Surah 68 The Pen - Al-Qalam, 52 verses (Makka)
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
- Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men)
write,-
- Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or
possessed.
- Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing:
- And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of
character.
- Soon wilt thou see, and they will see,
- Which of you is afflicted with madness.
- Verily it is thy Lord that knoweth best, which
(among men) hath strayed from His Path: and He knoweth
best those who receive (true) Guidance.
- So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth).
- Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so
would they be pliant.
- Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with
oaths,
- A slanderer, going about with calumnies,
- (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing
beyond bounds, deep in sin,
- Violent (and cruel),- with all that, base-born,-
- Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons.
- When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the
ancients", he cries!
- Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout!
- Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of
the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of
the (garden) in the morning.
- But made no reservation, ("If it be God's Will").
- Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from
thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they
were asleep.
- So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark
and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered).
- As the morning broke, they called out, one to
another,-
- "Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if
ye would gather the fruits."
- So they departed, conversing in secret low tones,
(saying)-
- "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you
into the (garden) this day."
- And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust)
resolve.
- But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have
surely lost our way:
- "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our
labour)!"
- Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I
not say to you, 'Why not glorify (God)?'"
- They said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been
doing wrong!"
- Then they turned, one against another, in reproach.
- They said: "Alas for us! We have indeed
transgressed!
- "It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a
better (garden) than this: for we do turn to Him (in
repentance)!"
- Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater
is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew!
- Verily, for the Righteous, are Gardens of Delight,
in the Presence of their Lord.
- Shall We then treat the People of Faith like the
People of Sin?
- What is the matter with you? How judge ye?
- Or have ye a book through which ye learn-
- That ye shall have, through it whatever ye choose?
- Or have ye Covenants with Us to oath, reaching to
the Day of Judgment, (providing) that ye shall have
whatever ye shall demand?
- Ask thou of them, which of them will stand surety
for that!
- Or have they some "Partners" (in Godhead)? Then let
them produce their "partners", if they are truthful!
- The Day that the shin shall be laid bare, and they
shall be summoned to bow in adoration, but they shall
not be able,-
- Their eyes will be cast down,- ignominy will cover
them; seeing that they had been summoned aforetime to
bow in adoration, while they were whole, (and had
refused).
- Then leave Me alone with such as reject this
Message: by degrees shall We punish them from
directions they perceive not.
- A (long) respite will I grant them: truly powerful
is My Plan.
- Or is it that thou dost ask them for a reward, so
that they are burdened with a load of debt?-
- Or that the Unseen is in their hands, so that they
can write it down?
- So wait with patience for the Command of thy Lord,
and be not like the Companion of the Fish,- when he
cried out in agony.
- Had not Grace from his Lord reached him, he would
indeed have been cast off on the naked shore, in
disgrace.
- Thus did his Lord choose him and make him of the
Company of the Righteous.
- And the Unbelievers would almost trip thee up with
their eyes when they hear the Message; and they say:
"Surely he is possessed!"
- But it is nothing less than a Message to all the
worlds.
Quran
Surah 67 The Sovereignty
Surah 68 The Pen
Surah 69 The Reality