Surah 68. Al-Qalam

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Verses [Section]: 1-33[1], 34-52 [2]

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Quran Text of Verse 1-3368. Al-Qalamبِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِنٓNunوَ الْقَلَمِBy the penوَ مَاand whatیَسْطُرُوْنَۙthey write مَاۤNotاَنْتَyou (are)بِنِعْمَةِby (the) Graceرَبِّكَ(of) your Lordبِمَجْنُوْنٍۚa madman وَ اِنَّAnd indeedلَكَfor youلَاَجْرًاsurely (is) a rewardغَیْرَwithoutمَمْنُوْنٍۚend وَ اِنَّكَAnd indeed youلَعَلٰیsurely (are)خُلُقٍ(of) a moral characterعَظِیْمٍ great فَسَتُبْصِرُSo soon you will seeوَ یُبْصِرُوْنَۙand they will see بِاَىیِّكُمُWhich of youالْمَفْتُوْنُ (is) the afflicted one اِنَّIndeedرَبَّكَyour LordهُوَHeاَعْلَمُ(is) most knowingبِمَنْof (he) whoضَلَّhas strayedعَنْfromسَبِیْلِهٖ ۪His wayوَ هُوَand Heاَعْلَمُ(is) most knowingبِالْمُهْتَدِیْنَ of the guided ones فَلَاSo (do) notتُطِعِobeyالْمُكَذِّبِیْنَ the deniers وَدُّوْاThey wishلَوْthatتُدْهِنُyou should compromiseفَیُدْهِنُوْنَ so they would compromise وَ لَاAnd (do) notتُطِعْobeyكُلَّeveryحَلَّافٍhabitual swearerمَّهِیْنٍۙworthless هَمَّازٍDefamerمَّشَّآءٍۭgoing aboutبِنَمِیْمٍۙwith malicious gossip مَّنَّاعٍA preventerلِّلْخَیْرِof (the) goodمُعْتَدٍtransgressorاَثِیْمٍۙsinful عُتُلٍّۭCruelبَعْدَafterذٰلِكَ(all) thatزَنِیْمٍۙutterly useless اَنْBecauseكَانَ(he) isذَاa possessorمَالٍ(of) wealthوَّ بَنِیْنَؕand children اِذَاWhenتُتْلٰیare recitedعَلَیْهِto himاٰیٰتُنَاOur Versesقَالَhe saysاَسَاطِیْرُStoriesالْاَوَّلِیْنَ (of) the former (people) 68. Al-Qalam Page 565سَنَسِمُهٗWe will brand himعَلَیonالْخُرْطُوْمِ the snout اِنَّاIndeed Weبَلَوْنٰهُمْhave tried themكَمَاasبَلَوْنَاۤWe triedاَصْحٰبَ(the) companionsالْجَنَّةِ ۚ(of) the gardenاِذْwhenاَقْسَمُوْاthey sworeلَیَصْرِمُنَّهَاto pluck its fruitمُصْبِحِیْنَۙ(in the) morning وَ لَاAnd notیَسْتَثْنُوْنَ making exception فَطَافَSo there cameعَلَیْهَاupon itطَآىِٕفٌa visitationمِّنْfromرَّبِّكَyour Lordوَ هُمْwhile theyنَآىِٕمُوْنَ were asleep فَاَصْبَحَتْSo it becameكَالصَّرِیْمِۙas if reaped فَتَنَادَوْاAnd they called one anotherمُصْبِحِیْنَۙ(at) morning اَنِThatاغْدُوْاGo earlyعَلٰیtoحَرْثِكُمْyour cropاِنْifكُنْتُمْyou wouldصٰرِمِیْنَ pluck (the) fruit فَانْطَلَقُوْاSo they wentوَ هُمْwhile theyیَتَخَافَتُوْنَۙlowered (their) voices اَنْThatلَّاNotیَدْخُلَنَّهَاwill enter itالْیَوْمَtodayعَلَیْكُمْupon youمِّسْكِیْنٌۙany poor person وَّ غَدَوْاAnd they went earlyعَلٰیwithحَرْدٍdeterminationقٰدِرِیْنَ able فَلَمَّاBut whenرَاَوْهَاthey saw itقَالُوْۤاthey saidاِنَّاIndeed weلَضَآلُّوْنَۙ(are) surely lost بَلْNay!نَحْنُWeمَحْرُوْمُوْنَ (are) deprived قَالَSaidاَوْسَطُهُمْ(the) most moderate of themاَلَمْDid notاَقُلْI tellلَّكُمْyouلَوْ لَاWhy notتُسَبِّحُوْنَ you glorify (Allah) قَالُوْاThey saidسُبْحٰنَGlory beرَبِّنَاۤ(to) our Lord!اِنَّاIndeed weكُنَّا[we] wereظٰلِمِیْنَ wrongdoers فَاَقْبَلَThen approachedبَعْضُهُمْsome of themعَلٰیtoبَعْضٍothersیَّتَلَاوَمُوْنَ blaming each other قَالُوْاThey saidیٰوَیْلَنَاۤO woe to us!اِنَّاIndeed weكُنَّا[we] wereطٰغِیْنَ transgressors عَسٰیPerhapsرَبُّنَاۤour Lordاَنْ[that]یُّبْدِلَنَاwill substitute for usخَیْرًاa betterمِّنْهَاۤthan itاِنَّاۤIndeed weاِلٰیtoرَبِّنَاour Lordرٰغِبُوْنَ turn devoutly كَذٰلِكَSuchالْعَذَابُ ؕ(is) the punishmentوَ لَعَذَابُAnd surely the punishmentالْاٰخِرَةِ(of) the Hereafterاَكْبَرُ ۘ(is) greaterلَوْifكَانُوْاtheyیَعْلَمُوْنَ۠know

