Basic
Patience & Gratitude
Surah: Al-Qalam (1)
Nun and the Pen and What They Write — The Honor of Knowledge and Writing
وَٱلۡقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسۡطُرُونَ
— القلم الآية 1
Verse: "Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe — you are not by your Lord's blessing a madman." (68:1-2) — The pen was the first thing Allah created and commanded to write — "it wrote everything that will happen until the Day of Judgment." Then Allah swore by the pen defending the Prophet ﷺ against accusations of madness. Writing and knowledge are witnesses to the correctness of the method. "What they inscribe" — the pronoun refers to the writing angels or to writers in general. An honoring of all who write beneficial knowledge. Lesson: the pen is a trust — whoever writes falsehood or misguidance bears a burden; whoever writes beneficial knowledge has the pen as a witness for them.
Source: Ibn Kathir (8/188); Al-Sadi
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What was the first thing Allah created and what did He command it?
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