Allah's statement,
[وَالْقَلَمِ]
(By the pen) The apparent meaning is that this refers to the actual pen that
is used to write. This is like Allah's saying,
[اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ
الاٌّكْرَمُ - الَّذِى عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ - عَلَّمَ الإِنسَـنَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ
]
(Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous. Who has taught by the pen. He has
taught man that which he knew not.) (96:3-5) Therefore, this statement is
Allah's swearing and alerting His creatures to what He has favored them with by
teaching them the skill of writing, through which knowledge is attained. Thus,
Allah continues by saying,
[وَمَا
يَسْطُرُونَ]
(and by what they Yastur.) Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Qatadah all said that this
means, "what they write.'' As-Suddi said, "The angels and the deeds of the
servants they record.'' Others said, "Rather, what is meant here is the pen
which Allah caused to write the decree when He wrote the decrees of all
creation, and this took place fifty-thousand years before He created the heavens
and the earth.'' For this, they present Hadiths that have been reported about
the Pen. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Al-Walid bin `Ubadah bin As-Samit that he
said, "My father called for me when he was dying and he said to me: `Verily, I
heard the Messenger of Allah say,
«إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَا
خَلَقَ اللهُ الْقَلَمُ فَقَالَ لَهُ: اكْتُبْ، قَالَ: يَا رَبِّ وَمَا أَكْتُبُ؟
قَالَ: اكْتُبِ الْقَدَرَ وَمَا هُوَ كَائِنٌ إِلَى الْأَبَد»
(Verily, the first of what Allah created was the Pen, and He said to it:
"Write.'' The Pen said: "O my Lord, what shall I write'' He said: "Write the
decree and whatever will throughout eternity.'')'' This Hadith has been recorded
by Imam Ahmad through various routes of transmission. At-Tirmidhi also recorded
it from a Hadith of Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi and he (At-Tirmidhi) said about it,
"Hasan Sahih, Gharib.''
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