Al-Qalam

noon wal-qalami wamā yasṭurūna

Nun By the pen! By all they write!

mā anta biniʿ'mati rabbika bimajnūnin

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

wa-inna laka la-ajran ghayra mamnūnin

you will have a never-ending reward––

wa-innaka laʿalā khuluqin ʿaẓīmin

truly you have a strong character––

fasatub'ṣiru wayub'ṣirūna

and soon you will see, as will they,

bi-ayyikumu l-maftūnu

which of you is afflicted with madness.

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

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

falā tuṭiʿi l-mukadhibīna

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

waddū law tud'hinu fayud'hinūna

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

walā tuṭiʿ kulla ḥallāfin mahīnin

do not yield to any contemptible swearer,

hammāzin mashāin binamīmin

to any backbiter, slander-monger,

mannāʿin lil'khayri muʿ'tadin athīmin

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

ʿutullin baʿda dhālika zanīmin

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

an kāna dhā mālin wabanīna

Just because he has wealth and sons,

idhā tut'lā ʿalayhi āyātunā qāla asāṭīru l-awalīna

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

sanasimuhu ʿalā l-khur'ṭūmi

We shall brand him on the snout!

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

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

walā yastathnūna

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

faṭāfa ʿalayhā ṭāifun min rabbika wahum nāimūna

a disaster from your Lord struck the garden as they slept

fa-aṣbaḥat kal-ṣarīmi

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

fatanādaw muṣ'biḥīna

Still they called each other at daybreak,

ani igh'dū ʿalā ḥarthikum in kuntum ṣārimīna

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

fa-inṭalaqū wahum yatakhāfatūna

and went off, whispering,

an lā yadkhulannahā l-yawma ʿalaykum mis'kīnun

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

waghadaw ʿalā ḥardin qādirīna

they left early, bent on their purpose-

falammā ra-awhā qālū innā laḍāllūna

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

bal naḥnu maḥrūmūna

No- we are ruined!’

qāla awsaṭuhum alam aqul lakum lawlā tusabbiḥūna

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

qālū sub'ḥāna rabbinā innā kunnā ẓālimīna

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

fa-aqbala baʿḍuhum ʿalā baʿḍin yatalāwamūna

and then they turned to each other in mutual reproach.

qālū yāwaylanā innā kunnā ṭāghīna

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

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

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

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

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

inna lil'muttaqīna ʿinda rabbihim jannāti l-naʿīmi

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

afanajʿalu l-mus'limīna kal-muj'rimīna

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

mā lakum kayfa taḥkumūna

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

am lakum kitābun fīhi tadrusūna

Do you have a Scripture that tells you

inna lakum fīhi lamā takhayyarūna

that you will be granted whatever you choose?

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

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

salhum ayyuhum bidhālika zaʿīmun

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

am lahum shurakāu falyatū bishurakāihim in kānū ṣādiqīna

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

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

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

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

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].

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

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

wa-um'lī lahum inna kaydī matīnun

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

am tasaluhum ajran fahum min maghramin muth'qalūna

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

am ʿindahumu l-ghaybu fahum yaktubūna

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

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

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

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

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

fa-ij'tabāhu rabbuhu fajaʿalahu mina l-ṣāliḥīna

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

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

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

wamā huwa illā dhik'run lil'ʿālamīna

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