Meccan, and its verses are 19 [and it is the first that was revealed from the Qur'an] 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'.

From Ibn Abbas and Mujahid: It is the first surah that was revealed. 'And most of the commentators agree that Al-Fatiha is the first that was revealed, then Surah Al-Qalam.' The phrase 'In the name of your Lord' is in the accusative case indicating the state, meaning: begin reading in the name of your Lord, say 'In the name of Allah', then read.

If you say: How did He say 'created' without mentioning an object for it, then said 'created man'?

I say: It is on two levels: either it is not assigned an object, and it is meant that He is the one from whom creation occurred and He is the only Creator. Or it is assigned, and it is meant to create everything, encompassing all creatures, because it is unrestricted, so no specific creature is more entitled to it than another. And His saying: 'created man' specifies man by mention among what creation encompasses, because the revelation is directed to him, and he is the noblest on earth.

And it may be intended: the one who created man, as He said: 'The Most Gracious taught the Qur'an, created man.' It was said: 'the one who created' is ambiguous, then it was explained by saying 'created man' to emphasize the creation of man. And it indicates the wonder of his nature.

If you say: Why did He say 'from a clinging substance' in the plural, while He created from a single clinging substance, as in the saying 'from a drop, then from a clinging substance'?

I say: Because man is in the sense of the plural, as in the saying 'Indeed, man is in loss.'

The Most Generous is the one who has perfection in the increase of His generosity over all generosity. He bestows upon His servants blessings that cannot be counted, and He is forbearing with them, not hastening them with punishment despite their disbelief and denial of His blessings, their transgressions of prohibitions, and their disregard of commands. He accepts their repentance and overlooks them after committing great sins. There is no limit or end to His generosity, and it seems that beyond the generosity of providing scientific benefits, there is no greater generosity, as He said: 'The Most Generous, who taught by the pen, taught man what he did not know.' This indicates the completeness of His generosity in that He taught His servants what they did not know, transferring them from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge.

And He pointed out the virtue of the knowledge of writing due to the great benefits it contains that only He encompasses. Knowledge was not recorded, nor judgments were codified, nor the news of the ancients and their sayings were preserved, nor were the revealed books recorded except by writing. And without it, the affairs of religion and the world would not have been established. If there were no subtle wisdom of Allah and His delicate management, and no evidence except for the matter of the pen and writing, it would have been sufficient.

And some of them have described the pen:

And the engravers of lines like those who engrave...

The strokes of the pen are a means to reach the farthest extent.

The black legs do not find their course ... except when the white of the distance plays with them. [[This is from al-Zamakhshari, may Allah have mercy on him, in the description of the pens. It would have been appropriate to mention it under the letter 'D', because the letters of release, which are the silent alif, waw, and ya, are not considered in these matters. However, we delayed it to be a reward for the pens for their work, just as a hired worker is paid after completing his work. And 'al-Rawaqim' is the plural of 'Raqim', a description of the pens, and it is governed by the preposition of power. Its predicate is the saying: 'like the Aaraqim.' Or 'the gathering of steps', and it is more apparent that the predicate is the saying: 'what finds its course.' The attribution of writing to them is a mental metaphor, because it is their tool. And 'al-Raqsh' is the plural of 'Raqsh' or 'Raqsha': the snake with a patterned back. And 'al-Araqim' is the plural of 'Aqrama', which refers to the branches that have black and white. And 'al-Qatf' is the plural of 'Qatf': which brings together steps. And 'al-Khutaa' is the plural of 'Khatwa' with a damma. And 'al-Madaa', with a fatha, refers to both the distance and its limit. And 'al-Suud' is the plural of 'Aswad' or 'Sawda'. And 'al-Qawa'im' are the legs. And 'al-Jadd' means either diligence or the opposite of play. And 'al-Bayd' is the plural of 'Bayda'. And 'al-Madaa', with a damma, is the plural of 'Madiyya', which is the blade. Then he likened the carving of the pens to the carving of the snakes, so he borrowed the term 'al-Raqsh' in a clear metaphor. And he likened them to 'al-Araqim' due to the commonality of color and extension to the right and left, and the splitting of the tongue of each branch and its spitting of saliva, so the commonality is a sensory compound. It is said that this is akin to comparing a tangible compound with another tangible compound by the commonality of the forms that movement occurs upon them. And he repeated the tool of comparison for emphasis, then he likened them to the moving creatures on a figurative level, due to the commonality of color and fluctuation, and going and returning, and reaching each to its goal, and establishing the gathering and the steps and the legs: this is imagination. And it is said that this may also be a comparison of the compound with the compound, and although its movement is little, it reaches its owner’s goal, even if it is far. Thus, the attribution of achieving it to them is a mental metaphor, because it is their tool. And he likened the intended meaning to the tangible destination, which is the end of the distance, due to the commonality of need in reaching each to the causes. So the furthest distance: is a clear metaphor: and it is a recommendation for those who suffice, and the legs of the pens: what is thin and long from their tips, and they are always black, and establishing diligence for the movement is an exaggeration like the diligence of his grandfather. And he likened the distance to what is permissible for play in a figurative manner, and establishing play is imagination; this is its explanation. And in it, there is beauty between 'al-Rawaqim' and 'al-Araqim' like the similarity of derivation, and between 'the gathering of steps' and 'the reaching of the furthest distance' like the similarity of opposition, and between the black and the white, and between diligence and play: an antithesis of opposition, and between the movement and the play of the distance: a similarity of opposition according to appearance, because the distance nullifies the movement of the animal if it plays with its legs, yet it is suitable for the pens. And between the distance and the distance: is a pun of burning, and this indicates that the author, may Allah have mercy on him, and his uncle with his pleasure, was among the masters of the eloquence of expression, achieving the farthest victories in this field.]] And Ibn al-Zubayr read: 'The knowledge of writing with the pen.'