In Islamic belief, one of the earliest creations of Allah (SWT) was Al‑Qalam, the Pen. Its purpose was extraordinary: Allah commanded it to write every decree, every event, and every detail that would occur until the Day of Judgment. This forms the foundation of our understanding of Qadar—the divine plan.

🖋️ The First Creation: Al‑Qalam (The Pen)

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught that in the beginning, there was only Allah. Then Allah created:

His Throne
Water
And then the Pen.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Allah said to the Pen: Write. The Pen asked: What shall I write? Allah said: Write everything that will happen until the Hour begins.”

This Pen is not like the pens we know. We do not know its size, shape, or form. Only Allah knows what it looks like and how it functions.

📜 Al‑Lawh Al‑Mahfūz: The Preserved Tablet

The Pen wrote in Al‑Lawh Al‑Mahfūz, the Preserved Tablet—created 50,000 years before the heavens and the earth.

What makes this Tablet special?

It is protected from change.
It is protected from access—no human, jinn, or angel can reach it.
It contains every detail of creation:
- every event
- every life
- every destiny
- even the fall of a single leaf.

Allah describes it as:

Al‑Lawh Al‑Mahfūz (The Preserved Tablet)
Kitābin Mubeen (A Clear Book)
Imāmin Mubeen (A Clear Record)
Kitābin Mastūr (A Protected, Untouched Tablet)

It is kept beneath the Throne of Allah, in the highest heaven. Some narrations describe it as being made of a special kind of red ruby, unlike anything in this world.

🌙 The Pen in the Qur’an

In Surah Al‑Alaq, the first revelation, Allah highlights the importance of the Pen:

“Read in the name of your Lord who created… Who taught by the Pen… Taught man what he did not know.”

This shows that the Pen is not only a symbol of destiny, but also a symbol of knowledge, learning, and revelation.

🌌 What the Preserved Tablet Teaches Us

Belief in the Preserved Tablet strengthens a Muslim’s trust in Allah. It reminds us that:

Nothing happens by accident.
Everything written for us is written with wisdom.
What reaches us was meant for us.
What misses us was never ours.

Even the smallest struggles—like difficulty opening a door—were written long before we were born.

A beautiful example is the statement of Imam Ash‑Sha‘bi (RA) to his wife:

“Isn’t it amazing that 50,000 years before Allah created the heavens and the earth, He already wrote your name next to mine?”

🌟 Allah’s Ongoing Decree

Although the Preserved Tablet never changes, Allah continues to decree matters every day. The Qur’an says (55:29):

“Every day He is bringing about a matter.”

This means Allah is constantly managing the universe—giving life, taking life, raising people, lowering people, granting provision, and withholding it.

🖋️ The Pen and the Tablet: What They Represent

The Pen represents knowledge and communication.
The Tablet represents Allah’s perfect, complete, and unchanging wisdom.

Together, they remind us that everything is known, written, and preserved by Allah.

🌙 A Simple Explanation of Destiny, the Pen, and the Different Types of Decrees

Islam teaches that Allah (SWT) is the only God, and part of His perfection is that He already knows everything—past, present, and future. This brings up a big question:
If everything is already written, do we have any role in changing our destiny?

🖋️ 1. The First Writing: Al‑Qalam and Al‑Lawh Al‑Mahfuz

Allah (SWT) commanded the first Pen to write everything that will ever happen.
This writing is in Al‑Lawh Al‑Mahfuz, the Preserved Tablet.
This is the ultimate, unchanging knowledge of Allah.

🖋️ 2. But the Prophet ﷺ explained something important

In the hadith of Ibn Abbas (RA), the Prophet ﷺ said:

No one can harm or benefit you unless Allah has written it.
“The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried.”

This shows that the original decree is complete.
But it also hints that there are other writings besides the first Pen.

📜 3. Multiple “Pens” and Multiple Levels of Decree

The Qur’an and Sunnah describe different types of writing, each at a different stage:

⭐ a) Laylatul‑Qadr (The Night of Decree)

Every year on Laylatul‑Qadr, the angels write down what will happen in the coming year.

