Surah 96 · Verse 2

[96:1-19] This chapter is traditionally known to be the first revelation of the Quran, chronologically. Those who know Arabic will notice the different spellings of two homophone words, which we transliterate as bismi (in the name). A reflection on these two differently spelled homophones, together with the first word, is another proof that Muhammed was a literate man. See 2:78; 7:157-158. This chapter is the 19th chapter from the end of the Quran and has 19 verses. [96:2] The Arabic word alaq is a multiple-meaning word: (1) blood clot; (2) hanging thing; (3) leech. Medieval commentators preferred the first meaning because of its organic nature. However, Maurice Bucaille, a French medical doctor who converted to islam while serving as a medical doctor for the Saudi royal family, had a problem with this traditional rendering. As someone who had deep knowledge in human embryology (see 3:7), he became the first person who noticed the problem with the traditional understanding and he rightly reminded us of the right meaning of the word, which perfectly describes the embryo, the hanging fertilized cells on the wall of the uterus, like a leech. It is true that in the stages of creation of humans, starting from semen, fertilization of the egg until birth, there is no "clot" stage. The Quran locates alaq (hanging thing) as the stage after the semen (22:5; 23:14). In his landmark book, The Bible, the Quran, and Science, Dr. Bucaille discusses the scientific accuracy of the Quran and compares it with the Bible and archeological and scientific evidences. Though his book is celebrated by Sunni and Shiite mushriks, many are disappointed by his criticism against hadith; he argued that the hadith fails the tests of science. This brave voice, irritated the illusions of the followers of hadith and sunna. Thus, some publishing houses in the so-called Muslim countries, published the book after expunging the section containing his criticism of hadith, without the permission of the author.