It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the first thing Allah Almighty created was the Pen. He created it from a particular hija' (letters) before the Alif and the Lam, and it took the form of a pen of light. Then it was said to it: Begin (writing) on the Preserved Tablet. It said: O my Lord! What shall I write? He said: Whatever is to happen until the Day of Resurrection. Then, when Allah created the creation, He appointed over them guardian angels who preserve their deeds. Then, when the Resurrection was established and their deeds were presented before them, it was said: "This is Our record which speaks against you with the truth; indeed, We used to have transcribed whatever you used to do." [al-Jathiyah: 29] When the two records (the Preserved Tablet and the records of deeds) were compared, they were exactly the same. Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Are you not Arabs? Can there be a copy (transcription) without an original book? This hadith is sahih (authentic) in its chain of narration, and the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.