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Translation of Verse 1-33In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

1. Noon.¹ By the pen and by that which they write.²

2. You are, by the Grace of your Lord, not mad ! ³

3. And for you is an unending reward.⁴

4. And surely you possess a character sublime.⁵

5. So, soon, you will see and they too will see.

6. Which of you is mad ⁶

7. Your Lord knows best who has a strayed from His path and HE also knows best who gained Guidance.

8. Therefore, listen not the beliers.

9. They wish you to be pliant, so they will also be pliant. ⁷

10. And hearken not the oath-monger⁸ and the mean.

11. The taunter ⁹ the slanderous?¹⁰

12. The hinderer of the good, ¹¹ the transgressor, ¹² the sinner. ¹³

13. The rough-tempered ¹⁴ and also notorious. ¹⁵

14. (His arrogance) is because he has wealth and children. ¹⁶

15. When OUR verses are recited to him he says: these are but the fables of the ancients.

16. Soon shall WE brand him on the nose.¹⁷

17. WE have put them to trial as WE had tried the owners of the orchard ¹⁸ when they vowed that they would surely pluck its fruits early next morning.

18. And made no exception.¹⁹

19. They were still asleep when a calamity from your Lord came down upon them. ²⁰

20. And it became like a field harvested. ²¹

21. At daybreak they cried out one unto another.

22. That hurry to your field ²² at dawn if you want to pluck fruits.

23. So they went off speaking to each other in a low voice.

24. That no poor man should approach you in.²³

25. They set out early morning with a firm determination to do likewise ²⁴

26. But when they saw it (the garden) they said: we have lost path.

27. Rather we are deprived. ²⁵

28. The better among them said: Did I not tell you as to why don’t you hallow (glorify) Allah? ²⁶

29. They cried out: Glory to our Lord. Only we were at fault. ²⁷

30. Then they began to blame oneanother. ²⁸

31. They said: Woe unto us! Only we had become rebellious.²⁹

32. We hope our Lord will grant us a better garden in place of this. We turn toward our Lord.³⁰

33. Such is the punishment.³¹ And the torment of the Hereafter is far greater, if they but knew it!

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Commentary

1. These are ‘Huroofe Muqat’taat’ (broken letters). Explanation has been given before in Surah Baqarah, Note:1 and Surah Yunus, Note 1.

