The first thing created, and what it was told
Ubadah told his son this to explain what belief tastes like.
قَالَ رَبِّ وَمَاذَا أَكْتُبُ قَالَ اكْتُبْ مَقَادِيرَ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ حَتَّى تَقُومَ السَّاعَةُ
Qāla rabbi wa mādhā aktub. Qāla: uktub maqādīra kulli shayʾin ḥattā taqūma-s-sāʿah
It said: my Lord, what shall I write? He said: write the measures of everything, until the Hour comes.
Where this comes from
Ubadah ibn as-Samit said to his son: you will never taste the reality of faith until you know that what reached you could not have missed you, and what missed you could not have reached you. Then he gave the hadith as his evidence.
The full narration
Ubadah b. al Samit said to his son :Son! You will not get the taste of the reality of faith until you know that what has come to you could not miss you, and that what has missed you could not come to you. I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: The first thing Allah created was the pen. He said to it: Write. It asked: What should I write, my Lord? He said: Write what was decreed about everything till the Last Hour comes. Son! I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say : He who dies on something other than this does not belong to me
Source
Sunan Abī Dāwūd · 4700
- Al-Albani: Sahih
- Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid: Sahih
- Shuaib Al Arnaut: Hasan Sahih
- Zubair Ali Zai: Sahih