Surah 68 of 114 · Makki · 52 ayat
Al-Qalam القلم
The Pen
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ نٓ وَٱلْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ
PickthallNun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith),
Yusuf AliNun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,-
The agreed readingNūn. By the pen and what they write. The commentaries take the oath together as an oath by the pen and by what is written with it, and leave the letter nūn itself to God, who knows what He meant by it.
مَآ أَنتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ بِمَجْنُونٍ
PickthallThou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman.
Yusuf AliThou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed.
The agreed readingBy your Lord's favour to you, you are not possessed. The commentaries agree on the occasion in outline: it answers those who called the Prophet mad, and the favour meant is prophethood and sound judgement — the very thing that makes the charge absurd.
وَإِنَّ لَكَ لَأَجْرًا غَيْرَ مَمْنُونٍ
PickthallAnd lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing.
Yusuf AliNay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing:
The agreed readingAnd yours is a reward never cut off, never withheld. The commentaries take it as the wage for bearing the burden of the message: unbroken, and not held over him as a favour.
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ
PickthallAnd lo! thou art of a tremendous nature.
Yusuf AliAnd thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character.
The agreed readingAnd you are of a tremendous character. The commentaries read it as the answer to the charge: the man they call mad is the man of this character, and the character meant is the whole religion he lives by.
فَسَتُبْصِرُ وَيُبْصِرُونَ
PickthallAnd thou wilt see and they will see
Yusuf AliSoon wilt thou see, and they will see,
The agreed readingSo you will see, and they will see — the commentaries take the two verbs as one promise: what is now disputed will shortly be plain to both sides at once, without either needing to be told.
بِأَييِّكُمُ ٱلْمَفْتُونُ
PickthallWhich of you is the demented.
Yusuf AliWhich of you is afflicted with madness.
The agreed reading— which of you is the demented one. The commentaries take the question as already answered by what both sides will shortly witness.
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن ضَلَّ عَن سَبِيلِهِۦ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِٱلْمُهْتَدِينَ
PickthallLo! thy Lord is Best Aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is Best Aware of those who walk aright.
Yusuf AliVerily it is thy Lord that knoweth best, which (among men) hath strayed from His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (true) Guidance.
The agreed readingYour Lord knows best who has strayed from His way, and He knows best those who are guided. The judgement belongs to the One who knows, not to those making the charge.
فَلَا تُطِعِ ٱلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
PickthallTherefor obey not thou the rejecters
Yusuf AliSo hearken not to those who deny (the Truth).
The agreed readingSo do not obey those who deny. The commentaries read it as the practical instruction that follows: since the judgement belongs to God, no part of the message is to be bent to those rejecting it.
وَدُّوا۟ لَوْ تُدْهِنُ فَيُدْهِنُونَ
PickthallWho would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise.
Yusuf AliTheir desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant.
The agreed readingThey would like you to soften, so that they might soften towards you. The commentaries read it one way: a bargain of mutual concession — you leave their gods alone and they leave yours — and the refusal is absolute.
وَلَا تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلَّافٍ مَّهِينٍ
PickthallNeither obey thou each feeble oath-monger,
Yusuf AliHeed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths,
The agreed readingAnd do not obey any contemptible swearer of oaths — a man who swears constantly because his word alone carries no weight, and is worthless for it.
هَمَّازٍ مَّشَّآءٍۭ بِنَمِيمٍ
PickthallDetracter, spreader abroad of slanders,
Yusuf AliA slanderer, going about with calumnies,
The agreed readingA slanderer, going about with malicious talk — faulting people behind their backs and carrying words between them to set them against each other.
مَّنَّاعٍ لِّلْخَيْرِ مُعْتَدٍ أَثِيمٍ
PickthallHinderer of the good, transgressor, malefactor
Yusuf Ali(Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin,
The agreed readingWithholder of good, transgressor, steeped in sin — one who keeps back what is owed, oversteps every limit, and is full of wrongdoing.