In this Surah the ayah (verses) are arranged in such a way that the last letter of most of the ayah is ‘Noon’ which stands in the beginning. It points to this very peculiarity of this Surah. It is one of the marvels of the Holy Quran. It also facilitates learning it by heart. The biggest speciality is that the recitation of this letter ‘NOON’ produces a very attractive rhythm which turns the heart toward listening to the Divine Word.

2. No sooner any part of the Holy Quran descended on the Holy Prophet he arranged for its writing down (recording). The writers of the Divine Word used to write it with a pen on sheets of leather etc. Thus the Holy Quran was being recorded in writing by pen, and, by reading its pages (leaves), one used to be assured about its being the Divine Word. Here the oath of the pen and the writing is by way of a testimony of the Quran being the Word of Allah and, as has been explained elsewhere, in Arabic, such oaths and swearing are in the sense of attestation or witness.

This ayah wants to convey that though the Quran has been sent down to an illiterate community, perfect arrangement had been made so that it may be recorded and that it may reach the people in its original form and remain secure and safe and protected forever. Now any body can study its pages. Its subjects themselves testify that it is the Divine Word.

3. These deniers (kafirs) used to say that the prophet is a mad man, only because his claim was that the revelation comes to him from heaven. Almighty Allah refutes this allegation and asserts that by HIS GRACE the Prophet is not mad; that the thing whatever he recites is indeed Divine Revelation which has been sent down by GOD on the prophet; that the proof of its being the Divine Revelation is the Word itself the preserving and recording whereof has been arranged.

For further explanation please see Surah Hijr, Note: 8.

4. This is by way of consolation to the Holy Prophet that he may remain patient about this false allegation of the kafirs; that Allah will give him such a reward which will never end and will last forever.

5. The moral character of the Holy Prophet was very high. It was extremely awkward and nonsense and totally untrue to allege that such a great personality was mad. In refutation of this falsehood here is a description of the holy prophet’s high moral character. Can a mad man ever attain such a high stature of moral character? If not, then the prophet’s sublime character is sufficient to refute this absurdity.

Besides the Holy Quran the sublime character of the holy prophet has also been recorded in the pages of history .It has been so perfectly preserved with details that by reading it even now we can feel that he is in front of us. These pages of history present before us such a personality which possesses a firm resolve, a high character, a pure and pious nature and such an exemplary stature the like of which the human race is unable to produce.

6. That is, before long, the consequences will appear before you and you will see who was in madness. When the deniers and disbelievers will see their end they will realise that they were indulging in madness and hence they did not listen to the words of their true well-wisher and, as a result, met with this ruinous end.

7. These deniers want that you should become somewhat lenient in the matter of Deen (religion) so that they also become lenient and may arrive at some deal of give and take. But there is no question of making such a bargain with other religions because only true religion is that which has been revealed by Almighty God. Any short cut in it would amount to attribution of falsehood to Allah after which the Deen cannot remain pure. The intention of this command was to explain to the disbelievers that the Messenger of Allah is an obedient slave of Allah and therefore they should never expect him to make any compromise in the matter of religion. This is also the responsibility of the followers of the Holy Prophet. They must always remain firm in the matter of Shariat and must never bow to the disbelievers.

8. Only he who loses self-confidence resorts to a lot of oaths. The leaders of the kafirs were trying to assure the people through such false oaths that their polytheistic idol-worship was a true religion and that no revelation ever comes to this man who claims to be a prophet.

9. Taunting and fault-finding is a very bad habit. Such a fellow always looks down at others.

Here what is hinted at is that this bad character is finding faults with virtuous persons too.

10. That is, began to spread words from here to there and there to here with an evil intention of making mischief. To narrate one’s word to others just to make them quarrel and thus create ill will in the society is a very bad activity and a mischievous corrupt gesture. This ayah points particularly to the fact that such a character, paints the faithful in a bad colour with an evil intention of inciting people against them.

