge. If you want to change the world as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) changed within a short time, you should first read the world as the holy Quran suggested us. Allah says: “Say, Journey in the land, and behold how He originated creation,” (29:20) Here the Quran encourages us to move, to observe, to record data, then to examine all available facts in order to establish the general law that governs the world.
In the early days of Islam, Muslim scientists had discovered this method in order to contribute to human knowledge. Their contribution enriched the Western culture at a time when the whole of Europe had been plunged into the ignorance of the Dark Ages. But in that time, we can remember our pioneers such as Jabir Ibn Hayyam in chemistry, Ibn Arabi in mysticism, and Ibn Haytham in mathematics and geometry. We can also remember the innovations of the Andalusian poets and musicians. So, If we follow the words of Allah and start again to read the world as Allah commanded us in the Holy Quran, we can able to reclaim our world.
Jobayer Al Mahmud, Student, Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey