Al-Qalam

24 passages reference this surah

From 14 books in our audiobook library. Each passage is also spoken aloud in the app.

Book 35: The Book of Divine Unity and Trust in God

Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din

1. "The pen continued, "Inquire about my affair, nicknamed the Right Hand of the King, for I am in its grasp, and it is what guides me, and I am compelled and subdued. There is no difference between the divine pen and the human pen in terms of subjugation; the only difference is in the outward form.""

   Source in The Book of Divine Unity and Trust in God →

2. "In general, it is a hand not like hands, and a finger not like fingers. He found the pen being moved within its grasp, and the pen's excuse was revealed to him. He asked the right hand about its nature and its movement of the pen."

   Source in The Book of Divine Unity and Trust in God →

3. "This is ignorance, for the pen has no power of its own and is merely an instrument in the writer's hand. The wise person recognizes this and thanks the writer, not the pen. In truth, Allah is the ultimate writer, as He says in the Quran: "You did not throw when you threw, but Allah threw."

   Source in The Book of Divine Unity and Trust in God →

Book 21: The Book of the Wonders of the Heart

Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din

1. "made a cause for the inscription of knowledge in human hearts. As God Almighty says, He who taught by the pen taught man what he did not know. God's pen does not resemble the pen of His creation,"

   Source in The Book of the Wonders of the Heart →

Book 25: Condemnation of Rancor and Envy

Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din

1. "so he does not become angry with any of His creation, seeing them as tools in His dominion, like a pen in the hand of a writer. If a king decrees someone's execution, he does not become angry at the pen, so he does not become angry at someone who slaughters his goat,"

   Source in Rancor and Envy →

The Garden of the Gnostics

Imam al-Nawawī · Timeless Classics

1. "things with that pen after al-Bukhari, and that was in the city of Cairo, may God protect it. Ibn Qutaybah said in Adab al-Kateeb, I sharpened the pen of knowledge diligently. Abu Sayyid al-Samani mentioned in Kitab al-Ansab that Shaykh Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ali ibn"

   Source in The Garden of the Gnostics →

2. "He spent his time in knowledge, may God be pleased with him, and with our fathers and the Muslims. I heard our teacher, Diya al-Din, may God be pleased with him, say, I wrote Sahih al-Bukhari in six volumes, with one pen, but I would sharpen it, and I wrote other"

   Source in The Garden of the Gnostics →

Volume 2 — From the Israelite Prophets to Pre-Islamic Arabia

Ibn Kathir · Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya

1. "They requested to draw lots a second time by throwing their pens into the river, and whoever's pen flowed against the current would be the winner. They did so, and Zachariah's pen flowed contrary to the flow of the water, while the other pens followed the current."

   Source in Israelite Prophets to Pre-Islamic Arabia →

2. "They then asked to draw lots a third time, and whoever's pen flowed with the water while the remaining pens flowed against it would be the winner. They did this, and Zachariah was again the victor. Thus he took care of her, as he was more deserving of her guardianship"

   Source in Israelite Prophets to Pre-Islamic Arabia →

3. "of the unseen which We reveal to you. And you were not with them when they cast their pens to see which of them would take care of Mariam, nor were you with them when they disputed. They said that each of them cast their pen, which was known to them, and placed"

   Source in Israelite Prophets to Pre-Islamic Arabia →

al-Fawāʾid — Points of Benefit, Volume One

Ibn al-Qayyim · Timeless Classics

1. "The tenth: that since He, glorified be He, opened the creation of this world with the Pen, it was of the most fitting harmony that He seal it with the creation of man, for the Pen is the instrument of knowledge and man is"

   Source in al-Fawāʾid →

2. "A chapter: the first of created things was the Pen, that it might write the decrees before they came to be, and Adam was made the last of created things. In this there are several wisdoms. The first: the house is made ready before the one who is to dwell in it. The second: he is the very purpose for which all else was created — the heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon, the land and the sea."

