What was the first verse of the Quran revealed?
The first verses of the Quran revealed were the opening five verses of Surah al-Alaq (96:1–5), beginning with "Iqra" (Read). The angel Jibril brought them to the Prophet ﷺ in the Cave of Hira near Makkah, around 610 CE, during Ramadan, when he was about 40 years old.
The night in the Cave of Hira
Before prophethood, the Prophet ﷺ liked to spend days alone in a small cave on Jabal an-Nur, a mountain outside Makkah, worshipping and reflecting. Aishah described what happened next: the angel came to him and said, "Read!" He replied, "I am not a reader." The angel squeezed him tightly and repeated the command three times, then recited the first verses of Surah al-Alaq (Sahih al-Bukhari 3).
The passage continues: "Created man from a clinging substance. Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous, who taught by the pen, taught man that which he knew not" (96:2–5).
What happened afterwards
The Prophet ﷺ returned home shaking and asked his wife Khadijah to cover him. She comforted him, reminding him that he was kind to relatives, helped the weak and honoured guests, so Allah would never disgrace him. She took him to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal, a Christian scholar, who recognized this as the same kind of revelation that came to Moses (Sahih al-Bukhari 3). Khadijah became the first person to believe in him.
The first after the pause
After those first verses, revelation paused for a while. When it resumed, the opening of Surah al-Muddaththir (74:1–5) came: "O you who covers himself, arise and warn." So scholars often say al-Alaq was the first revelation, and al-Muddaththir was the first command to start calling people. A few early scholars named al-Fatiha as the first complete surah, but the majority view is al-Alaq 1–5.
Why it matters
- It starts with reading and knowledge. The first word of the final revelation is "Read", and it mentions the pen. Learning is at the heart of Islam.
- It happened in Ramadan. The Quran says it was sent down in Ramadan (2:185), on Laylat al-Qadr (97:1).
- It isn't at the start of the book. Al-Alaq is chapter 96, near the end, because the Quran is arranged by the Prophet's ﷺ teaching, not by date. See Why isn't the Quran in chronological order?
Muslims believe these words came from Allah, not from the Prophet ﷺ himself. See Who wrote the Quran?
- The first revelation was Surah al-Alaq 96:1–5, starting with "Read".
- It came through Jibril in the Cave of Hira, in Ramadan, around 610 CE.
- The full story is in Sahih al-Bukhari 3, narrated by Aishah.
- Al-Muddaththir 74:1–5 came after a pause in revelation.
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