The Prophet ﷺ said he heard:

the pens writing,
and the pages unfolding
as the angels recorded the yearly decree.

Ibn Abbas (RA) said that on this night, it is written:

who will die that year
who will face hardship
who will receive blessings
who will go for Hajj

⭐ b) The Writing in the Womb

When a baby is 4 months old in the womb, an angel writes:

the child’s lifespan
their sustenance
their deeds
whether they will be happy or miserable

So even before birth, your lifespan and death date are already written.

🌿 So how can destiny change?

The key is this:

🔹 Allah’s ultimate knowledge never changes.

That is the writing in Al‑Lawh Al‑Mahfuz.

🔹 But the angels’ writings (yearly, daily, or in the womb) can change

—because Allah allows things to be erased or confirmed at that level.

For example:

Dua can change what the angels have written for the coming year.
Charity can repel calamity.
Good deeds can increase blessings.

But all of these “changes” were already known to Allah and already part of His eternal knowledge.

So nothing surprises Allah, but your choices still matter, because Allah wrote your destiny based on the choices you will freely make.

🌿 Understanding Destiny, Rizq, and Duā: How Our Choices Still Matter

One of the most beautiful—and sometimes confusing—topics in Islam is Qadar, the divine decree. We learn that Allah (SWT) has written everything long before we were created, yet we are also taught that our duā, our effort, and our good deeds can change our destiny. How do these ideas fit together?

Let’s break it down in a simple way.

🖋️ Your Rizq Was Written Before You Were Born

The Prophet ﷺ taught that when the angel comes to the womb at four months, he writes down four things:

your lifespan
your sustenance (rizq)
your deeds
and whether you will be happy or deprived

This means every penny you will ever earn—every salary, every transaction, every balance in your account—was already written before you entered this world.

So rushing toward haram for the sake of “more money” is pointless. You cannot earn more than what Allah has already decreed for you. Your rizq is guaranteed.

🌤️ Happy or Deprived: What Does It Mean?

The Prophet ﷺ said a person is written as either:

Saīd – fulfilled, blessed, ultimately happy
Shaqī – deprived of goodness and true happiness

This isn’t about mood or personality. It’s about the deeper spiritual state and the happiness of the Hereafter.

But if this is written before birth, how can anything change?

🌙 The Power of Duā and Good Deeds

Here is where the Prophet ﷺ gives us hope.

He taught that duā can change destiny, and that nothing increases a person’s lifespan like good deeds.

The Qur’an (55:29) tells us that Allah decrees matters every single day. This means that while the ultimate knowledge of Allah never changes, the angels’ records can change based on your actions.

For example:

The angels may have written that your death is on a certain date.
But you make sincere duā, give charity, or perform righteous deeds.
Allah (SWT) commands the angels to extend your life.
The angels record changes accordingly.

This doesn’t contradict the Preserved Tablet. Why?

Because Al‑Lawh Al‑Mahfūz already contains both possibilities:

the original date
and the new date that results from your duā and good deeds

Allah’s knowledge is perfect and complete. Nothing surprises Him.

📜 The Preserved Tablet Never Changes—But the Angels Pages Do

Think of it like this:

Al‑Lawh Al‑Mahfūz: the master record, unchanging, containing every outcome and every possibility.
The angels records: updated based on your choices, your duā, and your actions.

Just as you know that eating food keeps you alive another day, or that taking medicine helps you recover, your spiritual actions also have real effects.

Your duā matters.
Your effort matters.
Your good deeds matter.

They don’t change Allah’s eternal knowledge—but they change your lived destiny as written by the angels.

🌱 So Where Does That Leave Us?

It leaves us empowered.

Yes, everything is written.
But Allah wrote your destiny with your choices in mind.

He wrote:

what you will choose
what you will pray for
what you will strive for
and how He will respond to you

Your duā is part of your destiny.
Your effort is part of your destiny.
Your good deeds are part of your destiny.

And Allah has already accounted for all of it with perfect wisdom.

CREATION OF THE PEN AND TABLET