68. Al-Qalam

Nūn.1 By the pen and what they inscribe,

Nun. By the pen, and all that they write

Nuon. The Inkpot. And the Pen, and all that they write, stand witness. (The high domain of knowledge will bear out that)

You are not, [O Muḥammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman.

By the grace of your Lord, you are not a mad man

You (O Messenger), by the Grace of your Lord, are not a madman

And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted.

Most surely, you will have a never ending reward

And, behold, yours will be an everlasting reward

And indeed, you are of a great moral character.

For you are truly of a sublime character

For, verily, you are of the noblest moral character

So you will see and they will see.

Soon you will see, as will they

And soon you will see and they will see

Which of you is the afflicted [by a devil].

which of you is a prey to madness

Which of you is the demented. (Outstanding knowledge plus sublime character can only be compatible with a great mind)

Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has gone astray from His way, and He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.

Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path

Verily, your Lord knows best him who strays from His Way, and He knows best those who are rightly guided

Then do not obey the deniers.

Do not give in to the deniers of truth

Hence, pay no heed to the rejecters

They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you].

They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate

They wish that you strike a deal with them so that they can strike a deal (and compromise on a middle grounds between Truth and Falsehood (10:15), (11:)

And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer

Do not yield to any contemptible swearer of oaths

And yield not to any petty oath-monger. (Repetitious swearing hurts the credibility of a person)

[And] scorner, going about with malicious gossip -

or to any defamer or one who spreads slander

Or to a defamer that goes about spreading slander

A preventer of good, transgressing and sinful,

or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor

Or to a withholder of the good and of wealth, trespasser of values, low in virtue

Cruel, moreover, and an illegitimate pretender.1

who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born

Or to one greedy to the extent of insensitivity, and, in addition, worthless to the society

Because he is a possessor of wealth and children,

just because he has wealth and sons

Or he who because of his riches and party

When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples."

when Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are just ancient fables

Says, "Fables of ancient times", whenever Our Messages are conveyed to him

We will brand him upon the snout.1

Soon We will brand him on the nose

We shall brand such a person with manifest disgrace! ('Branding the snout' alludes to bringing to visible disgrace a person who chooses to live at the subhuman level)

Indeed, We have tried them as We tried the companions of the garden, when they swore to cut its fruit in the [early] morning

We have tried them as we tried the owners of a certain orchard, who vowed to harvest all its fruits the next morning

Behold, We have tried such people as We tried the owners of the garden who swore that they would pluck its fruit in the morning

Without making exception.1

without saying, "If it be God's will

And made no exception (for the needy poor)

So there came upon it [i.e., the garden] an affliction from your Lord while they were asleep.

A calamity from your Lord befell the orchard as they slept

Then a tornado from your Lord struck it while they slept

And it became as though reaped.

And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land

So that by the morning it was barren, bleak

And they called one another at morning,

So they called out to each other at the break of dawn

Now, in the morning, they called out unto one another

[Saying], "Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit."

saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits

Go early to your field if you want to pick the fruit

So they set out, while lowering their voices,

So they went off, whispering to one another

So they went off whispering unto one another

[Saying], "There will surely not enter it today upon you [any] poor person."

Be sure to stop any poor person from entering the orchard today

Let not a single poor come near you today

And they went early in determination, [assuming themselves] able.1

They set out early in the morning, thinking they had the power to prevent

And early they went strong in their resolve (to keep the poor away)

But when they saw it, they said, "Indeed, we are lost;

But when they saw it, they said, "We must have lost our way

But when they saw it, they said, "Behold, we have lost our way

Rather, we have been deprived."

Indeed, we are utterly ruined

(Then they realized), "Ah! Now we are destitute

The most moderate of them said, "Did I not say to you, 'Why do you not exalt [Allāh]?'"1

The more upright of the two said, "Did I not bid you to glorify God

Said the most balanced among them, "Did I not tell you - why did you not work aright (thinking of the poor)?" ('Sabh' = Swim in strides = Work hard = Labor for a noble cause)

They said, "Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers."

They said, "Glory be to God, our Lord. We have surely done wrong

They said, "Glorified is our Lord! Verily, it is we who have been offenders." (Refusing the Divine Right of the needy)

Then they approached one another, blaming each other.

Then they began to heap reproaches on each other

And then they confronted one another, blaming

They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors.

They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale

They said, "Oh, woe unto us! We were trespassers of goodness

Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us [one] better than it. Indeed, we are toward our Lord desirous."1

May be our Lord will give us a better orchard in its stead; we turn to Him

It may be that our Lord grants us something better than this. Behold, we turn to our Lord affectionately

Such is the punishment [of this world]. And the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew.

