The Translation Of The Holy Quran
68. THE PEN
(THE LETTER) N
Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 52 verses.
In the name of God,
Most Gracious, Most Merciful
| 68:1 | Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- |
| 68:2 | Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed. |
| 68:3 | Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing: |
| 68:4 | And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character. |
| 68:5 | Soon wilt thou see, and they will see, |
| 68:6 | Which of you is afflicted with madness. |
| 68:7 | 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. |
| 68:8 | So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth). |
| 68:9 | Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. |
| 68:10 | Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths, |
| 68:11 | A slanderer, going about with calumnies, |
| 68:12 | (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin, |
| 68:13 | Violent (and cruel),- with all that, base-born,- |
| 68:14 | Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons. |
| 68:15 | When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries! |
| 68:16 | Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! |
| 68:17 | 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. |
| 68:18 | But made no reservation, ("If it be God's Will"). |
| 68:19 | Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep. |
| 68:20 | So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). |
| 68:21 | As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- |
| 68:22 | "Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits." |
| 68:23 | So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- |
| 68:24 | "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." |
| 68:25 | And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. |
| 68:26 | But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way: |
| 68:27 | "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" |
| 68:28 | Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (God)?'" |
| 68:29 | They said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!" |
| 68:30 | Then they turned, one against another, in reproach. |
| 68:31 | They said: "Alas for us! We have indeed transgressed! |
| 68:32 | "It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this: for we do turn to Him (in repentance)!" |
| 68:33 | Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! |
| 68:34 | Verily, for the Righteous, are Gardens of Delight, in the Presence of their Lord. |
| 68:35 | Shall We then treat the People of Faith like the People of Sin? |
| 68:36 | What is the matter with you? How judge ye? |
| 68:37 | Or have ye a book through which ye learn- |
| 68:38 | That ye shall have, through it whatever ye choose? |
| 68:39 | Or have ye Covenants with Us to oath, reaching to the Day of Judgment, (providing) that ye shall have whatever ye shall demand? |
| 68:40 | Ask thou of them, which of them will stand surety for that! |
| 68:41 | Or have they some "Partners" (in Godhead)? Then let them produce their "partners", if they are truthful! |
| 68:42 | The Day that the shin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned to bow in adoration, but they shall not be able,- |
| 68:43 | 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). |
| 68:44 | Then leave Me alone with such as reject this Message: by degrees shall We punish them from directions they perceive not. |
| 68:45 | A (long) respite will I grant them: truly powerful is My Plan. |
| 68:46 | Or is it that thou dost ask them for a reward, so that they are burdened with a load of debt?- |
| 68:47 | Or that the Unseen is in their hands, so that they can write it down? |
| 68:48 | 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. |
| 68:49 | Had not Grace from his Lord reached him, he would indeed have been cast off on the naked shore, in disgrace. |
| 68:50 | Thus did his Lord choose him and make him of the Company of the Righteous. |
| 68:51 | And the Unbelievers would almost trip thee up with their eyes when they hear the Message; and they say: "Surely he is possessed!" |
| 68:52 | But it is nothing less than a Message to all the worlds. |