Surah Al-Qalam belongs to the Mufassal by which the Prophet ﷺ was favoured over the other prophets, and to the “similar” surahs that he ﷺ paired in the night prayer: he recited it with Al-Waqi’ah in a single rak’ah, according to Ibn Mas’ud. It is among the first surahs revealed and contains Allah’s testimony: “And you are truly of a sublime character.”
It belongs to the Mufassal, given to the Prophet ﷺ as an extra gift by which he was favoured over the other prophets, according to the hadith of Wathilah ibn al-Asqa’: “… and I was favoured with the Mufassal.”
Ibn Mas’ud reported that the Prophet ﷺ used to recite the similar surahs two per rak’ah, including Al-Waqi’ah and “Nun” in a single rak’ah.
Authentic (sahih)Al-Bukhari (775), Muslim (822) and Abu Dawud (1396)
It is among the first surahs revealed to the Prophet ﷺ: the second after Al-’Alaq according to As-Suyuti, the fourth according to other scholars. It is also the last surah, in the order of the Qur’an, to open with one of the disjointed letters.
The surah praises the Prophet ﷺ in the finest way: “By the grace of your Lord, you are not mad; yours is an unending reward; and you are truly of a sublime character,” and consoles him for what his enemies inflicted on him.
Arabic text, translation, reference and authenticity grade of each hadith.
لكن النبي ﷺ كان يقرأ النظائر السورتين في ركعة، (الرحمن والنجم) في ركعة (اقتربت والحاقة) في ركعة، و (الطور والذاريات) في ركعة، و (إذا وقعت ونون) في ركعة، …
But the Prophet ﷺ used to recite the similar surahs (an-naza’ir), two surahs in a rak’ah: Ar-Rahman and An-Najm in one rak’ah, Iqtarabat (Al-Qamar) and Al-Haqqah in one rak’ah, At-Tur and Adh-Dhariyat in one rak’ah, Idha waqa’at (Al-Waqi’ah) and Nun (Al-Qalam) in one rak’ah…
Main purpose: Allah’s testimony to the Prophet’s ﷺ good character, his defence and his strengthening.
Surah “Nun” or “Al-Qalam” (the Pen) is among the very first surahs revealed: As-Suyuti, in Al-Itqan, places it second after Al-’Alaq, while some scholars place it fourth, after Al-’Alaq, Al-Muddaththir and Al-Muzzammil. It has fifty-two verses; specialists hold it to be entirely Meccan, as Az-Zamakhshari and Ibn Kathir described it as Meccan without mentioning any difference of opinion.
Tafsir of Surah Al-Qalam Listen to Al-Qalam by other reciters
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
