ٱقْرَأْ كِتَٰبَكَ كَفَىٰ بِنَفْسِكَ ٱلْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكَ حَسِيبًا ١٤
[It will be said], "Read your record. Sufficient is yourself against you this Day as accountant."
اِقْرَأْ
Iqra: meaning of the name
Girl Arabic origin Iqraʾ
In the Quran“Read! Recite!”, the first word of the Quran to be revealed
The word as it is recited in the Quran: Mahmoud Khalil Al-Hussary, Al-Isra 17:14.
Iqra in Islam
Iqraʾ opens Surah al-ʿAlaq: “Read in the name of your Lord who created” (96:1), the first verses revealed. ʿAʾisha relates that the angel came to the Prophet ﷺ in the cave of Hiraʾ and said: “Read!”; he answered: “I cannot read” (al-Bukhari 3). The word recurs in 96:3 and 17:14.
Meaning of the name Iqra
Iqraʾ is the imperative of the verb qaraʾa, “to read, to recite” (root q-r-ʾ, that of qurʾan, “recitation”). It is the first word of the revelation, addressed to the Prophet ﷺ in the cave of Hiraʾ. The name is a verb, which is unusual in Arabic; it is mostly given to girls in Pakistan and India, where it is very common.
- In Arabic
- اِقْرَأْ اقرا
- Transliteration
- Iqraʾ
- Root
- ق ر أ · 88 occurrences in the Quran
- Gender
- Girl
- Origin
- Arabic
Is Iqra in the Quran?
Yes: the word Iqra appears in the Quran 3 times, in 2 surahs.
ٱقْرَأْ بِٱسْمِ رَبِّكَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ١
Recite in the name of your Lord who created –
ٱقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ ٱلْأَكْرَمُ ٣
Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous -
All the words of the root ق ر أ in the Quran (88 occurrences)
In the hadiths
Authentic
Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Sahih al-Bukhari 3
The first thing the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) started to experience from the revelation was the good vision in his sleep
The first thing the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) started to experience from the revelation was the good vision in his sleep. He never saw a vision except that it came true like the break of dawn. Then seclusion was endeared to him, and he used to retreat to the…
أَوَّلُ مَا بُدِئَ بِهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِنَ الْوَحْىِ الرُّؤْيَا الصَّالِحَةُ فِي النَّوْمِ، فَكَانَ لاَ يَرَى رُؤْيَا إِلاَّ جَاءَتْ مِثْلَ فَلَقِ الصُّبْحِ، ثُمَّ حُبِّبَ إِلَيْهِ الْخَلاَءُ…
Is this name permissible?
No text or scholarly opinion concerns the name Iqra in particular: the general rules of Islam apply.
Read the rules for choosing a name
This page is an aid to reflection, not a fatwa. For a personal case, ask a person of knowledge.
Writing Iqra in each language
- French
- Iqra, Ikra
- English
- Iqra, Iqraa
- Spanish
- Iqra
- Turkish
- İkra
- Arabic
- اِقْرَأْ