11. Who withholds the wealth from being spent in good deeds.

12. The oppressor who indulges in excesses.

13. Who does not discriminate between the permissible and the impermissible, commits immorality and wickedness.

14. Hot tempered and quarrelsome.

15. He is notorious due to his immorality and corrupt practices and is being considered a bad character in society.

16. That is, his pride created such bad habits in him and he became so arrogant due to the wealth and children which God gave him. In fact he should have been thankful to Allah.

These ayah do not refer to any particular denier but they describe the condition of the leaders of the disbelievers. On the one hand is such a mean and manner less leadership which incites people against the Islamic call and on the other hand is the noble guidance of the Holy Prophet who is on a very high and lofty station of morality. Now it is up to you to judge who is your true leader and the real guide?

17. It means WE shall brand a symbol (mark) of disgrace on his nose. He wants to keep his nose high with pride. But the nose of such a man is not a human nose but it is the trunk of an animal deserving a taste of disgrace and dishonour.

18. The arrival of the holy prophet has put the disbelievers of Makkah to a test. If they accept his invitation they will be successful in this life as well as the Hereafter. If they deny, they will taste punishment in this world and also an unending torment in the Hereafter. So the example of the owners of an orchard is given by way of admonition. This is not an imaginary fable but is a true event which did take place in the past. The forthcoming citation of the talks of the orchard owners testifies to its truth.

19. That is, taking an oath they said with full determination that they will definitely pluck the fruits of the garden next morning and forgot to say ‘INSHAA ALLAH’ (God willing). They did not remember God and relied totally on themselves instead of on God. This was an obvious illusion caused by the shaitaans.

20. During that very night when they were fast asleep Allah sent down a disaster on their orchard.

21. The whole orchard was totally ruined.

22. There are plots for tilling too in the orchards therefore it has been termed ‘field’.

23. This was an expression of sheer miserliness. They did not want to pay the dues (rights) of the poor even though God Almighty has reserved a right of the poor in agricultural produce, the demand (feeling) of which is inherent in human nature and is well known to him as a virtue. The Shariat emphatically commands to pay. This emphasis was there in earlier Shariats also.

24. That they would pluck up all the fruits and would not allow any needy fellow to come near them.

25. When they saw the orchard it was ruined already. First they thought that perhaps they had arrived at a wrong place. But later on realised that it was their own orchard but it had been so thoroughly ruined that now there was nothing to be plucked there from. Only sorrow was there.

26. One of the orchard-owners was endowed with a good reasoning by Almighty Allah. He was one of those people who always remember God and hallow HIM. He reminded them that had he not asked them as to why they did not recite the Tasbeeh of Allah? His word was very brief but very meaningful. One who hallows Allah necessarily remembers him in his heart. When he recites HIS Glory he also admits of his own position of a lowly slave. He never entertains any false pride or arrogance. Rather he does all of his works with a trust in God and, sensing his responsibilities, respects the rights of others and pays their dues.

27. Then they realised that the ruin of the orchard was not an oppressive act of God Almighty. HE is absolutely faultless and no wrong can ever be attributed to HIM. In fact we were in error as we had forgotten Allah. Hence we got the punishment of our deeds.

28. That is, they began to blame one another among themselves that they gave wrong advice and so they acted wrongly.

29. At last they confessed that they themselves had become rebellious. Therefore they got the punishment. They regretted over it.

30. They made repentance and reverted back to their Lord hopefully.

31. Means Divine wrath descends as a result of rebellion and it descends suddenly. So the calamity came down on the orchard and its owners could do nothing but repent in despair. They did not heed to the advice of the best among them and tasted the bad end.

Disbelievers ought to take a lesson from this. Allah’s Messenger is among them who is their true well wisher. But if they do not listen to his admonition and do not accept Monotheism (Tawheed) they will taste the punishment of their misdeed both in this world and in the Hereafter. The latter will, of course, be severer and unending.