English - Chapter 68 - Al-Qalam

Noon By the pen, and by what they write

By your Lord's grace, you [Prophet Muhammad] are not mad

And, indeed, a never ending reward is there for you

And, indeed, you have a truly great character

Soon you will see, and so they will

As to who of you is on trial

Your Lord does indeed know who has strayed from His Path, and He knows those on right guidance

Obey not then those who deny the Truth

They want you to compromise and then they will compromise

And obey not any mean swearer of oaths

Or [obey not] any gossip-monger going about with malicious gossip

Or [obey not] one who places obstacles in the way of good being done, transgressing with criminal intent

[And obey not] one who is cruel, besides being of no use to society

Just because he has wealth and sons

When Our Verses are recited to him, he says, "These are just ancient tales

Soon We will brand him on the nose [disgrace him]

And they made no exception

And then a calamity from your Lord befell it [the garden] as they slept

And by morning it lay barren as if already harvested

And at dawn, they [the owners] called each other out

Reach your field early, to gather all your fruits

And so they proceeded, whispering to one another

Let no pauper enter the garden and trouble you today

And they went early, thinking they had the power to be firm

Then as they saw it, they said, "We must have lost our way

But, [no], utterly deprived are we

A moderate among them said, "Had I not asked you to invoke divine mercy and blessings

They said, "Glory be to our Lord! We have indeed been wrong

Then they started blaming one another

They said, "Alas for us, we did indeed transgress

May be our Lord will give us a garden better than this; we do indeed turn to Him now

Such is the punishment [in this life]! And the punishment of the life to come is certainly more severe, if only they knew

Indeed, for those who fear Allah, there will be the gardens of bliss with their Lord

Would We then treat the believers like the sinners

What is the matter with you? How ill you judge

Have you any book wherein you learn

That you will definitey have therein whatever you choose

Or do you have Our solemn pledges, binding upon Us till the Day of Resurrection, that you shall have whatever you order

Ask which of them will vouch for that [that there indeed are such solemn pledges divinely made]

Or do they worship gods besides Allah? Let them then come up with their other gods, if what they say be true

The Day the shin is laid bare, they will be called upon to prostrate themselves, but they will not be able to do so

Their glances will be downcast and ignominy shall cover them; they were called upon to prostrate [in this world], when they were safe and sound, [but they did not obey]

So leave to Me those who reject this Message. We shall rein them in, by degrees, from whence they know not

And I (Allah) give them a long rope. Indeed, My plan is fool-proof

Or do you demand some reward from them that would weigh them down with debt

Or, do they possess the knowledge of the unseen which they write down

So wait patiently for your Lord's decree! And be not like the companion of the fish, calling out in distress

Had not his Lord's favour taken hold of him [Prophet Jonas], he would have surely been flung away in disgrace upon that desolate shore

His Lord then chose him and made him one of the righteous men

And when those who suppress the truth hear the Admonition [Qur'aan], they would almost make you stumble with their eyes! And they say, "He is indeed mad

And it [Qur'aan] is not but an Admonition for all