Surah 68. Al-Qalam

1.

Nũn. By the pen and what everyone writes!

2.

By the grace of your Lord, you 'O Prophet' are not insane.

3.

You will certainly have a never-ending reward.

4.

And you are truly 'a man' of outstanding character.

5.

Soon you and the pagans will see,

6.

which of you is mad.

7.

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

8.

So do not give in to the deniers.

9.

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

10.

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

11.

slanderer, gossip-monger,

12.

withholder of good, transgressor, evildoer,

13.

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

14.

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

15.

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

16.

We will soon mark his snout.¹

 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.

17.

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,

18.

leaving no thought for Allah's Will.¹

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

19.

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

20.

so it was reduced to ashes.

21.

Then by daybreak they called out to each other,

22.

'saying,' 'Go early to your harvest, if you want to pick 'all' the fruit.'

23.

So they went off, whispering to one another,

24.

'Do not let any poor person enter your garden today.'

25.

And they proceeded early, totally fixated on their purpose.

26.

But when they saw it 'devastated', they cried, 'We must have lost 'our' way!

27.

In fact, we have been deprived 'of our livelihood'.'

28.

The most sensible of them said, 'Did I not urge you to say, 'Allah willing.'?'

29.

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

30.

Then they turned on each other, throwing blame.

31.

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

32.

We trust our Lord will give us a better garden than this, 'for' we are indeed turning to our Lord with hope.'¹

 It is believed that Allah accepted their repentance and replaced their garden with a better one.

33.

That is the 'way of Our' punishment 'in this world'. But the punishment of the Hereafter is certainly far worse, if only they knew.¹

 i.e., if only the Meccan pagans knew.

34.

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

35.

Should We then treat those who have submitted like the wicked?

36.

What is the matter with you? How do you judge?

37.

Or do you have a scripture, in which you read

38.

that you will have whatever you choose?

39.

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

40.

Ask them 'O Prophet' which of them can guarantee all that.

41.

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

42.

'Beware of' the Day the Shin 'of Allah' will be bared,¹ and the wicked will be asked to prostrate, but they will not be able to do so,

 Like the Face and the Hands, the Shin is believed by many to be one of the qualities of Allah, in a way befitting His Majesty and Greatness. Since baring the shin in the Arab culture is associated with the heat of battle, some interpret the verse metaphorically, so the meaning would be: “˹Beware of˺ the Day when horror sets in.”

43.

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'.

44.

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

45.

I 'only' delay their end for a while, but My planning is flawless.

46.

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

47.

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

48.

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.¹

 While inside the whale. See 21:87 and 37:139-148.

49.

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

50.

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

51.

The disbelievers would almost cut you down with their eyes when they hear 'you recite' the Reminder,¹ and say, 'He is certainly a madman.'

 This is one of the names of the Quran.

52.

But it is simply a reminder to the whole world.