Al-Qalam

Nun By the pen! By all they write!

ن ۚ وَالْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ

noon wal-qalami wamā yasṭurūna

Your Lord’s grace does not make you [Prophet] a madman:

مَا أَنْتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ بِمَجْنُونٍ

mā anta biniʿ'mati rabbika bimajnūnin

you will have a never-ending reward––

وَإِنَّ لَكَ لَأَجْرًا غَيْرَ مَمْنُونٍ

wa-inna laka la-ajran ghayra mamnūnin

truly you have a strong character––

وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ

wa-innaka laʿalā khuluqin ʿaẓīmin

and soon you will see, as will they,

فَسَتُبْصِرُ وَيُبْصِرُونَ

fasatub'ṣiru wayub'ṣirūna

which of you is afflicted with madness.

بِأَيْيِكُمُ الْمَفْتُونُ

bi-ayyikumu l-maftūnu

Your Lord knows best who strays from His path and who is rightly guided.

إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ ضَلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ

inna rabbaka huwa aʿlamu biman ḍalla ʿan sabīlihi wahuwa aʿlamu bil-muh'tadīna

So do not yield to those who deny the truth––

فَلَا تُطِعِ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ

falā tuṭiʿi l-mukadhibīna

they want you to compromise with them and then they will compromise with you––

وَدُّوا لَوْ تُدْهِنُ فَيُدْهِنُونَ

waddū law tud'hinu fayud'hinūna

do not yield to any contemptible swearer,

وَلَا تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلَّافٍ مَهِينٍ

walā tuṭiʿ kulla ḥallāfin mahīnin

to any backbiter, slander-monger,

هَمَّازٍ مَشَّاءٍ بِنَمِيمٍ

hammāzin mashāin binamīmin

or hinderer of good, to anyone who is sinful, aggressive,

مَنَّاعٍ لِلْخَيْرِ مُعْتَدٍ أَثِيمٍ

mannāʿin lil'khayri muʿ'tadin athīmin

coarse, and on top of all that, an imposter.

عُتُلٍّ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ زَنِيمٍ

ʿutullin baʿda dhālika zanīmin

Just because he has wealth and sons,

أَنْ كَانَ ذَا مَالٍ وَبَنِينَ

an kāna dhā mālin wabanīna

when our revelations are recited to him, he says, ‘These are just ancient fables.’

إِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِ آيَاتُنَا قَالَ أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ

idhā tut'lā ʿalayhi āyātunā qāla asāṭīru l-awalīna

We shall brand him on the snout!

سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ

sanasimuhu ʿalā l-khur'ṭūmi

We have tried them as We tried the owners of a certain garden, who swore that they would harvest its fruits in the morning

إِنَّا بَلَوْنَاهُمْ كَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ إِذْ أَقْسَمُوا لَيَصْرِمُنَّهَا مُصْبِحِينَ

innā balawnāhum kamā balawnā aṣḥāba l-janati idh aqsamū layaṣrimunnahā muṣ'biḥīna

and made no allowance [for the Will of God]:

وَلَا يَسْتَثْنُونَ

walā yastathnūna

a disaster from your Lord struck the garden as they slept

فَطَافَ عَلَيْهَا طَائِفٌ مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَهُمْ نَائِمُونَ

faṭāfa ʿalayhā ṭāifun min rabbika wahum nāimūna

and by morning it was stripped bare, a desolate land.

