to him and said, 'Read' (iqaráa); but the Prophet said, 'I am not a reader.' And the Prophet related, that he (i. e. the angel) took hold of me and squeezed me as much as I could bear, and he then let me go and said again, 'Read!' And I said, 'I am not a reader.' Then he took hold of me a second time, and squeezed me as much as I could bear, and then let me go, and said 'Read!' And I said, 'I am not a reader.' Then he took hold of me a third time and squeezed me as much as I could bear, and said:—
"'Read! in the name of thy Lord who created;
Created man from a clot of blood in the womb.
"'Read! for thy Lord is the most beneficent,
He hath taught men the use of the pen;
He hath taught man that which he knoweth not.'[1]
"Then the Prophet repeated the words himself, and with his heart trembling he returned (i.e. from Hiráa to Mecca) to Khadíjah, and
- ↑ Súra-i-Alaq (xcvi.), the first five verses. The other verses of the chapter are of a later date.
word Malak, Gabriel, instead of Angel, and most of our English authors have quoted the tradition from his book.
