* | quran | * | 68. al-qalam. the pen      <   > 

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1.  *     Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,-
 
2.  *     Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed.
 
3.  *     Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing:
 
4.  *     And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character.
 
5.  *     Soon wilt thou see, and they will see,
 
6.  *     Which of you is afflicted with madness.
 
7.  *     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.
 
8.  *     So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth).
 
9.  *     Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant.
 
10.  *     Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths,
 
11.  *     A slanderer, going about with calumnies,
 
12.  *     (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin,
 
13.  *     Violent (and cruel),- with all that, base-born,-
 
14.  *     Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons.
 
15.  *     When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries!
 
16.  *     Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout!
 
17.  *     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.
 
18.  *     But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will").
 
19.  *     Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep.
 
20.  *     So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered).
 
21.  *     As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,-
 
22.  *     "Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits."
 
23.  *     So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)-
 
24.  *     "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day."
 
25.  *     And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve.
 
26.  *     But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way:
 
27.  *     "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!"
 
28.  *     Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'"
 
29.  *     They said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!"
 
30.  *     Then they turned, one against another, in reproach.
 
31.  *     They said: "Alas for us! We have indeed transgressed!
 
32.  *     "It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this: for we do turn to Him (in repentance)!"
 
33.  *     Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew!
 
34.  *     Verily, for the Righteous, are Gardens of Delight, in the Presence of their Lord.
 
35.  *     Shall We then treat the People of Faith like the People of Sin?
 
36.  *     What is the matter with you? How judge ye?
 
37.  *     Or have ye a book through which ye learn-
 
38.  *     That ye shall have, through it whatever ye choose?
 
39.  *     Or have ye Covenants with Us to oath, reaching to the Day of Judgment, (providing) that ye shall have whatever ye shall demand?
 
40.  *     Ask thou of them, which of them will stand surety for that!
 
41.  *     Or have they some "Partners" (in Allahhead)? Then let them produce their "partners", if they are truthful!
 
42.  *     The Day that the shin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned to bow in adoration, but they shall not be able,-
 
43.  *     Their eyes will be cast down,- ignominy will cover them; seeing that they had been summoned aforetime to bow in adoration, while they were whole, (and had refused).
 
44.  *     Then leave Me alone with such as reject this Message: by degrees shall We punish them from directions they perceive not.
 
45.  *     A (long) respite will I grant them: truly powerful is My Plan.
 
46.  *     Or is it that thou dost ask them for a reward, so that they are burdened with a load of debt?-
 
47.  *     Or that the Unseen is in their hands, so that they can write it down?
 
48.  *     So wait with patience for the Command of thy Lord, and be not like the Companion of the Fish,- when he cried out in agony.
 
49.  *     Had not Grace from his Lord reached him, he would indeed have been cast off on the naked shore, in disgrace.
 
50.  *     Thus did his Lord choose him and make him of the Company of the Righteous.
 
51.  *     And the Unbelievers would almost trip thee up with their eyes when they hear the Message; and they say: "Surely he is possessed!"
 
52.  *     But it is nothing less than a Message to all the worlds.