The Precedence of the Throne over the Pen

Question:
This is a matter on which the scholars have differed: did the Throne precede the Pen, or did the Pen precede the Throne?

Answer:
The scholar Ibn al-Qayyim says in his *al-Nuniyyah*: “People differ regarding the Pen with which the decree of the All-Mighty was written: was it before the Throne, or after it? There are two opinions according to Abu al-Hasan al-Hamdani, and the truth is that the Throne was before it, because at the time of the writing it had pillars. So the correct view is that the Throne preceded the creation of the Pen. Yes, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that Allah decreed the measures of creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth, and His Throne was over the water. This indicates the precedence of the Throne, that it was before the Pen and before the writing. Yes.”