عَلَّمَ الإِنسانَ ما لَم يَعلَم
Taught man what he did not know.
EXPOSITION
This verse conveys the general blessing bestowed on all mankind as the apparent context shows the word insān refers to the human species in general, and not to Prophet Adam (a) or Prophet Muhammad (s) alone as some have suggested.
This verse either reiterates what the previous verse stated, or occurs as a substitute; substituting a quality (what man did not know) for the terms reading and writing, since writing and reading skills, which occur by means of the pen, were skills that mankind did not know, and mankind was subsequently inspired to it by God. Or, this verse means that God taught mankind knowledge and sciences (that is, all that man did not know) by means of the pen and writing. Alternatively, this verse intends to say that in addition to God’s teaching mankind the art of writing and reading, He has also taught mankind all that it did not know with or without the pen.
Therefore, God has graced His creation by teaching them what they did not know, either by inspiring them with knowledge of necessities or establishing signs and indications by means of which they may reach to knowledge which they did not essentially know, thereby carrying humans from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge. Thus all knowledge that humans enjoy originated from God, either through instilling the human being with it, or inspiring him with ideas that led to knowledge, or clarifying it to him by means of angels, prophets, and messengers.
It is pertinent to note that these first few verses with which the revelations began, mention two aspects of the human being: his physical and intellectual aspects. The former is exemplified in the mention of his physical creation from a trivial mass of blood while the latter is exemplified in the mention of means which enable the acquisition and conveying of knowledge, which is reading and writing, and which leads to his ultimate state in becoming knowledgeable and learned of various things, which in turn is the noblest of created states. Thus it is as if God wishes to say: I transformed you from the lowest state to the highest which requires a capable and powerful designer who transformed you from that vile state to this lofty state. This also has the additional element of drawing attention to the fact that knowledge is the noblest attribute of the human being since God describes Himself as karīm when mentioning the bestowal of knowledge on mankind. Perhaps 16:78 may be considered as aptly reflecting verses 1-5 of this surah. 16:78 states: And Allah brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers – you did not know anything – and He gave you hearing and sight and hearts that you may give thanks.
Thus, verses 1-5 contain an instruction to the Prophet and by extension his followers to acknowledge their true Lord, their true Creator, and their Teacher who is most generous, by bringing Him to mind and remembering Him by reciting, praising, glorifying, and extolling His name (meaning His attributes), as well as by expressing gratitude to Him for creating, nourishing, raising, and looking after them all, as well as for teaching them all that they did not know, especially the art of writing. By extension, this imperative may be understood to be in favour of the ritual prayer. These verses may also be understood as an imperative to recite and mention God’s name to others with the aim of preaching godliness and monotheism.
[1] Mizan, 20/324; Shawkani, 5/571; Kitāb al-Tashīl li-ʿUlūm al-Tanzīl, 2/496.
[2] Thalabi, 10/245.
[3] Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān wa Bayānuh, 10/529.
[4] Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 3/457; Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān wa Bayānuh, 10/529.
[5] Kitāb al-Tashīl li-ʿUlūm al-Tanzīl, 2/496; Amthal, 20/321.
[6] Amthal, 20/321.
[7] Kitāb al-Tashīl li-ʿUlūm al-Tanzīl, 2/496; Amthal, 20/321.
[8] Tibyan, 10/380.
[9] Tabrisi.J, 4/513.
[10] Razi, 32/218.