Wikipedia's first sentence called it “alternative name for surat al-alaq”. Today it says “type of reed pen”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Type of reed pen used for Islamic and Sephardic Jewish calligraphy”. It now reads “Reed pen used for Islamic calligraphy”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
This is about the tool known as a qalam . "Surat al-Qalam" is also an alternative name for surat al-Alaq .1A qalam is a type of pen made from a dried reed , used for Arabic calligraphy .2In modern Arabic , the word simply means 'pen' or 'pencil' derived from the Greek word Kalamos . This was one of Allah's first creations. v t e3
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16470883.
The opening as it stood in 2010 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Qalams as used in calligraphy.A qalam ( Arabic / Persian / Urdu : قلم , ) is a type of pen made from a dried reed , used for Arabic calligraphy .The word derives from the Greek word κάλαμος, meaning reed .In modern Arabic , Persian , Turkish and Kurdish , the word simply means "pen" or "pencil", while in Hindi and Urdu , the word solely means "pen".It is also the name of a system of Arabic transliteration , suggested in 1985 .[1] Qalam occurs several times in the holy book of the Muslims, the Koran, and even one whole Sura of the Koran, Sura 68, is called Al-Qalam.In Hebrew the Reed used traditionally used to write torah scrolls is called Qulmus (קולמוס)nowadays Ashkenazim mostly use a quil which they call by the same name, However Sephardim continue to use the traditional reed.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 366599824.
The opening as it stood in 2015 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Qalams as used in calligraphy. A qalam ( Arabic / Persian / Urdu / Sindhi : ) is a type of pen made from a dried reed , used for Islamic calligraphy . The word derives from the Greek word κάλαμος, meaning reed . In modern Arabic , Turkish , and Kurdish , the word simply means "pen" or "pencil", while in Persian , Hindi , and Urdu , the word solely means "pen".The ink for the pen, was just a normal black ink.The concepts of knowledge and writing are very important in Islam , and thus the qalam appears as a symbol of wisdom and education in the Qur'an ; Sura 68 is called Al-Qalam .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 658884501.
The opening as it stood in 2020 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Qalams as used in calligraphy. A qalam ( ) is a type of pen made from a cut, dried reed , used for Islamic calligraphy .The pen is seen as an important symbol of wisdom in Islam , and references the emphasis on knowledge and education within the Islamic tradition.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 940890427.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Type of reed pen used for Islamic and Sephardic Jewish calligraphy For other uses, see Qalam (disambiguation) . Qalams as used in calligraphy. A qalam ( ) is a type of reed pen .It is made from a cut, dried reed , and used for Islamic calligraphy . The pen is seen as an important symbol of wisdom in Islam , and references the emphasis on knowledge and education within the Islamic tradition.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1150692068.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Type of reed pen used for Islamic and Sephardic Jewish calligraphy For other uses, see Qalam (disambiguation) . Qalams as used in calligraphy. A qalam ( Arabic : قلم ) is a type of reed pen . It is made from a cut, dried reed , and used for Islamic calligraphy . The pen is seen as an important symbol of wisdom in Islam , and references the emphasis on knowledge and education within the Islamic tradition.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1294477557. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “alternative name for surat al-alaq”. Today it says “type of reed pen”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Type of reed pen used for Islamic and Sephardic Jewish calligraphy”. It now reads “Reed pen used for Islamic calligraphy”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
alternative name for surat al-alaq
Now
type of reed pen
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
