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wa-ʾinnaka la-ʿalā khuluqin ʿaẓīmin
and indeed you possess a great character.
— Ali Quli Qarai
68Al-QalamالقلمVerse 4 of 52
The Pen68. Al-Qalamالقلم
al-Qalam
The Pen
MeccanVerse 4 of 52
68Al-QalamالقلمVerse 4 of 52
The Pen
and indeed you possess a great character.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah al-Qalam – Verses 1-4
1. By Nun, pen and by what they write.
2. You, by the Grace of your Lord, are not insane.
3. And for you shall be a Great and Everlasting Reward.
4. And you possess an exalted character.
The Chapter in question is the only One opening with the detached letter nun. Mention has been made above as to the detached letter, particularly under the opening blessed Verses of Chapters 2, 3, and 7. What is worthy of note herein is that some Qur’anic exegetes maintain that the detached letter is a hypochoristicon of and an allusion to the Arabic Divine Attribute rahman ("the Most Gracious"), though some have considered it as a metalypsis alluding to a river in Paradise.
The blessed Verse 1 contains oaths taken as to two most significant issues in human life, saying:
The oath is quite astonishing, since the object of the oath is seemingly an insignificant point, a piece of reed or something resembling the same and a little black material. Nonetheless, it is the fountainhead of all human civilizations, advancements, and development of sciences, awakening of thought, formation of religions and schools of thought, and the springhead of human guidance and awareness such that human life thereby falls into pre-historic and historic eras.
Human history begins by the discovery of writing through which man was able to record the story of his life and left behind
The majestic nature of the oath is rendered further evident by according attention to the point that such blessed Verses were revealed when there were no writers in that milieu and the number of the illiterate inhabitants of Mecca, the focal point of devotions, politics, and economy of Hijaz, did not exceed twenty. Thus, swearing by the pen in such milieu is of a particular majesty. It would be of interest to make mention of the point that the earliest Verses revealed onto the noble and pure heart of the Noble Prophet (S) on the "Mountain of Light" (Jabal al-Nur) and at the "Cave of Hira" reveal the exalted significance of the pen:
The most interesting point is that an illiterate person recited such Words bearing testimony to the truth that the Holy Qur’an is but Divine Revelation. Some Qur’anic exegetes maintain that the Arabic word qalam ("pen, calamus") herein connotes the pen by which archangels record Divine Revelation or the records of human deeds, though the contextual meaning of the blessed Verse in question is broader in scope and such interpretation may be considered as one of its senses.
Likewise
is also broad in its semantic implications encompassing whatever is recorded of treading the path of guidance and the intellectual, moral, and practical developments of mankind without being restricted to recording Divine Revelation or human deeds. The blessed Verse 2 treats of the object of the oath, saying that owing to Divine Graciousness, you are not insane, namely those who unfoundedly allege that your are insane are blind in their hearts failing to behold all these Divine Blessings and Bounties conferred upon you, e.g. the Bounties of great intellect and insight, trustworthiness, sincerity, knowledge, Prophetic Call, and infallibility.
They are insane who falsely allege that the possessor of intellect par excellence is insane and thereby distance from the guide and leader of mankind through posing such unfounded allegations. The blessed Verse 3 is saying that Great and Everlasting Divine Rewards are in store for you, since you persevere on the Straight Path against such unfounded claims and even set your hopes on their deliverance and salvation without experiencing exhaustion consequent to your endeavors made on the path. The Arabic adjectival form mamnun derives from m-n-n ("sever") connoting endless and everlasting Rewards.
The blessed Verse 4 presents another depiction of the Noble Prophet (S), saying that he possesses great and marvelous nobilities of character, unrivalled purity and sincerity, and indescribable patience, perseverance, steadfastness, and forbearance. He calls people unto obedience to God Almighty, worships Him more than anyone else, forbid people of committing vices, exercises forbearance, providing those harming and hurting him with admonition.
He invokes God Almighty to forgive the sins of those who slander him. He prays to God Almighty to bestow His Guidance upon those who hit him with rocks and cast hot ashes on his head. He is the focal point of love and the springhead of mercy. The Arabic word khuluq, cognate with khilqat ("creation") connotes the inherent purity of heart which becomes the second nature of man.4
Footnotes
However, mention may be made of a tradition narrated from Husayn ibn ‘Ali (as) as saying that his father, the Commander of the Faithful, Imam ‘Ali (as), had provided him with details on the Noble Prophet’s (S) nobilities of character. Some of these nobilities will be mentioned hereunder. The Noble Prophet (S) was of good tempered and of a good disposition.
He always smiled. He was never rough, cruel, aggressive, and vile of speech. He was not a flatterer nor did he found faults with others. He never left anyone in despair but whoever came unto him returned with satisfaction. He neither entered into disputes nor was he prolix in speech nor did he reproach anyone. He was neither inquisitive nor did he uttered any words unless he had set his hopes on Divine Rewards.
His speech was so impressive that others were silent and they never uttered a word unless he became silent. People never entered into disputes before him. If a stranger who did not know him talked coarsely asking for something, he exercised patience and toleration and said unto his companions to meet the demands of the needy.
He never interrupted anyone unless he stopped talking.
(Ma‘ani al-Akhbar, p. 83)
Without such moral nobilities and excellences, those backward pre-Islamic Arabs with their coarseness and inflexibility would never embrace the Islamic faith, but they would abandon him. It would be befitting to revive such Islamic moral nobilities and all Muslims be a beam of light reflecting the Noble Prophet’s (S) moral excellences.
Numerous Islamic traditions have been narrated in this respect as to the Noble Prophet (S) and the obligations incumbent upon all Muslims, though for the sake of brevity, we content ourselves with making mention of a few traditions.
It is narrated from the Noble Prophet (S), saying:
"It is my Prophetic Call to perfect moral excellences".
(Majma‘ al-Bayan, vol. 10, p. 333)
Thus, one of the goals behind the Prophetic Call is to perfect moral nobilities.
According to a prophetic tradition, it is through moral excellences and the believers attain to such degree that they worship God Almighty at night and fasts during the day.
(Majma‘ al-Bayan, ibid.)
According to another Prophetic tradition, nothing shall be rewarded on the Day of Resurrection like good temper (ibid.).
It is narrated from the Noble Prophet (S) that the most beloved of you before God Almighty are those who are of good temper and disposition, those who are humble, associate with others and people are also willing to associate with them and the most detested of you before God Almighty are the slanderers who separate the brethren and are inquisitive to find faults with the sinless (ibid.).
It is also narrated from the Noble Prophet (S) that above all, fear of God Almighty and having a good disposition leads people to Paradise.
(Safinat al-Bihar, vol. 1, p. 410)
It is narrated from Imam Baqir (as) that the best of the believers are those who excel in faith through possessing noble excellences.
(Wasa’il al-Shi‘a, vol. 8, p. 50)
It is narrated from Imam ‘Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (as) as saying that the Noble Prophet said:
"it is incumbent upon you to improve your nobilities, since they lead you to Paradise and refrain from possessing an evil tempter, since it leads to the Fire.”
(Ruh al-Bayan, vol. 10, p. 108)
The traditions narrated in this respect clearly reflect that possessing a good temper is the key to Paradise, leading to Divine Satisfaction, serving as a token of the power of faith, and on a par with daily and nightly prayers and devotions. Traditions narrated in this respect abound in Islamic sources.
The author of Tafsir al-Mizan devotes approximately 27 pages (vol. 6, p. 183) to the Noble Prophet’s (S) moral virtues, excellences, and nobilities as reflected in his biographical accounts. Further traditions and details in this respect are to be found in tradition sources.