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Quran 96:4 – Was It Written Down?
Al-‘Alaq – 96:4
Arabic
ٱلَّذِى عَلَّمَ بِٱلۡقَلَمِ
12. Ie., God is benevolent and because of His benevolence has done a great favour on people that the Qur’an is being recited to them and at His behest and under the guidance of His Prophet, is being given to them in written form in such an elaborate manner. This is because this great favour is not merely for the Arabs but a treasure for the entire world. Found in this verse is also an admonition for the Quraysh that if they do not duly regard this favour, they should contemplate its consequences.
This is Ghamidi sahab’s tafsir of 96:4
But the Quran was not taught by the pen- it was recited to my knowledge. So what was taught by the pen?
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17 Replies
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Quran 96:4 – Was It Written Down?
updated 3 years, 10 months ago
3 Members
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17
Replies
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The Quran was recited as well as written down. Zayd bin Thabit RA, for example, is attributed to be one of the scribes of the Quran at the time of prophet SAW.
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is being given to them in written form in such an elaborate manner.
This gives the impression that it was revealed in a written form
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80:13-16 allude to the Quran being written.
Also surah Baqarah says the Quran is a kitaab.
Also surah alaq says God taught by the pen
Also 25:5 says clearly that it was written.
So does that mean that the Quran was fully written down at the time of the prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ?
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That is correct.
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But where it says ‘God taught by the pen’ does that simply mean that writing is a divine knowledge ? Like the training of dogs?
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From the human perspective it’s a human invention. God is All-Knowing so of course all knowledge is divine in that sense.
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@faisalharoon is this just weird wording then- the quote I sent above because it definitely entails that it was revealed in a written form?
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No clue what you’re referring to and how you’re connecting it with my previous comment.
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This is from Ghamidi sahabs tafsir of 96:4
Al-‘Alaq – 96:4
Arabic
ٱلَّذِى عَلَّمَ بِٱلۡقَلَمِ
12. Ie., God is benevolent and because of His benevolence has done a great favour on people that the <b style=”font-style: normal;”>Qur’an is being recited to them and at His behest and under the guidance of His Prophet, is being given to them in written form in such an elaborate manner. This is because this great favour is not merely for the Arabs but a treasure for the entire world. Found in this verse is also an admonition for the Quraysh that if they do not duly regard this favour, they should contemplate its consequences.
Is this simply saying that the things that the sahaba wrote was given to the quraysh?
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Yes.
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Written in اللوح المحفوظ
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Can I just ask to make sure علم بالقلم is referring to how God has actually taught man all knowledges. He was the one who taught man to write with the pen
And that the reference made to the pen is because it is used to write this divine knowledge (as also mentioned in surah nun walqalam)
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There’s no doubt that all knowledge is due to God. The particular verse you’re referring to is specifically talking about the Quran, not general knowledge.
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So it’s:
‘The one who taught man by the pen (to write his holy scriptures like the Quran and the Torah)’
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“Who taught [this Quran] by the pen.”
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But he didn’t. He taught the Quran through revelation. And then this revelation was written down.
It wasn’t as though Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم was writing and God took control over his hand.
The verse seems to suggest that God taught ‘mankind’ by ‘the pen’.
So actually it makes more sense when you read Ghamidi sahabs footnote on Surah nun as well
24. Ie., writing at this time. Obviously, this refers to the Qur’ān. It was written by the pen and the previous scriptures too were preserved through the pen. Viewed thus, this is in fact an evidence borne by all written divine teachings given to mankind in the form of the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel. Their topics, predictions and teachings – all bear witness that just as the presenters of the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel were not mad men, the Qur’ān too through the exaltedness and superiority of its topics, through its extra-ordinary style and unparalleled eloquence bears witness that its presenter too is not a mad person. Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī writes:
… The reason that the Quraysh called the Prophet (sws) mad was that their leaders were totally unable to understand from where the punishment with which he was emphatically and vehemently warning them as if he had seen it with his very eyes would arrive. They were worried that the extra-ordinary conviction found in his tone, the superhuman concern and anxiety found in his preaching endeavours and the heart-melting affection and sympathy found in his manner of reminding people was greatly influencing the masses. For this reason, they wanted to convince people that his anxiety and concern were not because there was any imminent danger of they being punished and that the Almighty had actually sent him to forewarn them of this punishment; the fact of the matter was that he was afflicted with hallucinations which made him imagine its coming from all sides. In order to further strengthen their claim, they would add that he was under some magical spell which had mentally deranged him and caused such nonsensical conversation from him. (Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, Tadabbur-i-Qur’ān, vol. 8, 514)
How was mankind taught by the pen?
Because after God revealed his scripture, people wrote it down. Then it was taught to people from this written down pen.
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That is correct. But when we put something in quotes in reference to the Quran, we should stick with what the Quran is saying.
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