Chapter Three
On Scribes and the Etiquette Proper to Them

The scholars have said: nothing surpasses the pen, for by means of it the events of bygone ages can be restored to life. In its honor and elevated rank Allah—exalted be He—swore an oath, declaring: “Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe” (Q 68:1). He also said: “Read—and your Lord is the Most Generous, the One who taught by the pen; He taught humankind what it did not know” (Q 96:3-5).

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The first thing Allah created was the Pen, and it wrote down everything that will come to pass until the Day of Resurrection.”

Abd Allah ibn ʿAbbas, commenting on Joseph’s words, “Appoint me over the treasuries of the land; I am a reliable, knowledgeable guardian” (Q 12:55), explained: “He meant: a skilled scribe and accountant.” He also remarked, “The pen is the jeweler of speech.”

Maxim. Ibn al-Muʿtazz said: “The pen is the mine, the intellect the precious stone; the pen is the goldsmith, and calligraphy the craft.” Galen observed: “The pen is the physician of speech.” Balinas declared: “The pen is a mighty talisman.” Alexander said: “The world rests on two things: the sword and the pen; yet the sword itself is subject to the pen. The pen is the refinement and chief asset of those who seek knowledge, and through it a person’s views become known, whether he be near or far. However seasoned a man may be by the passage of time, his intellect will never be complete unless he studies books, for a human lifespan is fixed and brief. In so short a span, how much can one learn solely by personal experience, and how much can one retain in one’s memory?

Thus, sword and pen are the two arbiters of all affairs, and without them the world would never have advanced.”}