Tafseer of The Clot · Al-Alaq · 96:10
A servant when he prays?
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
It has been mentioned that this verse and what follows it were revealed concerning Abū Jahl ibn Hishām, and that is because he — according to what has reached us — said: "If I see Muḥammad praying, then I shall surely trample his neck." And he had — according to what has been mentioned — forbidden the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from praying, whereupon Allah said to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: Have you seen, O Muḥammad, that Abū Jahl who forbids you to pray at the place of prayer (al-maqām), while he turns away from the truth and denies it? He, exalted is His praise, makes His Prophet and the believers marvel at the ignorance of Abū Jahl and his insolence toward his Lord, in his forbidding Muḥammad to pray to his Lord, while he, despite the favors of Allah toward him, denies Him.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning Allah's word أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يَنْهَى * عَبْدًا إِذَا صَلَّى ("Have you seen him who forbids — a servant when he prays?"), he said: it is Abū Jahl, who forbids Muḥammad ﷺ when he prays.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يَنْهَى * عَبْدًا إِذَا صَلَّى : it was revealed concerning the enemy of Allah, Abū Jahl, and that is because he said: "If I see Muḥammad praying, then I shall surely step on his neck", whereupon Allah revealed what you hear.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning Allah's word أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يَنْهَى * عَبْدًا إِذَا صَلَّى , he said: Abū Jahl said: "If I see Muḥammad ﷺ praying, then I shall surely step on his neck." He said: and it used to be said: for every community there is a Pharaoh, and the Pharaoh of this community is Abū Jahl.
Isḥāq ibn Shāhīn al-Wāsiṭī related to us, saying: Khālid ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Dāwud, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: the Messenger ﷺ was praying, whereupon Abū Jahl came to him and forbade him to pray, whereupon Allah revealed: أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يَنْهَى * عَبْدًا إِذَا صَلَّى ... up to His word كَاذِبَةٍ خَاطِئَةٍ ("lying, sinful").
