سورة القلم

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When the wilayah of Ali (peace be upon him) was revealed, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) made him stand up and said: "Whoever I am the master and guardian of, Ali (peace be upon him) is his master and guardian." A man said: "He has been afflicted with madness by this young man." And Allah the Exalted revealed: ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ ما أَنْتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّکَ بِمَجْنُونٍ [Noon. By the pen and what they write. You, by the grace of your Lord, are not mad].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): On Friday, Jibril descended upon the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) at Arafat and said: "O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Allah sends you His greeting and says: Tell your Ummah: Today I have perfected your religion for you through the wilayah of Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and completed My favour upon you (Ma'idah/3)." Then [the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)] delivered a long speech [to the people], and some of the hypocrites said to others: "Do you not see his eyes rolling?" — by this [statement] the hypocrites meant the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), as if he were mad and had been driven to madness by his cousin. "What has happened to him that he has raised his arm? If he could make him like Kisra and Caesar, he would do so." [After the words of the hypocrites] the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "With goodness and blessing: بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحیمِ [In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful]" — [by this] the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) announced to the people the revelation of the Quran; the people fell silent, and the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) recited: ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ ما أَنْتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّکَ بِمَجْنُونٍ [Noon. By the pen and what they write. You, by the grace of your Lord, are not mad] — meaning the hypocrites who said [things against the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)]. وَ إِنَّ لَکَ لَأَجْراً غَیْرَ مَمْنُونٍ [And indeed for you there is a reward without end] — for conveying what you conveyed about Ali (peace be upon him).

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Some of the hypocrites said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) has become mad concerning Ali (peace be upon him), to the extent that nothing stands against him." [In refutation of the hypocrites' claim] was revealed: ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ* ما أَنْتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّکَ بِمَجْنُونٍ* وَ إِنَّ لَکَ لَأَجْراً غَیْرَ مَمْنُونٍ* وَ إِنَّکَ لَعَلی خُلُقٍ عَظِیمٍ* فَسَتُبْصِرُ وَ یُبْصِرُونَ* بِأَیِّکُمُ المَفْتُون [Noon. By the pen and what they write. You, by the grace of your Lord, are not mad. And indeed for you there is a reward without end. And indeed you are of a great character. So you will see and they will see, which of you is the afflicted one].

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Walid ibn Mughira came to the Quraysh and said: "Tomorrow the people will gather at the season [of Hajj], and the matter [of the messengership] of this man [meaning the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)] has become known among the people, and they will ask you about him; so [in reply to them] what will you say?" Abu Jahl said: "I will say he is mad." Abu Lahab said: "I will say he is a poet." Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt said: "I will say he is a soothsayer (foreteller)." And Walid said: "Rather, I will say he is a sorcerer; [because] he causes separation between a man and his wife, and between a man and his brother and his father." So Allah the Exalted revealed [these verses to refute their words]: ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ [Noon. By the pen and what they write], and His saying: وَ ما هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شاعِرٍ [It is not the word of a poet, but little do you believe! (Haqqah/41)].

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him), in a report in which he describes the manner of the appointment of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), that while the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was performing the prayer together with Khadija, Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) came in upon them and said: "O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! What is this?" He said: "This is the religion of Allah." So he believed in him and affirmed him. Then the two of them prayed together and performed ruku and sujud. The people of Makkah saw them, and the news spread among them that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) had gone mad. So this verse was revealed: ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ مَا یَسْطُرُونَ* مَا أَنتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّکَ بِمَجْنُونٍ [Noon. By the pen and what they write. You are not, by the grace of your Lord, mad].

