Gabriel: "Read" or "Recite?"

ummziba wrote: The Arabic word "qara'a" is the verb "read", but I'm sure you know that.  The story of the revelation of the first three verses of sura al-alaq (chapt. 96), the first revelation of the Qur'an given to Muhammad, is very well known from ahadith. Don't know the story?  Qara'a (read): http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/maududi/mau96.html http://www.islamonline.net/English/introducingislam/Quran/ar ticle03.shtml Peace, ummziba.

Yes, I know that qara'a" is the verb "read" and I do know the story.  I thought it also could mean something else besides read, because read does not make sense to me.

My confusion is why would Allah send Gabriel to Muhammad and ask him to read when Allah would already know that Muhammad could not read?

I have asked this same question of other Muslims and none had the answer.  Since we have so many intellegent Muslims on IC, I thought maybe I could get a satisfactory answer on this board.

Thank you for the help.

George,

Perhaps this bit of tafsir might be helpful in your understanding of these verses:

http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=96&tid=58740

These verses are showing how man is special because he can gain knowledge, by spoken word, reading and writing.  Of course Allah knew the Prophet could not read - the message of the verses are for all mankind.  Hope this helps.

Peace, ummziba.

George,

To cut a long story short, let me make it very simple for you. Translating word for word has not gotten you any where so far.

Let me put this way first:

1.Gabriel appears to Muhammad like he appeared to so many before.

2. He must have greeted and introduced himself and then told him the purpose of his coming.

3. He did not bring along any book with him so the question of asking Muhammad to read from the book does not arise.

4. Muhammad, likewise, did not have a notebook, a feather nib and ink with him also, so the question of writing does not arise.

5. What could the word Iqra mean then?

6. Muhammad could not recite anything of his own or on his own.

The simple meaning is that Gabriel said, "Repeat after me what I say or just say the words that I recite."

An example of this can be found in the swearing in ceremony of a President or a Prime Minister, when the Supreme Court Judge recites the oath or reads out to the President or the PM and he/she repeats or recites or reads or follows or says what he/she is told.  

I can safely say that the President or the PM read the oath or recited the oath or repeated the oath after the Supreme Court Judge or Justice.

Hope you have understood this time. You cannot understand Semitic and Oriental languages well in and with the help of  English or Greek. Please remember that.