I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, "The first thing Allah created was the Pen. He took it in His right hand, and both of His hands are right hands."He continued, "Then He wrote down the world and all that would occur in it of deeds, whether of righteousness or wickedness, moist or dry, and recorded it with Him in the Reminder."Then he said, "Recite if you wish, 'This, Our Record, speaks about you in truth. Indeed, We have had transcribed what you used to do' [Jathiyah 45:29]. Is a transcription ever made except from something already completed?"
سمعت رسول الله ﷺ يقول: أول ما خلق الله تعالى القلم، فأخذه بيمينه- وكلتا يديه يمين- قال: فكتب الدنيا وما يكون فيها من عمل معمول بر أو فجور، رطب أو يابس، فأحصاه عنده في الذكر، فقال: اقرأوا إن شئتم: {هذا كتبنا ينطق عليكم بالحق إنا كنا نستنسخ ما كنتم تعملون} [سورة الجاثية: ٢٩]، فهل تكون النسخة إلا من شيء قد فرغ منه.
Ibn Abu Asim narrated it in Sunnah (106), from Ibn Musaffa, who said, Baqiya narrated to us, who said, Artah bin Munzir narrated to me, from Mujahid bin Jubayr, from Ibn Umar, and he related it.Firyabi narrated it in Qadar (416), and from him Ajurri in Shariah (340), and Ibn Batta in Ibana (1365), through two other paths from Baqiya bin Walid, with his chain of transmission, similarly.Its chain is hasan, on account of the discussion regarding Baqiya, except that his hadith is hasan when he states explicitly.