English - Chapter 68 - Al-Qalam

Nũn. By the pen and what everyone writes

By the grace of your Lord, you ˹O Prophet˺ are not insane

You will certainly have a never-ending reward

And you are truly ˹a man˺ of outstanding character

Soon you and the pagans will see

which of you is mad

Surely your Lord ˹alone˺ knows best who has strayed from His Way and who is ˹rightly˺ guided

So do not give in to the deniers

They wish you would compromise so they would yield ˹to you˺

And do not obey the despicable, vain oath-taker

slanderer, gossip-monger

brute, and—on top of all that—an illegitimate child

Now, ˹simply˺ because he has been blessed with ˹abundant˺ wealth and children

whenever Our revelations are recited to him, he says, “Ancient fables!”

We will soon mark his snout

Indeed, We have tested those ˹Meccans˺ as We tested the owners of the garden—when they swore they would surely harvest ˹all˺ its fruit in the early morning

leaving no thought for Allah’s Will

Then it was struck by a torment from your Lord while they slept

so it was reduced to ashes

Then by daybreak they called out to each other

˹saying,˺ “Go early to your harvest, if you want to pick ˹all˺ the fruit.”

So they went off, whispering to one another

“Do not let any poor person enter your garden today.”

And they proceeded early, totally fixated on their purpose

But when they saw it ˹devastated˺, they cried, “We must have lost ˹our˺ way

In fact, we have been deprived ˹of our livelihood˺.”

The most sensible of them said, “Did I not urge you to say, ‘Allah willing.’?”

They replied, “Glory be to our Lord! We have truly been wrongdoers.”

Then they turned on each other, throwing blame

They said, “Woe to us! We have certainly been transgressors

We trust our Lord will give us a better garden than this, ˹for˺ we are indeed turning to our Lord with hope.”

That is the ˹way of Our˺ punishment ˹in this world˺. But the punishment of the Hereafter is certainly far worse, if only they knew

Indeed, the righteous will have the Gardens of Bliss with their Lord

Should We then treat those who have submitted like the wicked

What is the matter with you? How do you judge

Or do you have a scripture, in which you read

that you will have whatever you choose

Or do you have oaths binding on Us until the Day of Judgment that you will have whatever you decide

Ask them ˹O Prophet˺ which of them can guarantee all that

Or do they have associate-gods ˹supporting this claim˺? Then let them bring forth their associate-gods, if what they say is true

˹Beware of˺ the Day the Shin ˹of Allah˺ will be bared, and the wicked will be asked to prostrate, but they will not be able to do so

with eyes downcast, totally covered with disgrace. For they were ˹always˺ called to prostrate ˹in the world˺ when they were fully capable ˹but they chose not to˺

So leave to Me ˹O Prophet˺ those who reject this message. We will gradually draw them to destruction in ways they cannot comprehend

I ˹only˺ delay their end for a while, but My planning is flawless

Or are you asking them for a reward ˹for the message˺ so that they are overburdened by debt

Or do they have access to ˹the Record in˺ the unseen, so they copy it ˹for all to see˺

So be patient with your Lord’s decree, and do not be like ˹Jonah,˺ the Man of the Whale, who cried out ˹to Allah˺, in total distress

Had he not been shown grace by his Lord, he would have certainly been cast onto the open ˹shore˺, still blameworthy

Then his Lord chose him, making him one of the righteous

The disbelievers would almost cut you down with their eyes when they hear ˹you recite˺ the Reminder, and say, “He is certainly a madman.”

But it is simply a reminder to the whole world