The Imperatives of Reciting the Quran with a Semantic Exploration of the Word "Eqr a"

The command "eqra’" (read) at the beginning of the revelation is the first purposeful instruction that reveals the main approach of the call of the Prophet of Islam. Hence, he was diligent in reading and memorizing the Quran and made every attempt to have the believers read and memorize the Quran as well. In his attempts to teach the verses and surahsto the companions, the Prophet underscored oral and aural teaching. He readthe verses to the companions following their revelation and got them to read, review and memorize them. He alsosent some ofthe companions to the surrounding areasto teachthe Quran. Since the early days, this approach has led to the emergence of a group of people known as qari(reciter) and the chain of the Quran reciters hassustained from century to century. Examining the different semantic layers of the word "eqra" (read), this paper reviews the process of the Prophet’s effortsaimed at reciting the Quran and how he recitedit so thatthe imperatives of recitingthe Quran can be explored. The results revealed that the main element of teaching the Quranis recitation along with a focus on the meaning range. Recitation along with deliberation is the first semantic layer of recitation of the Quran and other layers includeinvestigation,reflection, contemplation,perception, awareness, being influenced and putting the messages of the verses into practice, which could be vividly observed in the Prophet Muhammad’srecitation and needs to be followed by Muslims.