Such was their punishment, [in this life]. But the punishment of the life to come is much more severe, if only they knew it

Such is the suffering! But far greater is the suffering of the Hereafter - if they knew it

Indeed, for the righteous with their Lord are the Gardens of Pleasure.

Those who are mindful of their Lord will be rewarded with gardens of bliss

Behold, for those who walk aright are Gardens of Bliss with their Lord

Then will We treat the Muslims like the criminals?

Should We treat the true believers and the wrongdoers alike

Shall We, then, treat those who submit (to Our Laws) like the guilty

What is [the matter] with you? How do you judge?

What ails you? How ill you judge

What is the matter with you? How do you judge (the right and wrong and their logical consequence)

Or do you have a scripture in which you learn

Have you a Scripture that tells you

Or do you have a scripture wherein you learn

That indeed for you is whatever you choose?

that you will be granted whatever you choose

That you shall indeed get the outcome of your choosing

Or do you have oaths [binding] upon Us, extending until the Day of Resurrection, that indeed for you is whatever you judge?

Or do you have Our solemn oaths, binding upon Us till the Day of Resurrection, that you shall have whatever you yourselves decide

Or have you a solemn oath, binding on Us till Resurrection Day, that yours shall be all that you order

Ask them which of them, for that [claim], is responsible.

Ask them, which of them will vouch for that

Ask them which of them guarantees it

Or do they have partners?1 Then let them bring their partners, if they should be truthful.

Or have they other partners [besides God]? Let them bring forth their other partners, if what they say be true

Do they have 'partners'? Then let them bring their 'partners' if they are truthful

The Day the shin will be uncovered1 and they are invited to prostration but they [i.e., the disbelievers] will not be able,

On the Day when the truth shall be laid bare, they will be called upon to prostrate themselves, but they will not be able to do so

On the Day when they are confronted with the stark reality and they are summoned to prostrate, they shall not be able to prostrate. (It will be too late to submit)

Their eyes humbled, humiliation will cover them. And they used to be invited to prostration while they were sound.1

Their eyes will be cast down and they will be covered in shame; they were bidden to prostrate themselves, when they were safe and sound [but they did not obey]

Their eyes drooping, humiliation will overwhelm them! And they had been repeatedly invited to prostrate when they were able

So leave Me, [O Muḥammad], with [the matter of] whoever denies this statement [i.e., the Qur’ān]. We will progressively lead them [to punishment] from where they do not know.1

So leave to Me those who reject this message. We shall lead them step by step to their ruin, in ways beyond their ken

So leave unto Me him who denied this Message (39:23). We shall lead them step by step to a reprisal from directions they had never conceived

And I will give them time. Indeed, My plan is firm.

I shall grant them some respite, for My plan is powerful

Though I give them respite, behold, unwavering is My Plan

Or do you ask of them a payment, so they are by debt burdened down?

Do you demand some recompense from them that would weigh them down with debt

Or is it that you ask them any reward so that they are burdened

Or have they [knowledge of] the unseen, so they write [it] down?

Is the unseen within their grasp so that they write it down

Or is it that theirs is the future that they have written down

Then be patient for the decision of your Lord, [O Muḥammad], and be not like the companion of the fish [i.e., Jonah] when he called out while he was distressed.

Wait patiently for your Lord's judgement; do not be like the man who, having been swallowed by a whale, called out in distress

(O Prophet) Go ahead steadfastly in establishing your Lord's Command. And be not like him (Jonah) of the fish who cried out in distress. (21)

If not that a favor [i.e., mercy] from his Lord overtook him, he would have been thrown onto the naked shore while he was censured.1

Had his Lord's grace not been bestowed upon him, he would have been cast away in disgrace upon that desolate shore

If it were not for the Bliss of his Lord, he would have been cast into the wilderness and in the wilderness of thought

And his Lord chose him and made him of the righteous.

But his Lord chose him for His own and made him one of the righteous

But his Lord had elected him and included him among those who have worked for reform and to actualize their 'Self

And indeed, those who disbelieve would almost make you slip with their eyes [i.e., looks] when they hear the message, and they say, "Indeed, he is mad."

When those who deny the truth hear the admonition, they would almost cause you to stumble with their evil eyes; and they say, "He is certainly mad

And behold, those who deny the Truth, offend you (O Prophet) with their eyes when they hear the Reminder. And they say, "Behold, he is a madman

But it is not except a reminder to the worlds.

Yet it is purely an admonition to mankind

Nay, this Reminder is a giver of eminence to all nations