Why the Scholars Wrote Everything Down
The scholars of Islam carried extraordinary amounts of knowledge in their memories, and they still wrote everything down. What they knew about ink and paper is worth relearning in an age of screens.
We tend to picture the great scholars of Islam as walking libraries: men and women who carried the Qur'an, thousands of hadith and whole books of law and poetry in their heads. That picture is true. It is also only half the story. The same people who memorised everything also wrote everything down.
Their notebooks built a civilisation of books. Here is what they understood about writing, and why a pen and paper still earn a place on your desk.
01. The first word was "Read"
The first revelation is about the pen. "Recite in the name of your Lord who created... Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous — Who taught by the pen — Taught man that which he knew not" (Al-Alaq 96:1–5). From its very first verses, Islam was a faith of reading and writing.
02. Even the Prophet's words were written
Abdullah ibn Amr (RA) used to write down everything he heard from the Prophet ﷺ, until some people told him to stop. He asked the Prophet ﷺ, who pointed to his own mouth and said: "Write, by Him in Whose hand my soul lies, only right comes out from it" (Sunan Abi Dawud 3646). Writing was not a lesser form of memory. It was a way of honouring what mattered.
03. The longest verse is about writing things down
The longest verse in the Qur'an is not about battles or prophets. It is about keeping records: "O you who have believed, when you contract a debt for a specified term, write it down" (Al-Baqarah 2:282). Writing protects trust, memory and relationships. That holds as true for a family agreement as for a business deal.
04. Knowledge is a hunt
Lines attributed to Imam al-Shafi'i put it perfectly: al-'ilmu saydun wal-kitabatu qayduhu. "Knowledge is a hunt, and writing is its shackle. Tie your game with ropes that are sure. It is foolish to hunt a gazelle, then leave it loose among people." An idea you do not write down is a gazelle you caught and then let go.
05. Catch your thoughts before they run
In the twelfth century, the Baghdad scholar Ibn al-Jawzi kept a book of passing thoughts and called it Sayd al-Khatir, "Captured Thoughts". "Our thoughts are apt to roam while exploring different things," he wrote in its preface, "yet thereafter such thoughts tend to be forgotten easily. Therefore preserving one's thoughts should take priority over everything else." It is one of the great journals of the Islamic tradition, and it is still read today.
06. Paper built a library
Scholars have identified paper mills in Abbasid Baghdad in 794–795. Paper was far cheaper than parchment, and it changed everything. Libraries grew, copyists multiplied, and papermaking spread from the Islamic world into Europe. The humble page was one of Muslim civilisation's quietest gifts to the world.
07. The hand remembers
Modern research has a word to add. In a 2014 study, the psychologists Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer found that students who took notes on laptops "performed worse on conceptual questions than students who took notes longhand." The laptop users tended to copy lectures word for word; the handwriters had to think, summarise and put ideas in their own words. Later studies have debated how big the effect is. But the scholars of Baghdad would not have been surprised: writing slowly makes you think.
08. Keep one notebook, and date every page
You do not need a system. You need one good notebook and a habit. Write the date at the top of each page. After Fajr, copy out one ayah and one thought about it. Keep a running list of du'as for the people you love. At the end of the week, write three things you are grateful for. In a year, you will own a record of your inner life.
Our A5 notebooks are made for exactly this, with a sturdy 600 gsm cover and 90 gsm lined pages. The Each of Your Breaths Is a Priceless Jewel Notebook is a reminder of how precious time is. The Allah Is the Best of Planners Notebook (after Al-Anfal 8:30) suits anyone who fills pages with plans. The Blessed Alhamdulillah Notebook was made for gratitude lists.
09. Mark your place
A notebook needs a companion: a bookmark that keeps your place in whatever you are reading alongside it. Ours carry short words worth rereading, like Rabbi zidni 'ilma, "My Lord, increase me in knowledge" (Ta-Ha 20:114).
Discover the Rabbi Zidni Ilma Kufi Bookmark here
A last word
Every thought you have is a gazelle passing through. Keep a pen close.
Words by Rashid Shahriar, Founder & Head of Designs
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