فَأَصْبَحَتْ كَالصَّرِيمِ

fa-aṣbaḥat kal-ṣarīmi

Still they called each other at daybreak,

فَتَنَادَوْا مُصْبِحِينَ

fatanādaw muṣ'biḥīna

‘Go early to your field if you wish to gather all its fruits,’

أَنِ اغْدُوا عَلَىٰ حَرْثِكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَارِمِينَ

ani igh'dū ʿalā ḥarthikum in kuntum ṣārimīna

and went off, whispering,

فَانْطَلَقُوا وَهُمْ يَتَخَافَتُونَ

fa-inṭalaqū wahum yatakhāfatūna

‘Make sure no poor person enters the garden today!’––

أَنْ لَا يَدْخُلَنَّهَا الْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِسْكِينٌ

an lā yadkhulannahā l-yawma ʿalaykum mis'kīnun

they left early, bent on their purpose-

وَغَدَوْا عَلَىٰ حَرْدٍ قَادِرِينَ

waghadaw ʿalā ḥardin qādirīna

but when they saw the garden, they said, ‘We must have lost our way!

فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهَا قَالُوا إِنَّا لَضَالُّونَ

falammā ra-awhā qālū innā laḍāllūna

No- we are ruined!’

بَلْ نَحْنُ مَحْرُومُونَ

bal naḥnu maḥrūmūna

The wisest of them said, ‘Did I not say to you, “Will you not glorify God?”’-

قَالَ أَوْسَطُهُمْ أَلَمْ أَقُلْ لَكُمْ لَوْلَا تُسَبِّحُونَ

qāla awsaṭuhum alam aqul lakum lawlā tusabbiḥūna

they said, ‘Glory be to God, Our Lord! Truly, we were doing wrong!’-

قَالُوا سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَالِمِينَ

qālū sub'ḥāna rabbinā innā kunnā ẓālimīna

and then they turned to each other in mutual reproach.

فَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ يَتَلَاوَمُونَ

fa-aqbala baʿḍuhum ʿalā baʿḍin yatalāwamūna

They said, ‘Alas for us! We have done terrible wrong,

قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا طَاغِينَ

qālū yāwaylanā innā kunnā ṭāghīna

but maybe our Lord will give us something better in its place: we truly turn to Him in hope.’

عَسَىٰ رَبُّنَا أَنْ يُبْدِلَنَا خَيْرًا مِنْهَا إِنَّا إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا رَاغِبُونَ

ʿasā rabbunā an yub'dilanā khayran min'hā innā ilā rabbinā rāghibūna

Such is the punishment [in this life], but greater still is the punishment in the Hereafter, if only they knew.

كَذَٰلِكَ الْعَذَابُ ۖ وَلَعَذَابُ الْآخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ

kadhālika l-ʿadhābu walaʿadhābu l-ākhirati akbaru law kānū yaʿlamūna

There will be Gardens of bliss for those who are mindful of God.

إِنَّ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّاتِ النَّعِيمِ

inna lil'muttaqīna ʿinda rabbihim jannāti l-naʿīmi

Should We treat those who submit to Us as We treat those who do evil?

أَفَنَجْعَلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ كَالْمُجْرِمِينَ

afanajʿalu l-mus'limīna kal-muj'rimīna

What is the matter with you? On what basis do you judge?

مَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ

mā lakum kayfa taḥkumūna

Do you have a Scripture that tells you

أَمْ لَكُمْ كِتَابٌ فِيهِ تَدْرُسُونَ

am lakum kitābun fīhi tadrusūna

that you will be granted whatever you choose?

إِنَّ لَكُمْ فِيهِ لَمَا تَخَيَّرُونَ

inna lakum fīhi lamā takhayyarūna

Have you received from Us solemn oaths, binding to the Day of Resurrection, that you will get whatever you yourselves decide?

أَمْ لَكُمْ أَيْمَانٌ عَلَيْنَا بَالِغَةٌ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ ۙ إِنَّ لَكُمْ لَمَا تَحْكُمُونَ

am lakum aymānun ʿalaynā bālighatun ilā yawmi l-qiyāmati inna lakum lamā taḥkumūna

Ask them [Prophet] which of them will guarantee this.

سَلْهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ بِذَٰلِكَ زَعِيمٌ

salhum ayyuhum bidhālika zaʿīmun

Do they have ‘partners’ [besides God]? Let them produce their ‘partners’, if what they say is true.

أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ فَلْيَأْتُوا بِشُرَكَائِهِمْ إِنْ كَانُوا صَادِقِينَ

am lahum shurakāu falyatū bishurakāihim in kānū ṣādiqīna

On the Day when matters become dire, they will be invited to prostrate themselves but will be prevented from doing so,

يَوْمَ يُكْشَفُ عَنْ سَاقٍ وَيُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى السُّجُودِ فَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ

yawma yuk'shafu ʿan sāqin wayud'ʿawna ilā l-sujūdi falā yastaṭīʿūna

and their eyes will be downcast and they will be overwhelmed with shame: they were invited to prostrate themselves when they were safe [but refused].

خَاشِعَةً أَبْصَارُهُمْ تَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌ ۖ وَقَدْ كَانُوا يُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى السُّجُودِ وَهُمْ سَالِمُونَ

khāshiʿatan abṣāruhum tarhaquhum dhillatun waqad kānū yud'ʿawna ilā l-sujūdi wahum sālimūna

So [Prophet] leave those who reject this revelation to Me: We shall lead them on, step by step, in ways beyond their knowledge;

فَذَرْنِي وَمَنْ يُكَذِّبُ بِهَـٰذَا الْحَدِيثِ ۖ سَنَسْتَدْرِجُهُمْ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

fadharnī waman yukadhibu bihādhā l-ḥadīthi sanastadrijuhum min ḥaythu lā yaʿlamūna

I will allow them more time, for My plan is powerful.

وَأُمْلِي لَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ كَيْدِي مَتِينٌ

wa-um'lī lahum inna kaydī matīnun

Do you demand some reward from them that would burden them with debt?

أَمْ تَسْأَلُهُمْ أَجْرًا فَهُمْ مِنْ مَغْرَمٍ مُثْقَلُونَ

am tasaluhum ajran fahum min maghramin muth'qalūna

Do they have knowledge of the unseen that enables them to write it down?

أَمْ عِنْدَهُمُ الْغَيْبُ فَهُمْ يَكْتُبُونَ

am ʿindahumu l-ghaybu fahum yaktubūna

Wait patiently [Prophet] for your Lord’s judgement: do not be like the man in the whale who called out in distress:

فَاصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ وَلَا تَكُنْ كَصَاحِبِ الْحُوتِ إِذْ نَادَىٰ وَهُوَ مَكْظُومٌ

fa-iṣ'bir liḥuk'mi rabbika walā takun kaṣāḥibi l-ḥūti idh nādā wahuwa makẓūmun

if his Lord’s grace had not reached him, he would have been left, abandoned and blameworthy, on the barren shore,

لَوْلَا أَنْ تَدَارَكَهُ نِعْمَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ لَنُبِذَ بِالْعَرَاءِ وَهُوَ مَذْمُومٌ

lawlā an tadārakahu niʿ'matun min rabbihi lanubidha bil-ʿarāi wahuwa madhmūmun

but his Lord chose him and made him one of the Righteous.

فَاجْتَبَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَجَعَلَهُ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ

fa-ij'tabāhu rabbuhu fajaʿalahu mina l-ṣāliḥīna

The disbelievers almost strike you down with their looks when they hear the Quran. They say, ‘He must be mad!’

وَإِنْ يَكَادُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَيُزْلِقُونَكَ بِأَبْصَارِهِمْ لَمَّا سَمِعُوا الذِّكْرَ وَيَقُولُونَ إِنَّهُ لَمَجْنُونٌ

wa-in yakādu alladhīna kafarū layuz'liqūnaka bi-abṣārihim lammā samiʿū l-dhik'ra wayaqūlūna innahu lamajnūnun

but truly it is nothing other than a Reminder for all peoples.

وَمَا هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِلْعَالَمِينَ

wamā huwa illā dhik'run lil'ʿālamīna