اقرَأ وَرَبُّكَ الأَكرَمُ
Recite, as your Lord is the most generous.
EXEGESIS
The superlative noun akram occurs twice in the Quran and means the most honoured, the noblest, while as an attribute of God as in this verse it means the most exalted, the most bountiful.[su_tooltip content=”Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 804.”][1][/su_tooltip] The other place in the Quran where this word occurs is in 49:13. Its root letters are k-r-m which mean to be generous, to be high-minded, to be noble hearted, to honour, to do favours, to treat with hospitality, to be obliging, to be beneficent, to forgive and pardon, while with respect to land it means fertile,[su_tooltip content=”Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 803.”][2][/su_tooltip] or a land which is generous in its produce.[su_tooltip content=”Lane, p. 2999.”][3][/su_tooltip] It is suggested that the essential and primary meaning of the quality of karam is the opposite of the quality of hawān which means shame, disgrace, humiliation, contempt, despicableness, and ignominy. In 18:22 it is clearly observable how karam is distinguished from hawān.[su_tooltip content=”Tahqiq, 10/46-47.”][4][/su_tooltip]
EXPOSITION
This verse repeats the imperative to the Prophet to recite the name of his Lord in order to reiterate, emphasise, and stress the earlier imperative[su_tooltip content=”Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 3/457; Kashif, 7/587; Mizan, 20/324; Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 1/562; al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, 21/119; Kitāb al-Tashīl li-ʿUlūm al-Tanzīl, 2/496; Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān wa Bayānuh, 10/529.”][5][/su_tooltip] made in verse 1, or it recurs in order to exaggerate and aggrandise the earlier imperative[su_tooltip content=”Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Taʾwīl, 5/325.”][6][/su_tooltip] with the probable intent being the same, that is, to lay stress and emphasis.
The imperative iqraʾ (recite) in this verse is followed by the particle wa (iqraʾ wa rabbuka al-akram) which has been given two significations. One is that it is the circumstantial wa (wāw al-ḥāliyyah).[su_tooltip content=”Kitāb al-Tashīl li-ʿUlūm al-Tanzīl, 2/496; Mizan, 20/324; Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 3/457; Karbāsī, Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān, 8/666; Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān wa Bayānuh, 10/529.”][7][/su_tooltip] It precedes a clause to form a circumstantial clause denoting a state or a condition pertaining to the action expressed by the verbal element of the main or previous sentence.[su_tooltip content=”Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 3/457″][8][/su_tooltip] The verbal element is the imperative iqraʾ, and thus the circumstantial wa has the meaning of ‘as’ or ‘while’.[su_tooltip content=”Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 1006.”][9][/su_tooltip] Therefore, in light of this explanation, this verse would mean: Recite (the name of your Lord) while your Lord is the most generous. Alternatively, the particle wa occurs as a resumptive wa (wāw al-istiʾnāfiyyah), also known as the wa of initiation (wāw al-ibtidāʾ).[su_tooltip content=”Al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, 21/119; Mizan, 20/324; Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 1005; Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān wa Bayānuh, 10/529.”][10][/su_tooltip] Such a wa marks a departure from the main theme of the preceding phrase but nevertheless remains indirectly connected to it and functions as a continuation of it in various ways, for example, as a consequence, a reason, a further substantiation, or a contrast. Hence, in light of this identification of the particle wa, this verse may mean: Recite (the name of your Lord) and (that is because or since) your Lord is the most generous.
The terminal part of the verse is a nominal sentence consisting of the subject which is rabbuka (your Lord) and the predicate which is al-akram (is the most generous), thereby becoming your Lord is the most generous.[su_tooltip content=”Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 3/457; Karbāsī, Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān, 8/666; Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān wa Bayānuh, 10/529. An alternative grammatical opinion renders the part wa rabbuka al-akram (your generous Lord) as an adjectival phrase where the next verse occurs as a second adjective, while verse 5 occurs as the predicate. Hence the three verses would be rendered differently from the way they have been rendered in the main text and would instead be translated as: And your generous Lord, the one who taught by the pen, is the one who taught man what he did not know (see Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān wa Bayānuh, 10/529).”][11][/su_tooltip] The term al-akram is a superlative noun and means one who is most generous[su_tooltip content=”Gunabadi, 4/266.”][12][/su_tooltip] such that his generosity surpasses that of all generous beings,[su_tooltip content=”Gunabadi, 4/266; Tabrisi.J, 4/513.”][13][/su_tooltip] one who gives without seeking something in return,[su_tooltip content=”Gunabadi, 4/266; Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Taʾwīl, 5/325; Razi, 32/218.”][14][/su_tooltip] who tolerates misdemeanours and disobedience without complaint,[su_tooltip content=”Gunabadi, 4/266.”][15][/su_tooltip] one who does not allow the effects of the disobedience of the disobedient to affect him,[su_tooltip content=”Gunabadi, 4/266.”][16][/su_tooltip] and does not react with immediate retribution and thus is most forbearing,[su_tooltip content=”Tabrisi.J, 4/513; Thalabi, 10/245.”][17][/su_tooltip] clement, patient, and indulgent.[su_tooltip content=”Thalabi, 10/245.”][18][/su_tooltip] He accepts the repentance of the disobedient and overlooks their misdeeds after they have committed the same, thus his generosity knows no limit.[su_tooltip content=”Zamakhshari, 4/776.”][19][/su_tooltip] Indeed, God is the greatest of all those who bestow and are generous and bountiful since He is able to bestow what none else is able to bestow,[su_tooltip content=”Irshād al-Adhhān, 1/603.”][20][/su_tooltip] and no generosity, bestowal, or blessings can surpass His. Furthermore, all blessings are from Him since He has originated them, created them, and facilitated them,[su_tooltip content=”Tibyan, 10/379; Tabrisi, 10/781.”][21][/su_tooltip] and His generosity knows no limit. It is perfect and all-consummate and therefore this verse reiterates to the Prophet to recite the name of God meaning thereby to remember, bring to mind, glorify, and extol the attributes of God as well as to preach godliness and monotheism since He embodies all the virtues in the most perfect way (and thus the superlative form), which in turn is yet another attribute of God worthy of praise and glorification.