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated in a report: Khadija (peace be upon her) came to "Waraqa" ... Then she came to "Addas" and said: "Inform me about Jibrail — who is he?" He replied: "I will not answer until you tell me from whom you learned the name of Jibrail." Khadija (peace be upon her) said: "Muhammad ibn Abdullah (peace be upon him and his family) told me of it [and said] that Jibrail had come to him." Addas said: "He is the greatest keeper of secrets, who used to bring revelation and the message to Musa (peace be upon him) and Isa (peace be upon him). By Allah, if Jibrail has descended upon this land, then a great good has descended upon it. But O Khadija (peace be upon her)! Sometimes Satan appears to a servant and shows him certain things; so take this writing of mine and take it to your companion. If he is mad, it will leave him; and if it is from the command of Allah, it will not harm him." Then Khadija (peace be upon her) took the writing with her, and when she entered her home, she suddenly saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) sitting with Jibrail, and he was reciting these verses for him: ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ ما أَنْتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّکَ بِمَجْنُونٍ وَ إِنَّ لَکَ لَأَجْراً غَیْرَ مَمْنُونٍ وَ إِنَّکَ لَعَلی خُلُقٍ عَظِیمٍ فَسَتُبْصِرُ وَ یُبْصِرُونَ بِأَیِّکُمُ الْمَفْتُونُ [Noon. By the pen and what they write. You are not, by the grace of your Lord, mad. And indeed for you is a reward uninterrupted. And indeed you are of a great character. So you will see and they will see which of you is afflicted], meaning [which of you is] misguided or mad.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Yahya ibn Abi al-Ala al-Razi has narrated that a man came in upon Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) ... The Imam (peace be upon him) said: As for Noon, it was a river in Paradise, whiter than snow and sweeter than honey, and Allah the Mighty and Majestic said to it: "Be ink." So it became ink. Then He took a tree and planted it with His hand. Then he said: "The hand is power, and it is not as the anthropomorphists (Mushabbiha) suppose." Then He said to it: "Be a pen." So it became a pen. Then He said to it: "Write." It said: "O my Lord! What shall I write?" He said: "Write all that will be until the Day of Resurrection." So it did that. Then He sealed it and said: "Do not speak until the appointed time."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Sufyan ibn Sa'id al-Thawri narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) concerning the interpretation of the disjoined letters of the Quran that he said: "As for نون [Noon], it is a river in Paradise to which Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: 'Solidify,' and it solidified. Then Allah the Mighty and Majestic said to الْقَلَمُ [the Pen]: 'Write.' So the Pen wrote in the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz) whatever had existed and whatever will come to exist until the Day of Judgement. The ink is an ink of light, the pen is a pen of light, and the tablet is a tablet of light." Sufyan said: I said to him: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Is it possible for you to explain to me the matter of the Tablet, the Pen and the ink fully, and to teach me from what Allah has taught you?" He said: "O Ibn Sa'id! If you were not worthy of an answer, I would not have answered you. Noon is an angel who conveys to the Pen, and the Pen too is an angel; and the Pen conveys to the Tablet, and the Tablet too is an angel; and the Tablet conveys to Israfil, and Israfil conveys to Mika'il, and Mika'il conveys to Jibra'il, and Jibra'il conveys to the prophets and the messengers (peace be upon them)." He said: Then he said to me: "O Sufyan! Rise up [and go], for our mind is not at ease about you."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ [Noon. By the pen and what they write]. Noon is a river in Paradise whiter than milk. Allah commanded the Pen and it flowed with whatever has been and whatever will be, and it lies placed before Him: whatever He wills of it He increases, and whatever He wills He decreases; and whatever Allah wills to be, is, and whatever He wills not to be, is not.

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Noon is a name for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and وَ الْقَلَمِ [the Pen] is a name for Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him).

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) has ten names; five of them are in the Quran and five are not in the Quran. As for those which are in the Quran: Muhammad, Ahmad, Abdullah, Ya-Sin and Noon. And as for those which are not in the Quran: al-Fatih (the Opener), al-Khatam (the Seal), al-Kafi (the Sufficient), al-Muqaffi (the Follower) and al-Hashir (the Gatherer).

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Ibn Salam asked the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) about ن وَ الْقَلَم [Noon. By the pen]. He said: "Noon is the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz), and the pen is a shining light, and this is the meaning of the word of Allah: ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ [Noon. I swear by the pen and what they write]." He said: "O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), you have spoken the truth. Tell me, what is its length? And what is its width? And what is its ink? And where does it flow?" He said: "The length of the pen is five hundred years' [journey], and its width is a distance of eighty years, and the ink comes out from between its teeth, and it flows upon the Preserved Tablet by the command of Allah and His authority." He said: "You have spoken the truth, O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family). Tell me about the Preserved Tablet — of what is it?" He said: "Of a single green emerald, whose interior is pearl, and its lining is mercy." He said: "You have spoken the truth, O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)." He said: "Tell me, how many times does Allah turn His attention to the Preserved Tablet in every day and night?" He said: "Three hundred and sixty glances."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): The first thing Allah created was the pen, and He said to it: "Write!" It said: "O my Lord, what shall I write?" He said: "Write: from this day the decree flows with whatever will be, until the Day of Resurrection." Then He rolled up the writing and lifted the pen, and His Throne was upon the water; then vapour rose up and from it the heavens were brought forth. Then He created the Nun (the great fish) and spread the earth upon it, and the earth is upon the back of the Nun. The Nun stirred and the earth trembled, so He fixed it with the mountains — and indeed the mountains boast over the earth until the Day of Resurrection. Then Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) recited: ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ [Noon. I swear by the pen and what they write].

