A001
Surah: 068 - Ayah: 001
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68:1
Pen and Ink-pot: God says: "By Nun (ink-pot) and the Pen and that which they write" (68:1). By Nun or Ink¬pot at the place of azal is meant the Universal Soul, by the Pen, the Universal Intellect and by "that which is written" the Divine Word (kalimoh-i bari) and the signs of the Universal Intellect's demonstration.
Nun (Nun, inkpot, a stream of paradise, ink, ink of light)
God says in verse (68:1): "Nun. By the Pen and by what they (angels) write." It is related from Imam Jafar as-Sadiq that Nun is a stream of paradise. Allah said to it: Freeze. It was frozen and turned into ink. Then He ordered the Pen: Write! The Pen wrote on the Guarded Tablet what had happened and what has to happen till the resurrection. That ink is the ink of light and that Pen too, is the Pen of light and that Guarded Tablet is also the Tablet of light." (al-Mizan, XIX, 376).
Nun (Inkpot)
It is mentioned in verse (68:1): "By nun, the Pen and what they write." That is, the blessed mouth, light of intellect (Pen) and the writing of the Guarded Tablet which is living (i.e. the Word of command).
Q473 Please explain to us the wisdom of verses (68:1-2): “By nun, the Pen and that which they (the angels) write. You are not, by the grace of your Lord, mad.”
A473
- It is related from Imam Jacfar as-sadiq(c), that he said: Nun is a stream in paradise. God commanded it: Freeze! It froze and became ink …. Then God planted a tree. He told it: Be a pen. It became a pen. Then He commanded it: Write! It said: My Lord! What should I write? God said: Write what is going to happen till the resurrection!
- This, in fact is the story of the personal world of the Perfect Man, who is the tree that God plants with His hand. This tree by God’s command becomes the supreme Pen.
- The Pen of Intellect is an angel who is both one and many. It is because of this that in the above-mentioned verse the verb is used in the plural (yasturun).
This verse has been referred 7 times.