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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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A brief commentary

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on the book *Identification Cards*

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*for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an*,

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by Dr. Muhammad ibn Abdul Aziz ibn Umar Nassif,

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may Allah preserve him.

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Surah al-Qalam.

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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation,

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and may peace and blessings

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be upon his brothers among the prophets and messengers,

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and upon all his family and companions.

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We continue our brief commentary on the *Identification Cards*,

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and we have arrived at Surah al-Qalam,

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for which we have three points of discussion.

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The first point pertains to the chronological order of the Surah's revelation.

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He said: "It is counted as the second after al-'Alaq and before al-Muzzammil."

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It has been frequently noted that this count is based on the well-known narration from Jabir ibn Zayd,

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and that within this text transmitted

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from this Tabi'i, there is significant scrutiny required,

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which I have pointed out in numerous places throughout this book,

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including this very place.

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He said, and regarding this:

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There is an evident issue with this chronological ordering

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and a contradiction to what has been authentically established concerning the revelation of al-Muddaththir.

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For we know that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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after the beginning of al-'Alaq was revealed to him,

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returned to the Mother of the Believers, Khadijah,

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and then after that,

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verses from Surah al-Muddaththir were revealed;

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thus it was the second in order of revelation.

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So this contradicts something that is firmly and clearly established.

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Then he stated: "Along with its containment of debate with the disbelievers,

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which indicates a relatively later period of revelation."

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Likewise, when we look at the content

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of this Surah, we find polemics and debates with the disbelievers,

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such as the Almighty's saying: "Ask them which of them will guarantee that?"

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“Or have they other gods? Then let them bring their other gods if they are truthful” (68:41)

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And this is not consistent with it being the second surah revealed,

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even though it might be said that some of it was revealed second,

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and the rest of it was revealed at other times.

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However, the initial objection remains: al-Muddaththir

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is what followed Surah al-'Alaq, or the beginning of Surah al-'Alaq.

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As for the rest of the text written here—

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"and it is the second according to all narrations,

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so perhaps what is meant is part of it," and so forth—

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this is not part of the original book;

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rather, it appeared here by mistake.

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As for the second point, it concerns the placement of the Surah in the Mushaf.

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He said: "It is the sixty-eighth in the order of the Mushaf,

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and its correlation with Surah al-Mulk

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is that the conclusion of the latter corresponds to the fate of the companions of the garden mentioned in this one."

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At the end of that surah,

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“Say: Have ye thought: If (all) your water were to disappear into the earth, who then could bring you gushing water?” (67:30)

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and this story corresponds

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to that conclusion in the sense that all dominion belongs to Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He,

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and He strips it away from whomever He granted it to

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whenever He wills, Glorified and Exalted be He.

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And the recurrent phrase "and among its thematic links,"

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across many surahs,

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indicates that these thematic links are diverse and manifold.

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Therefore, you will also find that in this Surah

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there is a contrast between the people of truth and the people of falsehood,

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parallels both in Surah al-Qalam

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and in Surah al-Mulk.

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It is as though the one who walks fallen on his face possesses the traits

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mentioned in Surah al-Qalam,

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whereas the one who walks upright on a straight path

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embodies: "And indeed, you are of a great moral character."

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Then He said: "So do not obey the deniers,"

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up to His saying: "And do not obey every worthless swearer,

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scorner, going about with malicious slander."

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These are also among the thematic correlations,

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and correlations are a vast field

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that offers wide scope for reflection and contemplation.

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As for the third and final point,

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it concerns the thematic sections of the Surah,

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containing several typographic errors and missing details.

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He said: "It is divided into two parts, the first of them..."

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meaning it is more accurate to say "the first of the two parts."

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Then he said: "As for the first part..."

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until he said: "In it are three passages."

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Then only the numbers 1 and 17 were written;

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only two numbers were printed

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even though there are three passages,

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and the starting verse numbers for all passages ought to have been placed.

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The third passage begins at verse thirty-five,

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so this number should be added.

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I have mentioned before that the word "then"

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indicates the beginning of a new passage.

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If you read what is written under this,

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you find: "Then the story of..." which begins from verse 17;

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"Then a return to the comparison between the two groups,"

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which is in the last line of the first part.

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This word "Then" ought to be bolded

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so that it stands out,

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and it begins from verse thirty-five.

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This marks the return to the comparison between the two groups,

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and we add the phrase "along with debate with the disbelievers."

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Then he said: "As for the second part..."

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In reality, the second part begins from verse forty-two,

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because the first part extends from verse one to verse forty-one,

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just as is outlined in the book's charts.

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Here it was written: "As for the second part, from verse eighteen,"

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which is an error;

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it is from verse forty-two

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to verse fifty-two.

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At the conclusion of this second part,

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he said: "Ending with exposing the futility of the disbelievers' plots

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and praising..."

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the Qur'an as being a reminder for all the worlds.

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That is, there is an addition and an edit

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to make the text more eloquent with rhymed prose:

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"Ending with exposing the futility of the disbelievers' plots,

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and praising the Qur'an as a reminder for all the worlds."

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I would also like to point out a related note: regarding the overall theme of the Surah, he said "by contemplating its paragraphs," whereas it should accurately be "by contemplating its two main parts."

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I will suffice with this; and may Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family and companions, and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation.