Iqraa

By Mogahid Siddiq

My project was a calligraphy which is “Iqraa”, I used a white board and a marker for my calligraphy, in the beginning I messed it up but I got it right in my second try, I really enjoyed doing it although it needs to much focus on it, as a single mistake will cost you doing it again, in this calligraphy. I used Google search at the beginning for Islamic calligraphy then the word “Iqraa” caught my attention because of it's meaning in the holy Quran, then I started looking for more fonts and pictures for this word, and ended up with this font which was challenging at the beginning but I ended up doing it right, I started my first attempts using pencil then write on it with a marker then I became experienced after many try outs and wrote it without using a pencil. I did not know about this font before but I liked it, which was the main reason for choosing this calligraphy in addition to its value in our Islamic world.

Also “Iqraa” is a command to be educated and know about what is happening in our world. As getting education became a must now that is why we see a lot of people care about education in the mean time that is a reason to see a lot of educational institutes nowadays that reflects the value of getting educated. 

If we look to this word from Islamic view we find out that is has one of the most emotional stories in Islam behind it. The reason behind that is because it is the first word in the Quran. It all started in Ramadan, the prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him) was 40 years old. He used to go up a mountain called Ghar Hiraa in order to meditate. However, that day changed his life. While he was climbing up the mountain, he heard a voice calling him. He looked to his left, right, back, and front and saw nobody. When he looked up, he saw the angel Gabriel in front of him, he was terrified because he did not know who or what he was. Once he looked at him, Gabriel said to him “Iqraa” which means read. Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him) told him “I am illiterate” but Gabriel kept repeating it to him. After that, he ran to his wife, Khadija, scared and went under the cover saying “cover me, cover me” Khadija, terrified, went and told her cousin Waraqaa Ibn Nawfal, who was considered to be a wise man. After hearing his story, Waraqaa Ibn Nawfal knew that it was the angel Gabriel sent by the Almighty Allah to let him know that Mohamed (peace be upon him) is the messenger of Allah. Once the Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him) realized that he is a messenger of Allah, everything became clear to him and he was not scared anymore. Since that day, Iqraa became the first word in the Quran. It is found in the Quran in the first verse of Surat Al-Alaq. Personally, this is one of my favorite stories. It always fills me up with faith and emotion. I can hear this story for days over and over again and it would still fill my soul with faith and love for my religion.