عُتُلٍّۭ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ زَنِيمٍ
PickthallGreedy therewithal, intrusive.
Yusuf AliViolent (and cruel),- with all that, base-born,-
The agreed readingCoarse and brutal, and after all that, of doubtful birth. The commentaries agree the description fits one man among the Prophet's opponents, and that God has described no one else with a list of faults like it.
أَن كَانَ ذَا مَالٍ وَبَنِينَ
PickthallIt is because he is possessed of wealth and children
Yusuf AliBecause he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons.
The agreed readingBecause he has wealth and sons. The commentaries join it to what came before: his money and his men are why he speaks as he does.
إِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِ ءَايَٰتُنَا قَالَ أَسَٰطِيرُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ
PickthallThat, when Our revelations are recited unto him, he saith: Mere fables of the men of old.
Yusuf AliWhen to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries!
The agreed readingWhen Our signs are recited to him he says: legends of the ancients — the response of a man whose wealth taught him to dismiss what he cannot answer.
سَنَسِمُهُۥ عَلَى ٱلْخُرْطُومِ
PickthallWe shall brand him on the nose.
Yusuf AliSoon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout!
The agreed readingWe shall brand him on the snout — a mark on the face he will be reproached for and will not lose.
إِنَّا بَلَوْنَٰهُمْ كَمَا بَلَوْنَآ أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلْجَنَّةِ إِذْ أَقْسَمُوا۟ لَيَصْرِمُنَّهَا مُصْبِحِينَ
PickthallLo! We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed that they would pluck its fruit next morning,
Yusuf AliVerily 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.
The agreed readingWe have tested them as We tested the owners of the garden, when they swore they would harvest its fruit in the morning. The commentaries carry the occasion together: the people of Mecca were tried with famine as those garden-owners were tried, and the men swore to pick at dawn so that the poor would not see them and would get nothing.
وَلَا يَسْتَثْنُونَ
PickthallAnd made no exception (for the Will of Allah);
Yusuf AliBut made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will").
The agreed readingAnd they made no exception — they swore without saying "if God wills". The commentaries agree the omission is deliberate and part of the fault: they treated tomorrow's harvest as already theirs.
فَطَافَ عَلَيْهَا طَآئِفٌ مِّن رَّبِّكَ وَهُمْ نَآئِمُونَ
PickthallThen a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept
Yusuf AliThen there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep.
The agreed readingSo a visitation from your Lord went round it while they slept, and the commentaries agree it came at night and left nothing.
فَأَصْبَحَتْ كَٱلصَّرِيمِ
PickthallAnd in the morning it was as if plucked.
Yusuf AliSo the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered).
The agreed readingAnd by morning it was as though already stripped bare — the commentaries gloss the word both as a field already harvested and as the black of night, and either way nothing was left standing.
فَتَنَادَوْا۟ مُصْبِحِينَ
PickthallAnd they cried out one unto another in the morning,
Yusuf AliAs the morning broke, they called out, one to another,-
The agreed readingThen in the morning they called out to one another, waking each other to set off early — the commentaries note they still knew nothing of what had happened in the night.
أَنِ ٱغْدُوا۟ عَلَىٰ حَرْثِكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَٰرِمِينَ
PickthallSaying: Run unto your field if ye would pluck (the fruit).
Yusuf Ali"Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits."
The agreed readingsaying: go early to your field if you mean to harvest. The haste is the point the commentaries draw out — an early start so as to be finished before anyone in need could come.
فَٱنطَلَقُوا۟ وَهُمْ يَتَخَٰفَتُونَ
PickthallSo they went off, saying one unto another in low tones:
Yusuf AliSo they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)-
The agreed readingSo off they went, whispering to one another — the commentaries gloss the word as speaking under the breath, each keeping his voice from anyone but the others.
أَن لَّا يَدْخُلَنَّهَا ٱلْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكُم مِّسْكِينٌ
PickthallNo needy man shall enter it to-day against you.
Yusuf Ali"Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day."
The agreed reading"no needy person shall get in among you today". The commentaries make this the sentence that condemns them: the whispering was to keep the poor away.
وَغَدَوْا۟ عَلَىٰ حَرْدٍ قَٰدِرِينَ
PickthallThey went betimes, strong in (this) purpose.
Yusuf AliAnd they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve.
The agreed readingAnd they set out early, set on refusal, thinking themselves able to carry it through.
فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهَا قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا لَضَآلُّونَ
PickthallBut when they saw it, they said: Lo! we are in error!
Yusuf AliBut when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way:
The agreed readingBut when they saw it they said: we have lost our way — the commentaries agree they did not recognise their own garden and thought at first they had come to the wrong place.
بَلْ نَحْنُ مَحْرُومُونَ
PickthallNay, but we are desolate!
Yusuf Ali"Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!"
The agreed readingThen: no, we are the ones deprived — deprived of the fruit by the very act of keeping the poor from it.
قَالَ أَوْسَطُهُمْ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ لَوْلَا تُسَبِّحُونَ
PickthallThe best among them said: Said I not unto you: Why glorify ye not (Allah)?
Yusuf AliSaid one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'"
The agreed readingThe most balanced of them said: did I not tell you — why do you not glorify God? The commentaries agree he had warned them before, and was not heeded.
قَالُوا۟ سُبْحَٰنَ رَبِّنَآ إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَٰلِمِينَ
PickthallThey said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers.
Yusuf AliThey said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!"
The agreed readingThey said: glory to our Lord; we were indeed wrongdoers — the commentaries take it as an admission that the wrong was withholding the poor their due.
فَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ يَتَلَٰوَمُونَ
PickthallThen some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching.
Yusuf AliThen they turned, one against another, in reproach.
The agreed readingThen they turned on one another, trading blame. The commentaries mark the turn: having just admitted the wrong together, they set about fixing it on each other.
قَالُوا۟ يَٰوَيْلَنَآ إِنَّا كُنَّا طَٰغِينَ
PickthallThey said: Alas for us! In truth we were outrageous.
Yusuf AliThey said: "Alas for us! We have indeed transgressed!
The agreed readingThey said: woe to us, we were truly overweening — the mutual blame ends with all of them owning the same fault.
عَسَىٰ رَبُّنَآ أَن يُبْدِلَنَا خَيْرًا مِّنْهَآ إِنَّآ إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا رَٰغِبُونَ
PickthallIt may be that our Lord will give us better than this in place thereof. Lo! we beseech our Lord.
Yusuf Ali"It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this: for we do turn to Him (in repentance)!"
The agreed readingPerhaps our Lord will give us better than it in exchange; to our Lord we turn in hope. The commentaries read it as repentance, and record that they were given better in its place.
كَذَٰلِكَ ٱلْعَذَابُ وَلَعَذَابُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ لَوْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْلَمُونَ
PickthallSuch was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know.
Yusuf AliSuch is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew!
The agreed readingSuch is the punishment; and the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if only they knew. The commentaries make the whole story point here: what fell on the garden is a small measure of what is coming.
إِنَّ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّٰتِ ٱلنَّعِيمِ
PickthallLo! for those who keep from evil are gardens of bliss with their Lord.
Yusuf AliVerily, for the Righteous, are Gardens of Delight, in the Presence of their Lord.
The agreed readingThose who guard themselves have with their Lord the Gardens of bliss — set directly against the ruined garden of the story before it, and held with their Lord rather than owned and lost.
أَفَنَجْعَلُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ كَٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
PickthallShall We then treat those who have surrendered as We treat the guilty?
Yusuf AliShall We then treat the People of Faith like the People of Sin?
The agreed readingAre We then to treat those who submit like the guilty? The commentaries agree the question expects one answer: the two can never be given the same recompense.
مَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ
PickthallWhat aileth you? How foolishly ye judge!
Yusuf AliWhat is the matter with you? How judge ye?