In the following verses various derivatives of the root letters k-r-m occur in relation to God: 17:70, 89:15, 23:116, 27:40, 82:6, 55:27, and 55:78.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
A number of scholars, on the basis of the more well-known interpretation which identifies the imperative iqraʾ (recite) in the first verse to mean ‘recite the Quran’, have understood a different meaning for the second imperative, which occurs in this verse. They have understood that in this verse the Prophet was being instructed to preach the Quran to the people while the first imperative was a command directed to his person,[su_tooltip content=”Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 1/562; Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Taʾwīl, 5/325; Razi, 32/217.”][22][/su_tooltip] or that the first imperative was an unrestricted and absolute imperative.[su_tooltip content=”Daqaiq, 14/346; Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Taʾwīl, 5/325.”][23][/su_tooltip] Rāzī suggests that perhaps the first imperative was for the Prophet to learn from Gabriel what God intended to teach him while the second imperative was for him to teach the same in turn to others.[su_tooltip content=”Razi, 32/217.”][24][/su_tooltip] He also suggests that perhaps the first imperative was for the Prophet to recite the Quran in the ritual prayers while the second was for him to recite it outside of the prayers.[su_tooltip content=”Razi, 32/217.”][25][/su_tooltip] Others appear to understand the second occurrence of the imperative to be in response to the statement made by the Prophet when Gabriel asked him to recite/read.[su_tooltip content=”Daqaiq, 14/346; Gunabadi, 4/266; Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Taʾwīl, 5/325; Furqan, 30/362.”][26][/su_tooltip] Some of the variants of the relevant anecdote report the Prophet answering Gabriel with the words ‘I do not recite/read’, and so the second imperative is thought to instruct and encourage him to ‘recite/read’ without fear and apprehension and ‘by the grace and bounty of your Lord’[su_tooltip content=”Gunabadi, 4/266.”][27][/su_tooltip] or that the second imperative is for the Prophet to recite the Quran in the ritual prayers.[su_tooltip content=”Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Taʾwīl, 5/325.”][28][/su_tooltip] However, all of these appear to be only scholarly conjectures and it is best to understand both imperatives as having the same meaning, which is to recite the Quranic revelations to the people as they occur.
[1] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 804.
[2] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 803.
[3] Lane, p. 2999.
[4] Tahqiq, 10/46-47.
[5] Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 3/457; Kashif, 7/587; Mizan, 20/324; Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 1/562; al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, 21/119; Kitāb al-Tashīl li-ʿUlūm al-Tanzīl, 2/496; Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān wa Bayānuh, 10/529.
[6] Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Taʾwīl, 5/325.
[7] Kitāb al-Tashīl li-ʿUlūm al-Tanzīl, 2/496; Mizan, 20/324; Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 3/457; Karbāsī, Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān, 8/666; Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān wa Bayānuh, 10/529.
[8] Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 3/457
[9] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 1006.
[10] Al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, 21/119; Mizan, 20/324; Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 1005; Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān wa Bayānuh, 10/529.
[11] Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 3/457; Karbāsī, Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān, 8/666; Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān wa Bayānuh, 10/529. An alternative grammatical opinion renders the part wa rabbuka al-akram (your generous Lord) as an adjectival phrase where the next verse occurs as a second adjective, while verse 5 occurs as the predicate. Hence the three verses would be rendered differently from the way they have been rendered in the main text and would instead be translated as: And your generous Lord, the one who taught by the pen, is the one who taught man what he did not know (see Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān wa Bayānuh, 10/529).
[12] Gunabadi, 4/266.
[13] Gunabadi, 4/266; Tabrisi.J, 4/513.
[14] Gunabadi, 4/266; Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Taʾwīl, 5/325; Razi, 32/218.
[15] Gunabadi, 4/266.
[16] Gunabadi, 4/266.
[17] Tabrisi.J, 4/513; Thalabi, 10/245.
[18] Thalabi, 10/245.
[19] Zamakhshari, 4/776.
[20] Irshād al-Adhhān, 1/603.
[21] Tibyan, 10/379; Tabrisi, 10/781.
[22] Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 1/562; Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Taʾwīl, 5/325; Razi, 32/217.
[23] Daqaiq, 14/346; Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Taʾwīl, 5/325.
[24] Razi, 32/217.
[25] Razi, 32/217.
[26] Daqaiq, 14/346; Gunabadi, 4/266; Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Taʾwīl, 5/325; Furqan, 30/362.
[27] Gunabadi, 4/266.
[28] Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Taʾwīl, 5/325.