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The first thing Allah created was the pen, then after the Nun He created the inkwell. Then He said to the pen: "Write!" It said: "What shall I write?" He said: "What has been and what will be until the Day of Resurrection — of deeds, or trace, or provision, or lifespan." So it wrote what is and what will be until the Day of Resurrection, and this is the meaning of His word: ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ [Noon. I swear by the pen and what they write]. Then He set a seal upon the mouth of the pen, and it has not spoken, and will not speak, until the Day of Resurrection. Then Allah created the intellect and said: "By My honour, I shall surely perfect you in the one whom I love, and I shall surely diminish you in the one whom I detest."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): The first thing that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, created was water, and His Throne was upon the water ... He placed the earth upon a great fish, and it is the fish which Allah has mentioned in His Book, saying: ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ [Noon. I swear by the pen and what they write]. And the fish and the water are upon the rock.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Noon is the fish upon which the earth rests, and the pen is that with which Allah the Mighty and Majestic wrote the decrees — the good and the bad, the beneficial and the harmful — and وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ [and what they write] means the noble scribes (al-Kiram al-Katibun).

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): He placed the earth upon the back of the fish, and that is what Allah has mentioned in His words: ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ [Noon. By the pen and what they write]. The fish is in the water upon a stone, and the stone is upon an angel, and the angel is upon a rock.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Muawiya ibn Qurra narrated from his father that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ [Noon. By the pen and what they write] — it is a tablet of light and a pen of light, and it wrote all that will come to be until the Day of Resurrection.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Noon is a river in Paradise, and Allah said to it: "Become ink!" and it congealed — whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. Then He said to the pen: "Write!" and the pen wrote all that was and all that will be until the Day of Resurrection.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Uthman ibn Affan asked the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) to explain "Abjad," and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "As for the Noon, it is ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ [Noon. By the pen and what they write] — a pen of light and a book of light, which is placed in لَوْحٍ مَحْفُوظٍ [a Preserved Tablet] (al-Buruj/22), which the near-stationed ones (al-muqarrabun) witness (al-Mutaffifin/21), and Allah suffices as a witness to this matter (al-Fath/28)."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah the Mighty and Majestic created the Pen from a tree in Paradise called the tree of Khuld (eternity). Then He said to a river in Paradise: "Become ink." So that river, which was whiter than snow and sweeter than honey, froze. Then He said to the Pen: "Write." It said: "O my Lord! What shall I write?" He said: "Write down what exists and what will exist until the Day of Judgement." So the Pen wrote upon a thin parchment that was whiter than silver and clearer than ruby, then He rolled it up and placed it in a corner of the Throne. Then He sealed the Pen, and after that it did not open its lips to speak. This is the Preserved Book (al-Kitab al-Maknun) from which all copies are taken. Are you not Arabs? Then why do you not understand the meaning of speech, when you say to one another: "Copy from this book" — is it not so that a copy is taken from the original of a writing? And this is the very saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: إِنَّا کُنَّا نَسْتَنْسِخُ ما کُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ [Indeed, We were having transcribed what you used to do]. (al-Jathiyah/29).

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ الْقَلَمِ [By the pen] — it is the pen with which the "wise reminder" (al-Dhikr al-Hakim) that is with the Lord of the worlds is written.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ibrahim al-Karkhi said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the Tablet and the Pen, and he said: "These two are angels."

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: A man came to Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) ... As for what he asked concerning the Throne — from what did Allah create it — the Throne is the fourth thing that He created. Before it He had created the air, the Pen and the light.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ [Noon. By the pen and what they write]; that is, what they write. This is an oath, and its response is ما أَنْتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّکَ بِمَجْنُونٍ [You are not, by the grace of your Lord, a madman].

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ ما یَسْطُرُونَ [and what they write] means the angels write the deeds of human beings.