English - Chapter 68 - Al-Qalam

Nun. By the PEN and by what they write

Thou, O Prophet; by the grace of thy Lord art not possessed

And truly a boundless recompense doth await thee

For thou art of a noble nature

But thou shalt see and they shall see

Which of you is the demented

Now thy Lord! well knoweth He the man who erreth from his path, and well doth he know those who have yielded to Guidance

Give not place, therefore, to those who treat thee as a liar

They desire thee to deal smoothly with them: then would they be smooth as oil with thee

But yield not to the man of oaths, a despicable person

Defamer, going about with slander

Hinderer of the good, transgressor, criminal

Harsh - beside this, impure by birth

Though a man of riches and blessed with sons

Who when our wondrous verses are recited to him saith - "Fables of the ancients

We will brand him on the nostrils

Verily, we have proved them (the Meccans) as we proved the owners of the garden, when they swore that at morn they would cut its fruits

But added no reserve

Wherefore an encircling desolation from thy Lord swept round it while they slumbered

And in the morning it was like a garden whose fruits had all been cut

Then at dawn they called to each other

Go out early to your field, if ye would cut your dates

So on they went whispering to each other

No poor man shall set foot this day within your garden

And they went out at daybreak with this settled purpose

But when they beheld it, they said, "Truly we have been in fault

Yes! we are forbidden our fruits

The most rightminded of them said, "Did I not say to you, Will ye not give praise to God

They said, "Glory to our Lord! Truly we have done amiss

And they fell to blaming one another

They said, "Oh woe to us! we have indeed transgressed

Such hath been our chastisement - but heavier shall be the chastisement of the next world. Ah! did they but know it

Verily, for the God-fearing are gardens of delight in the presence of their Lord

Shall we then deal with those who have surrendered themselves to God, as with those who offend him

What hath befallen you that ye thus judge

Have ye a Scripture wherein ye can search out

That ye shall have the things ye choose

Or have ye received oaths which shall bind Us even until the day of the resurrection, that ye shall have what yourselves judge right

Ask them which of them will guarantee this

Or is it that they have joined gods with God? let them produce those associate-gods of theirs, if they speak truth

On the day when men's legs shall be bared, and they shall be called upon to bow in adoration, they shall not be able

Their looks shall be downcast: shame shall cover them: because, while yet in safety, they were invited to bow in worship, but would not obey

Leave me alone therefore with him who chargeth this revelation with imposture. We will lead them by degrees to their ruin; by ways which they know not

Yet will I bear long with them; for my plan is sure

Askest thou any recompense from them? But they are burdened with debt

Are the secret things within their ken? Do they copy them from the Book of God

Patiently then await the judgment of thy Lord, and be not like him who was in the fish, when in deep distress he cried to God

Had not favour from his Lord reached him, cast forth would he have been on the naked shore, overwhelmed with shame

But his Lord chose him and made him of the just

Almost would the infidels strike thee down with their very looks when they hear the warning of the Koran. And they say, "He is certainly possessed

Yet is it nothing less than a warning for all creatures