English - Chapter 68 - Al-Qalam

Nūn. By the pen and what they write

By the grace of your Lord [O Prophet], you are not madman

You will surely have a never-ending reward

Indeed, you are of a great moral character

Soon you will see and they will see

which of you is afflicted with madness

Indeed, your Lord alone knows best who has strayed from His way and those who are rightly guided

So do not obey the deniers

They wish that you would compromise so they would too compromise

And do not obey every disgraceful swearer

backbiter, gossip-monger

withholder of good, transgressor, sinful

coarse, and furthermore, an illegitimate child

Simply because he has wealth and children

When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “Ancient fables!”

We will soon brand him on the snout

Indeed, We have tested them [the Makkans] as We tested the people of the garden, when they swore to harvest its fruits in the early morning

and made no exception [by saying: if Allah wills]

Then it was struck by an affliction from your Lord while they were asleep

and it turned to ashes as black as night

Then in the early morning they called out to one another

“Go early to your garden if you really wish to harvest.”

So they set out, whispering to one another

“Not a single poor person should enter your garden today.”

And they left early, fully determined to stick to their plan

But when they saw the garden, they said, “We must have lost our way

Rather, we have been deprived.”

The best among them said, “Did I not say to you to glorify Allah?”

They said, “Glory be to our Lord! We were truly wrongdoers.”

Then they turned to one another, throwing blame

They said, “Woe to us! We were surely transgressors

Our Lord may give us something better than this. We certainly turn to our Lord in hope.”

Such is the punishment [in this world]; but the punishment of the Hereafter is far worse, if only they knew

Indeed, the righteous will have gardens of bliss with their Lord

Should We then treat Muslims like the wicked

What is the matter with you that you make such a judgment

Or do you have a scripture in which you read

that you will be given whatever you choose

Or do you have a solemn promise binding upon Us until the Day of Resurrection, that you will have whatever you decide for yourselves

Ask them which of them can guarantee that

Or do they have associate-gods? Then let them bring forth their associate-gods, if they are truthful

On the Day when the Shin [of Allah] will be uncovered, and they are invited to prostrate, but they will not be able to do so

Their eyes will be downcast, overwhelmed with humiliation, for they were invited to prostrate when they were capable [but they refused]

So leave to Me those who reject this message [O Prophet]. We will gradually lead them to their ruin in ways that they do not perceive

I will give them respite, but My plan is firm

Or are you asking them for a reward, so they find it too burdensome

Or do they have knowledge of the unseen, so they write it down

So be patient with the decree of your Lord, and do not be like [Jonah], the man of the Whale, when he cried out in anguish

Had it not been for the grace that he received from his Lord, he would have surely been thrown at the barren shore, blameworthy

But his Lord chose him, and made him one of the righteous

The disbelievers would almost strike you down with their malicious gazes when they hear the Reminder, and they say, “He is certainly mad.”