English - Chapter 68 - Al-Qalam

Nun. By the Pen, and what they inscribe

thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed

Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing

surely thou art upon a mighty morality

So thou shalt see, and they will see

which of you is the demented

Surely thy Lord knows very well those who have gone astray from His way, and He knows very well those who are guided

So obey thou not those who cry lies

They wish that thou shouldst compromise, then they would compromise

And obey thou not every mean swearer

backbiter, going about with slander

hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained

moreover ignoble

because he has wealth and sons

When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients

We shall brand him upon the muzzle

Now We have tried them, even as We tried the owners of the garden when they swore they would pluck in the morning

and they added not the saving words

Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it, while they were sleeping

and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked

Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck

So they departed, whispering together

No needy man shall enter it today against your will

And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose

But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray

nay, rather we have been robbed

Said the most moderate of them, 'Did I not say to you, "Why do you not give glory

They said, 'Glory be to God, our Lord; truly, we were evildoers

And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other

They said, 'Woe, alas for us! Truly, we were insolent

It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better than it; to our Lord we humbly turn

Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the world to come, is assuredly greater, did they but know

Surely for the godfearing shall be Gardens of Bliss with their Lord

What, shall we make those who have surrendered like to the sinners

What ails you then, how you judge

Or have you a Book wherein you study

Surely therein you shall have whatever you choose

Or have you oaths from Us, reaching to the Day of Resurrection? Surely you shall have whatever you judge

Ask them, which of them will guarantee that

Or do they have associates? Then let them bring their associates, if they speak truly

Upon the day when the leg shall be bared, and they shall be summoned to bow themselves, but they cannot

humbled shall be their eyes, and abasement shall overspread them, for they had been summoned to bow themselves while they were whole

So leave Me with him who cries lies to this discourse! We will draw them on little by little whence they know not

and I shall respite them -- assuredly My guile is sure

Or askest thou them for a wage, and so they are weighed down with debt

Or is the Unseen in their keeping, and so they are writing it down

So be thou patient under the judgment of thy Lord, and be not as the Man of the Fish, when he called, choking inwardly

Had there not overtaken him a blessing from his Lord he would have been cast upon the wilderness, being condemned

But his Lord had chosen him, and He placed him among the righteous

The unbelievers wellnigh strike thee down with their glances, when they hear the Reminder, and they say, 'Surely he is a man possessed

And it is nothing but a Reminder unto all beings