First verse of the Holy Quran to be revealed - IQRA (Read)

First verse to be revealed 

It has been an agreed upon fact among scholars that the chapters of the Holy Quran (verses & chapters) have not been compiled in the chronological order of their revelation.

The fact that the Holy Quran is not compiled based on chronological order also means that the first Surah of the Holy Quran may not have been the first to be revealed and likewise the last Surah may not have been the last to be revealed.

So, that leads us to the following basic questions:

Q.1. Who was the Qur'an revealed to?

   
A.1. To the last Prophet Muhammed (P.B.U.H)

Q.2. Where was the Qur'an revealed first?
   
A.2.  In the cave of Hira (Makkah)

Q.3. Who was the Qur'an revealed through?
A.3. Through Angel Jibraeel (Alaihis-Salaam)

This is the account, as reported in the Sahih Bukhari:

Narrated Aisha the mother of the faithful believers: The commencement of the divine inspiration to Allah's apostle was in the form of good dreams which came like bright daylight (i.e. true) and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him.

He used to go in seclusion in the Cave of Hira', where he used to worship (Allah alone) continuously for many days before his desire to see his family. He used to take with him food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadija to take his food likewise again, till suddenly the truth descended upon him while he was in the Cave of Hira'.

The angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet replied 'I do not know how to read'. The Prophet added, 'The angel caught me (forcibly) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, "I do not know how to read". Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read, but again I replied, "I do not know how to read" (or what shall I read?). Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said:

"Read, in the name of Your Lord,

who created, created man from a clot.

Read! And Your Lord is the most bountiful"

( Quran 96.1, 96.2, 96.3) ... [Bukhari, I, No. 3; VI, No. 478; Muslim I, No. 301.]

According to other references 5 verses (1-5 ) of Surah 96 (Al- Alaq) were revealed and not just the first 3 verses. However, there is an consensus among scholars that the rest of the verses of the Surah (from a total of 19 verses) were revealed later.

The first command of Allah (S.W.T.) to Prophet Muhammed (P.B.U.H.) and his followers was to ‘Read in the name of your Lord…..’ , READ...and thus  ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE in the process. 

Following are the first five verses ( 1-5)  of Surah 96 (Al- Alaq) :

How were the verses of  the Holy Quran preserved ?

It was recognized that the Prophet Muhammed (P.B.U.H.) was unlettered, which meant he couldn't read or write, so, how were the verses of the Holy Quran preserved and compiled?

The Qur'an is the final message Allah (S.W.T.) has sent to mankind, it was revealed through Angel Jibraeel (Alaihis-Salaam), who brought the Prophet complete verses or parts of verses, or parts of or complete surahs, as he was commanded by Allah.

When the angel brought down to the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) a passage of the Qur'an, he did not bring it written on a piece of paper [or any other material].  In fact, he recited it to him and the Prophet immediately memorized it. When he received a portion of the Qur'an, he called in one or more of his scribes to write it down…thus preserving and compiling it in the process.

The Qur'an was revealed in stages over a period of 23 years, and not as a complete book in one single act of revelation. 

The following link will prove to be very enlightening on this topic :

It's just a 4-5 minute clip but very interesting! :)  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCazhBAW7a8