The agreed readingWhat is the matter with you? How do you judge? The commentaries take it as astonishment rather than enquiry — a verdict this misshapen shows the judging itself has gone wrong.
أَمْ لَكُمْ كِتَٰبٌ فِيهِ تَدْرُسُونَ
PickthallOr have ye a scripture wherein ye learn
Yusuf AliOr have ye a book through which ye learn-
The agreed readingOr do you have a scripture in which you study, and read this in it? The commentaries take it as the first of the questions putting the claim to proof: no revealed book says any such thing.
إِنَّ لَكُمْ فِيهِ لَمَا تَخَيَّرُونَ
PickthallThat ye shall indeed have all that ye choose?
Yusuf AliThat ye shall have, through it whatever ye choose?
The agreed readingand find in it that you shall have whatever you choose — whatever you prefer for yourselves, simply because you prefer it.
أَمْ لَكُمْ أَيْمَٰنٌ عَلَيْنَا بَٰلِغَةٌ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ إِنَّ لَكُمْ لَمَا تَحْكُمُونَ
PickthallOr have ye a covenant on oath from Us that reacheth to the Day of Judgment, that yours shall be all that ye ordain?
Yusuf AliOr have ye Covenants with Us to oath, reaching to the Day of Judgment, (providing) that ye shall have whatever ye shall demand?
The agreed readingOr do you hold oaths binding on Us, running to the Day of Resurrection, that you shall have whatever you decree? The commentaries take the three questions as one argument: no book, no oath, and no ground of any kind for the claim.
سَلْهُمْ أَيُّهُم بِذَٰلِكَ زَعِيمٌ
PickthallAsk them (O Muhammad) which of them will vouch for that!
Yusuf AliAsk thou of them, which of them will stand surety for that!
The agreed readingAsk them which of them will vouch for that — the commentaries read it as a challenge to produce the guarantor the claim would require.
أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَآءُ فَلْيَأْتُوا۟ بِشُرَكَآئِهِمْ إِن كَانُوا۟ صَٰدِقِينَ
PickthallOr have they other gods? Then let them bring their other gods if they are truthful
Yusuf AliOr have they some "Partners" (in Allahhead)? Then let them produce their "partners", if they are truthful!
The agreed readingOr do they have partners? Then let them bring their partners, if they are truthful.
يَوْمَ يُكْشَفُ عَن سَاقٍ وَيُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى ٱلسُّجُودِ فَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ
PickthallOn the day when it befalleth in earnest, and they are ordered to prostrate themselves but are not able,
Yusuf AliThe Day that the shin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned to bow in adoration, but they shall not be able,-
The agreed readingOn the Day when the shin is laid bare, and they are called to prostrate but cannot. The commentaries agree the phrase is the idiom for an affair grown terrible, and that they are called to prostrate as a test they can no longer pass.
خَٰشِعَةً أَبْصَٰرُهُمْ تَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌ وَقَدْ كَانُوا۟ يُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى ٱلسُّجُودِ وَهُمْ سَٰلِمُونَ
PickthallWith eyes downcast, abasement stupefying them. And they had been summoned to prostrate themselves while they were yet unhurt.
Yusuf AliTheir 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).
The agreed readingTheir eyes lowered, humiliation covering them — and they had been called to prostrate while they were sound and able, and would not.
فَذَرْنِى وَمَن يُكَذِّبُ بِهَٰذَا ٱلْحَدِيثِ سَنَسْتَدْرِجُهُم مِّنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
PickthallLeave Me (to deal) with those who give the lie to this pronouncement. We shall lead them on by steps from whence they know not.
Yusuf AliThen leave Me alone with such as reject this Message: by degrees shall We punish them from directions they perceive not.
The agreed readingSo leave Me with whoever denies this discourse. We shall draw them on by degrees from where they do not know — the commentaries read it identically: ease and continued favour, taken for approval, which is itself the drawing-on.
