"اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ, خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ, اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ, الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ عَلَّمَ الْإِنْسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ"
Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists), He has created man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood) Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous, Who has taught (the writing) by the pen. He has taught man that which he knew not (96/1-4).
Commentary :
1) These are the first revelation of the Holy Quran.They are the first words of Allah (pbth) to mankind through the angel "Jibril".What was the first word ? "Read" in the formula of order.Allah (pbth) directs us to the importance of knowledge and science.By them Allah honoured our father Adam and he was favoured over all the angels ,so Allah ordered them to prostrate to him.
وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الْأَسْمَاءَ كُلَّهَا ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى الْمَلَائِكَةِ فَقَالَ أَنْبِئُونِي بِأَسْمَاءِ هَٰؤُلَاءِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِين قَالُوا سُبْحَانَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَا إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ َ قَالَ يَا آدَمُ أَنْبِئْهُمْ بِأَسْمَائِهِمْ ۖ فَلَمَّا أَنْبَأَهُمْ بِأَسْمَائِهِمْ قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُلْ لَكُمْ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ غَيْبَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَأَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ
And He taught Adam the names of all things; then He placed them before the angels and said: "Tell Me the names of these if ye are right." They said: "Glory to Thee: of knowledge we have none, save that Thou hast taught us: in truth it is Thou who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom." He said: "O Adam! tell them their names." When he had told them their names, Allah said: "Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and I know what ye reveal and what ye conceal?" (2/31-33)
2) "Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists)"Allah (pbth) commanded us to begin reading "In the name of Allah" because Allah is the only supporter and helper to us to read and understand what we have read.To contain and know what the means of Allah behind these verses.So the messenger of Allah commanded us to begin any deed with "Al-Basmalah"(In the name of Allah The Beneficent and Merciful) Reading may be from a book or from a written paper or reading that vast universe and meditate its heaven .How it was raised high as the raised roof without any pillars .How the mountains be erected. How the land was spread out.What about the sun,the stars,the moon and the planets that go around the sun in an amazing system.Allah (pbth) mentioned one quality of his 99 names "The Creator" because all creations around us witness that there is God for that world and that God must be wise, knowledgeable of what he created,merciful,generous , forgiver and strong.
3) In the first verse Allah tied between the knowledge and the creation and faith.There is no collision between them in Islam.Reading leads to knowledge and knowledge leads to faith.The Islamic faith incites scientists and encourages them to research and discover that universe.Allah praised the scientists who have knowledge because they fear and love Allah more than any other people Allah said :
إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ غَفُورٌ
It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is All¬Mighty, Oft¬Forgiving. (35/28)

4) The second verse talks about the general creation but in the third verse Allah transported us to the special creation.The creation of humanbeing himself (He has created man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood)
"وَفِي الْأَرْضِ آيَاتٌ لِلْمُوقِنِينَ وَفِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ ۚ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ"
"On the earth are Signs for those of assured Faith, As also in your own selves: will ye not then see?" (51/20-21)
5) The Holy Quran was sent down in an Era where darkness, ignorance and superstitions were dominated.Some scientists thought that full dwarf embryo existing in man’s sperm and it grows up in womb as the tree grows Some scientist believed that the full dwarf embryo is created out of the woman’s menstrual blood coagulation (thickening) (until the 17 century). Mankind did not realize that the embryo is created of a man’s sperm mingled with a woman’s ovum until the 18th century , and only that was confirmed at the beginning of the 20th century.(They discovered the ovum in the 18thcentury).They also did not know the stages of the embryo's growing until the 19th century .
6) At the beginning of the seventh century The Holy Quran was descended on Muhammad the unlettered messenger .Muhammad (pbuh) never read never wrote throughout his life and that was decided by the Will of Allah (pbth)
"وَمَا كُنْتَ تَتْلُو مِنْ قَبْلِهِ مِنْ كِتَابٍ وَلَا تَخُطُّهُ بِيَمِينِكَ ۖ إِذًا لَارْتَابَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ"
And thou wast not (able) to recite a Book before this (Book came) nor art thou (able) to transcribe it with thy right hand: in that case, indeed, would the talkers of vanities have doubted. (29/48)
7) The Holy Quran came to change all the wrong concepts telling us about things that will be discovered in the future "The scientific Miracles in the Holy Quran".Among these Miracles "The creation of the humanbeing" Allah told us in the second verse that " He has created man from a clot (Alaq)"( The ovum of the woman after fertilizing it by the sperm of man hanging in the wall of the womb of the woman) This is the second stage of the embryo development in the womb of his mother.
8) In the following verses Allah talks about his generosity and He is more generous than any one of his slaves .One of his greatest generosity is honouring man and raising his value by writing with the pen and this is the first step to have knowledge
Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous, Who has taught (the writing) by the pen. He has taught man that which he knew not.