وَكُلُّ صَغيرٍ وَكَبيرٍ مُستَطَرٌ
And everything big and small, is committed to writing.
EXEGESIS
Mustaṭar (committed to writing) is another word for masṭūr (that which is written). They come from the root saṭara which means to write down (see 52:2).[1] Certainly, writing in this context does not mean inscribing by pen or anything similar. It means the preservation of actions of every individual by the angels, to be returned back to man on the Day of Judgement.
Kullu ṣaghīr wa kabīr (everything big and small) refers to man’s actions, whether big or small.[2] However, according to some, it refers to major and minor sins.[3] Based on the former, the verse can be seen as both a warning for the evil doers and an encouragement for the righteous.[4]
EXPOSITION
In 18:49, a depiction is given of the reaction of the guilty ones when they are presented with their book of deeds: They will say: ‘Woe to us! What a book is this! It omits nothing, big or small, without enumerating it. They will find present whatever they had done, and your Lord does not wrong anyone.
This precise recording of deeds that encapsulates everything that the criminals did in this world will be used against them on the Day of Judgement: This is Our book, which speaks truly against you. Indeed We used to record what you used to do (45:29).
The Quran frequently reminds man of his scroll of deeds that will be presented to him on the Day of Judgement (see 10:61, 34:3-4, and 36:12). It is described as being written by noble scribes (82:10-12), and encoded into every soul until the Day of Judgement, when it will be decoded and become an open book (17:13). To some it will be given from the right, heralding paradise, and to some it will be given from the left, forewarning hellfire (see 69:19-25 and 84:7-11).
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
It has been reported from Imam Ali (a): ‘Know, O servants of Allah, that upon you is a guard from yourselves, and watchmen from your limbs, and truthful recorders who record your deeds and the number of your breaths. Neither does the gloom of the dark night conceal you from them and nor can closed doors hide you from them.’[5]
- It has been reported that Imam Ali (a) once passed by a man who was engaged in vain talk, so he said: ‘O so-and-so, you are dictating to your scribing angels a book to your Lord, so speak that which concerns you and leave that which does not concern you.’[6]
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
It has been attributed to Ibn Abbas, Mujāhid, Qatādah, and al-Ḍaḥḥāk, that this verse is referring to the protected tablet.[7] Big and small has also been thought to refer to all the details regarding one’s sustenance, lifespan, death, and life.[8] Rāzī supports this view by referring to 34:3, which states: The Knower of the unseen, not [even] an atom’s weight escapes Him in the heavens or in the earth, nor [is there] anything smaller than that nor bigger, but it is in a manifest book.[9]
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.[10]
- For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.[11]
- For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.[12]
[1] Ibn Ashur, 27/211.
[2] Safi, 5/105.
[3] Qummi, 2/342.
[4] Ibn Ashur, 27/211.
[5] Nahj, sermon 157.
[6] Bihar, 5/327.
[7] Tibyan, 9/461; Daqaiq, 12/551; Jalalayn, 1/534.
[8] Tabrisi, 9/295.
[9] Razi, 29/330.
[10] Matthew 10:26.
[11] Luke 8:17.
[12] Luke 12:2.