وَأُمْلِى لَهُمْ إِنَّ كَيْدِى مَتِينٌ
PickthallYet I bear with them, for lo! My scheme is firm.
Yusuf AliA (long) respite will I grant them: truly powerful is My Plan.
The agreed readingAnd I give them rein; My scheme is firm and not to be withstood. The commentaries pair it with the verse before: the respite is not weakness, and nothing in it can be escaped.
أَمْ تَسْـَٔلُهُمْ أَجْرًا فَهُم مِّن مَّغْرَمٍ مُّثْقَلُونَ
PickthallOr dost thou (Muhammad) ask a fee from them so that they are heavily taxed?
Yusuf AliOr is it that thou dost ask them for a reward, so that they are burdened with a load of debt?-
The agreed readingOr do you ask them a fee, so that they are weighed down by the debt? He asks nothing of them, so the cost is not what keeps them back.
أَمْ عِندَهُمُ ٱلْغَيْبُ فَهُمْ يَكْتُبُونَ
PickthallOr is the Unseen theirs that they can write (thereof)?
Yusuf AliOr that the Unseen is in their hands, so that they can write it down?
The agreed readingOr is the unseen with them, so that they write it down? The commentaries take it as the last of the questions: they have no access to what is hidden, so their claims rest on nothing.
فَٱصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ وَلَا تَكُن كَصَاحِبِ ٱلْحُوتِ إِذْ نَادَىٰ وَهُوَ مَكْظُومٌ
PickthallBut wait thou for thy Lord's decree, and be not like him of the fish, who cried out in despair.
Yusuf AliSo wait with patience for the Command of thy Lord, and be not like the Companion of the Fish,- when he cried out in agony.
The agreed readingSo wait patiently for your Lord's judgement, and do not be like the man of the fish who called out while choked with grief — the commentaries agree the man of the fish is Jonah, and the likeness warned against is haste, not his prophethood.
لَّوْلَآ أَن تَدَٰرَكَهُۥ نِعْمَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِۦ لَنُبِذَ بِٱلْعَرَآءِ وَهُوَ مَذْمُومٌ
PickthallHad it not been that favour from his Lord had reached him he surely had been cast into the wilderness while he was reprobate.
Yusuf AliHad not Grace from his Lord reached him, he would indeed have been cast off on the naked shore, in disgrace.
The agreed readingHad a favour from his Lord not reached him, he would have been cast on the bare shore, blamed. The commentaries agree the favour reached him, and so he was cast out not blamed.
فَٱجْتَبَٰهُ رَبُّهُۥ فَجَعَلَهُۥ مِنَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ
PickthallBut his Lord chose him and placed him among the righteous.
Yusuf AliThus did his Lord choose him and make him of the Company of the Righteous.
The agreed readingBut his Lord chose him and placed him among the righteous — the commentaries take the choosing as prophethood, restored to him rather than withdrawn.
وَإِن يَكَادُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَيُزْلِقُونَكَ بِأَبْصَٰرِهِمْ لَمَّا سَمِعُوا۟ ٱلذِّكْرَ وَيَقُولُونَ إِنَّهُۥ لَمَجْنُونٌ
PickthallAnd lo! those who disbelieve would fain disconcert thee with their eyes when they hear the Reminder, and they say: Lo! he is indeed mad;
Yusuf AliAnd the Unbelievers would almost trip thee up with their eyes when they hear the Message; and they say: "Surely he is possessed!"
The agreed readingThose who refuse all but strike you down with their eyes when they hear the Reminder, and they say: he is possessed. The commentaries agree the look meant is a hard, hostile stare, and that the charge of madness is made because of the Qur'ān he brought.
وَمَا هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعَٰلَمِينَ
PickthallWhen it is naught else than a Reminder to creation.
Yusuf AliBut it is nothing less than a Message to all the worlds.
The agreed readingAnd it is nothing but a reminder to all the worlds. The commentaries close the sūrah where it opened: what they call madness is a reminder addressed to everyone.