   Source in al-Fawāʾid →

The Beginning of Guidance

Imam al-Ghazali · The Beginning of Guidance

1. "to articulate, for the pen is one of the two tongues, so guard the pen as you would guard the tongue. Manners of the Feet Regarding the feet, guard them against walking to what is haram or seeking the doors of oppressive"

   Source in Beginning of Guidance →

The Prophets of Bani Israil

Ibn Kathir · Stories of the Prophets

1. "them when they were disputing. They cast their recognizable pens, and a young boy picked one, which was Zechariah's pen. They cast lots a second time, throwing their pens into the river, and Zechariah's pen flowed"

   Source in The Story of Prophets of Bani Israil →

Futūḥ al-Ghayb — Revelations of the Unseen

Shaykh Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani · Timeless Classics

1. "Among what the tongue can express, and speech can reveal, and the pen can write, and explanation can clarify; Words emerged and appeared to me from the openings of the unseen, settling in the heart, occupying the place, brought forth and produced by the sincerity of the state, manifested by the grace of the Benefactor, and the mercy of the Lord of all beings, in the form of correct speech, a clear path for those seeking the truth, the Almighty."

   Source in Futūḥ al-Ghayb →

2. ""The world is the farm of the Hereafter." How Wise is He Who Guides Destinies to Their Appointed Times! He, may God be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction, said: When God answers His servant's supplication and grants him what he asks for, His will is not disrupted, nor what the pen has written and knowledge has preceded."

   Source in Futūḥ al-Ghayb →

3. ""Be mindful of God, and He will protect you. Be mindful of God, and you will find Him before you. If you ask, ask of God. If you seek help, seek help from God. The pen has dried with what will be. If the servants strive to benefit you with something God has not decreed for you, they will not be able to do so."

   Source in Futūḥ al-Ghayb →

Book 1: The Book of Knowledge

Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din

1. "and do not accept what jurists say about one another, for they are envious of one another as billy goats are envious in their pen." Arrogance is another trait to be wary of. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Whoever exalts himself, Allah will abase him, and whoever humbles himself, Allah will exalt him."

   Source in The Book of Knowledge →

2. "When it becomes clear that the sun, stars, inanimate objects, plants, animals, and all creatures are subjugated by His command, like a pen in the hand of a scribe, and that eternal power is the source of all, reliance, satisfaction, and submission will dominate his heart,"

   Source in The Book of Knowledge →

3. "If faith overwhelmingly fills his heart, eradicating anger at intermediaries, and he views intermediaries like a pen in the hand of a scribe, then he has attained certainty in the second sense, which is the realization that follows from the first certainty."

   Source in The Book of Knowledge →

Book 39: The Book of Contemplation

Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din

1. "capable, willing, and articulate human being, yet when you look at the divine inscriptions marvelously engraved on the pages of my face by the divine pen, whose essence, movement, and connection with the place it inscribes are beyond human sight, your heart fails to recognize the majesty of its Creator?"

   Source in The Book of Contemplation →

Book 33: Fear and Hope

Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din

1. "they would not have associated partners with Him; had He willed, He would have guided each soul. In Surah Al-Waqi’ah: “No untruth can deny its occurrence, lowering and elevating,” indicating the pen has dried with what exists and the foreordained completed until the unseen occurrence happens,"

   Source in Fear & Hope →

Book 14: The Lawful and the Unlawful

Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din

1. "Other sciences developed later. Sufyan advised, "Do not mingle with the ruler or those who mingle with him. The owner of the pen, ink, paper, and seal are all partners. This is true, as the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, cursed ten types of people involved with alcohol,"

   Source in The Lawful and the Unlawful →

Book 3: The Book of Purification

Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din

1. "noting that Zayd ibn Khalid would attend prayers with his tooth-stick on his ear, in place of a pen. Another hadith states: "There is no ablution for one who does not mention the name of Allah," recorded by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah from Sa'id ibn Zayd."

   Source in The Book of Purification →