In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
A brief commentary
on the book *Identification Cards*
*for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an*,
by Dr. Muhammad ibn Abdul Aziz ibn Umar Nassif,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah al-Qalam.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation,
and may peace and blessings
be upon his brothers among the prophets and messengers,
and upon all his family and companions.
We continue our brief commentary on the *Identification Cards*,
and we have arrived at Surah al-Qalam,
for which we have three points of discussion.
The first point pertains to the chronological order of the Surah's revelation.
He said: "It is counted as the second after al-'Alaq and before al-Muzzammil."
It has been frequently noted that this count is based on the well-known narration from Jabir ibn Zayd,
and that within this text transmitted
from this Tabi'i, there is significant scrutiny required,
which I have pointed out in numerous places throughout this book,
including this very place.
He said, and regarding this:
There is an evident issue with this chronological ordering
and a contradiction to what has been authentically established concerning the revelation of al-Muddaththir.
For we know that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
after the beginning of al-'Alaq was revealed to him,
returned to the Mother of the Believers, Khadijah,
and then after that,
verses from Surah al-Muddaththir were revealed;
thus it was the second in order of revelation.
So this contradicts something that is firmly and clearly established.
Then he stated: "Along with its containment of debate with the disbelievers,
which indicates a relatively later period of revelation."
Likewise, when we look at the content
of this Surah, we find polemics and debates with the disbelievers,
such as the Almighty's saying: "Ask them which of them will guarantee that?"
“Or have they other gods? Then let them bring their other gods if they are truthful” (68:41)
And this is not consistent with it being the second surah revealed,
even though it might be said that some of it was revealed second,
and the rest of it was revealed at other times.
However, the initial objection remains: al-Muddaththir
is what followed Surah al-'Alaq, or the beginning of Surah al-'Alaq.
As for the rest of the text written here—
"and it is the second according to all narrations,
so perhaps what is meant is part of it," and so forth—
this is not part of the original book;
rather, it appeared here by mistake.
As for the second point, it concerns the placement of the Surah in the Mushaf.
He said: "It is the sixty-eighth in the order of the Mushaf,
and its correlation with Surah al-Mulk
is that the conclusion of the latter corresponds to the fate of the companions of the garden mentioned in this one."
At the end of that surah,
“Say: Have ye thought: If (all) your water were to disappear into the earth, who then could bring you gushing water?” (67:30)
and this story corresponds
to that conclusion in the sense that all dominion belongs to Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He,
and He strips it away from whomever He granted it to
whenever He wills, Glorified and Exalted be He.
And the recurrent phrase "and among its thematic links,"
across many surahs,
indicates that these thematic links are diverse and manifold.
Therefore, you will also find that in this Surah
there is a contrast between the people of truth and the people of falsehood,
parallels both in Surah al-Qalam
and in Surah al-Mulk.
It is as though the one who walks fallen on his face possesses the traits
mentioned in Surah al-Qalam,
whereas the one who walks upright on a straight path
embodies: "And indeed, you are of a great moral character."
Then He said: "So do not obey the deniers,"
up to His saying: "And do not obey every worthless swearer,
scorner, going about with malicious slander."
These are also among the thematic correlations,
and correlations are a vast field
that offers wide scope for reflection and contemplation.
As for the third and final point,
it concerns the thematic sections of the Surah,
containing several typographic errors and missing details.
He said: "It is divided into two parts, the first of them..."
meaning it is more accurate to say "the first of the two parts."
Then he said: "As for the first part..."
until he said: "In it are three passages."
Then only the numbers 1 and 17 were written;
only two numbers were printed
even though there are three passages,
and the starting verse numbers for all passages ought to have been placed.
The third passage begins at verse thirty-five,
so this number should be added.
I have mentioned before that the word "then"
indicates the beginning of a new passage.
If you read what is written under this,
you find: "Then the story of..." which begins from verse 17;
"Then a return to the comparison between the two groups,"
which is in the last line of the first part.
This word "Then" ought to be bolded
so that it stands out,
and it begins from verse thirty-five.
This marks the return to the comparison between the two groups,
and we add the phrase "along with debate with the disbelievers."
Then he said: "As for the second part..."
In reality, the second part begins from verse forty-two,
because the first part extends from verse one to verse forty-one,
just as is outlined in the book's charts.
Here it was written: "As for the second part, from verse eighteen,"
which is an error;
it is from verse forty-two
to verse fifty-two.
At the conclusion of this second part,
he said: "Ending with exposing the futility of the disbelievers' plots
and praising..."
the Qur'an as being a reminder for all the worlds.
That is, there is an addition and an edit
to make the text more eloquent with rhymed prose:
"Ending with exposing the futility of the disbelievers' plots,
and praising the Qur'an as a reminder for all the worlds."
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."
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.