Surah 68. Al-Qalam

which of you was bereft of reason.

  - Mohammad Asad

- which of you is afflicted with madness.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

which of you is mad.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Which of you is the demented.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Which of you is afflicted with madness.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Verily, thy Sustainer alone is fully aware as to who has strayed from His path, just as He alone is fully aware of those who have found the right way.

  - Mohammad Asad

Surely it is your Rabb Who knows those who have strayed from His Way, as He knows best those who are rightly guided.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

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

  - Mustafa Khattab

Lo! thy Lord is best aware of him who strayeth from his way, and He is best aware of those who walk aright.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Verily it is thy Lord that knoweth best which (among men) hath strayed from His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (True) Guidance. ⁵⁵⁹⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Men set up false standards of judgment. The right standard is that of Allah. For His knowledge is complete and all-embracing; He reads hidden motives as well as things that appear before men's sight; and He knows the past history in which the roots of present actions are embedded, as well as the future consequences of present actions.

Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth:

  - Mohammad Asad

So do not yield to the unbelievers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So do not give in to the deniers.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Therefor obey not thou the rejecters

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth). ⁵⁵⁹⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The enemies of Allah's truth are sometimes self-deceived. But quite often they have a glimmering of the truth in spite of their desire to shut their eyes. Then they compromise, and they would like the preachers of inconvenient truths to compromise with them. On those terms there would be mutual laudation. This easy path of making the best of both worlds is a real danger or temptation to the best of us, and we must be on our guard against it if we would really enter into the company of the Righteous who submit their wills to the Will of Allah. Abu Jahl freely offered impossible compromises to the holy Prophet.

they would like thee to be soft [with them], so that they might be soft [with thee].⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "they would like thee to be conciliatory in the matter of ethical principles and moral valuations, whereupon they would reciprocate and desist from actively opposing thee".

They desire you to compromise a little, so they too would compromise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They wish you would compromise so they would yield 'to you'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant; so would thy be pliant.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Furthermore,⁶ defer not to the contemptible swearer of oaths,

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "And". The subsequently enumerated types of moral deficiency are, of course, mentioned only as examples of the type of man to whose likes or dislikes no consideration whatever should be shown.

Neither yield to any mean oath-monger,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And do not obey the despicable, vain oath-taker,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Neither obey thou each feeble oath monger,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Need not the type of despicable man ready with oaths. ^{5599 5600}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The type of each of these hateful qualities is not uncommon, though the combination of all in one man makes him peculiarly despicable, as was Walid ibn Mugaira, who was a ringleader in calumniating our Prophet and who came to an evil end not long after the battle of Badr, in which he rceived injuries.

It is only liars who swear on all occasions, small or great, because their word is not believed in. The true man's word, according to the proverb, is as good as his bond.

[or to] the slanderer that goes about with defaming tales,

  - Mohammad Asad

mischief making slanderer,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

slanderer, gossip-monger,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Detractor, spreader abroad of slanders,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

A slanderer going about with calumnies.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

[or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor,

  - Mohammad Asad

opponent of good, transgressor,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

withholder of good, transgressor, evildoer,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Hinderer of the good, transgressor, malefactor

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(Habitually) hindering (all) good transgressing beyond bounds deep in sin.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

[or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed,⁷ and, in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men].⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

The term 'utul - derived from the verb 'atala, "he dragged [someone or something] in a rough and cruel manner" - is used to describe a person combining within himself the attributes of cruelty and greed; hence the composite rendering adopted by me.

The commentators give the most divergent interpretations to the term zanim, which is evidently derived from the noun zanamah, denoting either of the two wattles, or fleshy skin protuberances, hanging below the ears of a goat. Since these wattles do not seem to have any physiological function, the term zanim has come to signify "someone [or "something"] not needed" (Taj al-'Arus): in other words, redundant or useless. It is, therefore, logical to assume that in the above context this term describes a person who is entirely useless in the social sense.

wicked oppressor, and above all, ignoble by birth,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

brute, and- on top of all that- an illegitimate child.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Greedy therewithal, intrusive.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Violent (and cruel) with all that base-born ⁵⁶⁰¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Besides the self-deciever and the easy-going man, there is a third type, even more degraded. He has no idea of truth or sincerity. He is ready to swear friendship with every one and fidelity to every cause. But at the same moment he will slander and backbite, and cause mischief even between good but credulous persons. Evil seems to be his goal, and good his evil. He will not only pursue evil courses himself but prevent other people from doing right. When checked, he resorts to violence. In any case, he will intrude where he has no right, claiming relationship or power or consideration in circles which would gladly disown him. He is vain of his wealth or because he has a large following at his beck and call. Religion is to him merely old-fashioned superstition.

Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children

  - Mohammad Asad

though he be possessing wealth and children.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

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

  - Mustafa Khattab

It is because he is possessed of wealth and children

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons. ⁵⁶⁰²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"Because" may connect with "heed not" in verse 10, or with "violent and cruel" in verse 13. In the former case, we construe: 'Pay no attention to despicable men of the character described, simply because they happen to have wealth or influence, or much backing in man-power'. In the latter case, we construe: 'the fellow is violent and cruel, he is puffed up with his wealth or riches or backing in man-power'. In the eyes of Allah such a man is in any case branded and marked out as a sinner.

that, whenever Our messages are conveyed to him, such a one says, "Fables of ancient times"?⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

The term banun (lit., "children" or "sons") is often used in the Qur'an metonymically, denoting "popular support" or "many adherents"; in conjunction with the term mal ("worldly goods") it is meant to illustrate a certain mentality which attributes a pseudo-religious significance to wealth and influence, and regards these visible signs of worldly success as a post-factum evidence of the "righteousness" of the person concerned and, hence, of his not being in need of further guidance.

When Our revelations are recited to him , he says: "They are nothing but the tales of the ancient."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

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

  - Mustafa Khattab

That, when Our revelations are recited unto him, he saith: Mere fables of the men of old.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

When to him are rehearsed Our Signs "Tales of the Ancients" he cries. ^{5603 5604}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Allah's Signs, by which He calls us, are everywhere-in nature and in our very heart and soul. In Revelation, every verse is a Sign, for it stands symbolically for far more than it says. "Sign" (Ayat) thus becomes a technical term for a verse of the Qur-an.

Cf. vi. 25.

[For this] We shall brand him with indelible disgrace!¹⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "We shall brand him on the snout" (khurtum)". All commentators point out that this idiomatic phrase has a strictly metaphorical meaning, namely, "We shall stigmatize him with indelible disgrace" (cf. Lane II, 724, quoting both Raghib and Taj al-'Arus).

Soon We shall brand him on the snout.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We will soon mark his snout.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Like 53:33-35 and 74:11-26, these verses refer to Al-Walîd ibn Al-Mughîrah, a leader of the Meccan opposition against Islam. He rejected the Prophet (ﷺ) as a madman, so the Quran responded by listing ten of his qualities—two of which were unknown to him: the fact that he was born out of wedlock and that his nose would be chopped off several years later at the Battle of Badr. At least three of his ten sons accepted Islam—including Khâlid ibn Al-Walîd.

We shall brand him on the nose.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! ⁵⁶⁰⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Literally, proboscis, the most sensitive limb of the elephant. The sinner makes himself a beast and can only be controlled by his snout.

[As for such sinners,] behold, We [but] try them¹¹ as We tried the owners of a certain garden who vowed that they would surely harvest its fruit on the morrow,

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., by bestowing on them affluence out of all proportion to their moral deserts.

Surely We shall try them as We tried the owners of the garden when they swore that they would pluck its fruit the next morning,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

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,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Lo! we have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed they would pluck its fruit next morning.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Verily We have tried them as We tried the people of the Garden when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. ⁵⁶⁰⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"Why do the wicked flourish?" is a question asked in all ages. The answer is not simple. It must refer to (1) the choice left to man's will, (2) his moral responsibility, (3) the need of his tuning his will to Allah's Will, (4) the patience of Allah, which allows the widest possible chance for the operation of (5) His Mercy, and (6) in the last resort, to the nature of the Punishment, which is not a merely abrupt or arbitrary act, but a long, gradual process, in which there is room for repentance at every stage. All these points are illustrated in the remarkable Parable of the People of the Garden, which also illustrates the greed, selfishness, and heedlessness of man, as well as his tendency to throw the blame on others if he can but think of a scapegoat. All these foibles are shown, but the Mercy of Allah is boundless, and even after the worst sins and punishments, there may be hope of an even better orchard than the one lost, if only the repentance is true, and there is complete surrender to Allah's Will. But if, in spite of ail this, there is no surrender of the will, then, indeed, the punishment in the Hereafter is something incomparably greater than the little calamities in the Parable.

and made no allowance [for the will of God]:¹²

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., they resolved upon their objective without the reservation, "if God so wills points to the first lesson to be derived from this parable, as well as to its connection with the rhetorical question in verses {14-15} above.

without adding any reservation ( such as God willing).

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

leaving no thought for Allah's Will.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Another possible translation: “… without leaving some for the poor.”

And made no exception (for the will of Allah);

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But made no reservation ("If it be Allah's Will"). ⁵⁶⁰⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

We must always remember, in all our plans, that they depend for their success on how far they accord with Allah's Will and Plan. His universal Will is supreme over all affairs. These foolish men had a secret plan to defraud the poor of their just rights, but they were put into a position where they could not do so. In trying to frustrate others, they were themselves frustrated.

whereupon a visitation from thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep,

  - Mohammad Asad

So a calamity from your Rabb came down upon it while they slept,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

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

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then a visitation came upon it while they slept

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

So there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord (which swept away) all around while they were asleep. ⁵⁶⁰⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

It was a terrible storm that blew down and destroyed the fruits and the trees. The whole place was changed out of all recognition.

so that by the morrow it became barren and bleak.

  - Mohammad Asad

and by the morning it lay as if it had been already harvested.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

so it was reduced to ashes.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And in the morning it was as if plucked.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

So the (garden) became by the morning like a dark and desolate spot (whose fruit had been gathered).

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali