English - Chapter 68 - Al-Qalam

Nun. By the Pen and what they write with it line by line

You are not, by the grace of your Lord, a madman

And yours for sure is a reward constant and beyond measure

You are surely of a sublime character and do act by a sublime pattern of conduct

Soon you will see and they will see

Which of you is afflicted with madness

Surely your Lord is He Who knows best who is astray from His way, and He knows best those who are rightly guided

So pay no heed to (the desires of) those who persistently deny (God’s Message)

They wish you to compromise (with them in matters of faith), so they would compromise (with you)

Pay no heed to any contemptible oath-maker (who swears much with no consideration of truth, and no will to act on his word)

A defamer, circulating slander (in all directions)

Who hinders the doing of good, transgressor of all bounds (of sense or decency), one addicted to sinning

Cruel and ignoble, and in addition to all that, morally corrupt

Because he has wealth and many sons

When Our Revelations are recited to him, he says: "Fables of the ancients

We will brand him on the nose (to mark indelibly his disgrace)

For sure We try them (with drought as they rely on their wealth and children We have granted them and reject Our call), just as We tried the owners of the garden. They swore that they would assuredly harvest its produce the next day

They made no allowance (in their oaths, being oblivious of the rights of the needy and oblivious of God’s will)

Then a visitation from your Lord encompassed it while they were sleeping

So by morning it had become bleak

So they cried out to one another having risen for the morning

Hurry to your cultivated land if you mean to harvest (its produce)

So they set out, confiding to one another

(Take care) that no destitute enter there on you today

So early they went, firmly resolved in intent (to collect the harvest and not share it with the destitute)

But when they saw it, they said: "We have assuredly arrived at the wrong place

(Then when they realized that it was indeed their garden:) "No, rather we are made destitute

The one more equitable among them said: "Did I not say to you: Will you not glorify God

They said: "All-Glorified is our Lord! Indeed we have done wrong (by regarding ourselves as self-sufficient and not dependent on Him)

Then they approached one another, reproaching themselves

It may be that our Lord will grant us something better than this instead. Surely to our Lord do we turn with hope

That is (an example of) the punishment (such as the ingrate rebellious may be made to endure in the world); and certainly the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew

For the God-revering, pious there are Gardens of bounty and blessing with their Lord

Do We ever treat those who have submitted to God like the disbelieving criminals (who have submitted only to their own lusts and fancies)

What is the matter with you (that you can judge so)? How can you judge (that all are valued alike in God’s sight whether they are Muslims or not)

Or do you have a Book (revealed by God) that you read

Wherein you find that you will indeed have whatever you prefer (to have)

Or do you have a covenant with Us confirmed by Us on oath as binding until the Day of Resurrection, that you will have whatever you judge (should be yours)

Ask them (seeing that they do not have such a covenant) which of them will vouch for that

Or do they have partners (with God who guarantee them whatever they wish for themselves)? Then let them produce their partners if they are truthful (in their claim)

On the Day when the truth will be manifest and they are in trouble, and being called to prostrate, they will be incapable of it

Downcast will be their eyes, with abasement overwhelming them. Assuredly they were called to prostrate while they were yet safe and whole (in this world, but they did not)

So leave Me with such as deny this Word (the Qur’an). We will lead them on to perdition step by step from where they do not know

But I grant respite to them (so that they may mend their ways). My scheme (all that is willed for them) is firm and unfailing

Or is it that you ask them for a wage (in return for your calling them to Our Word), and so they are weighed down with debt

Or is the Unseen within their reach that they write down (prescribing and stipulating what is to come, and how they are to be judged)

So wait patiently for your Lord’s judgment, and do not be like the companion of the fish, when he called out choking inwardly (with distress)

If there had not reached him grace from his Lord (Who accepted his repentance), he would indeed have been cast forth on the desert shore, being reproached

But his Lord chose him and enabled him to be among the specially chosen, righteous servants

Those who disbelieve would (if they could) strike you down with their looks because of hatred and enmity, when they hear the Reminder, and they say: "Surely he is a madman

But it is not other than a Reminder for all beings