(Revealed before Hijrah)
Date of Revelation, Context and Subject-Matter
This is one of the first four or five Chapters which were revealed at Mecca in the very beginning of the Call. According to some authorities it was revealed just after Surah Al-'Alaq, which was the first Quranic Surah to have been revealed, but some other authorities place it after Surahs, Al-Muzzammil and Al-Muddaththir. There is, however, no doubt about it that all these Chapters were revealed more or less in consecutive order, because there exists a strong likeness in their subject-matter. The present Surah deals principally with the Holy Prophet's claim as a Divine Messenger. Like all the Meccan Surahs which mainly deal with matters of doctrine and belief, it deals with the truth of the Holy Prophet's claim, and gives sound and solid arguments to support it.
A large part of the Surah is also devoted to a discussion of the fight of disbelievers against Truth, and to the evil end to which they ultimately come, and gives reasons why they reject Truth and strive and struggle against it and how, when their efforts appear to be on the point of bearing fruit they come to naught, and Truth, which seems to be going under, begins to prosper, prevail and predominate. Towards the close of the Surah, the Holy Prophet is enjoined to bear with patience and fortitude all the mockery, opposition and persecution to which he is subjected, because his cause is bound to succeed.
 بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
[68:1] In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
 ن وَالْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ
[68:2] By the inkstand and by the pen and by that which they write,[3089]
 مَا أَنْتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ بِمَجْنُونٍ
[68:3] Thou art not, by the grace of thy Lord, a madman.[3089A]
 وَإِنَّ لَكَ لَأَجْرًا غَيْرَ مَمْنُونٍ
[68:4] And for thee, most surely, there is an unending reward.[3090]
 وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ
[68:5] And thou dost surely possess high moral excellences.[3091]
 فَسَتُبْصِرُ وَيُبْصِرُونَ
[68:6] And thou wilt soon see and they too will see
 بِأَيِّيكُمْ الْمَفْتُونُ
[68:7] Which of you is afflicted with madness.[3092]
 إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ ضَلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ
[68:8] Surely, thy Lord knows best those who go astray from His way, and He knows best those who follow guidance.
 فَلاَ تُطِعْ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ
[68:9] So comply not with the wishes of those who reject the truth.
 وَدُّوا لَوْ تُدْهِنُ فَيُدْهِنُونَ
[68:10] They wish that thou shouldst be pliant[3093] so that they may also be pliant.
 وَلاَ تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلاَّفٍ مَهِينٍ
[68:11] And yield not to any mean swearer,
 هَمَّازٍ مَشَّاءٍ بِنَمِيمٍ
[68:12] Backbiter, one who goes about slandering,[3094]
 مَنَّاعٍ لِلْخَيْرِ مُعْتَدٍ أَثِيمٍ
[68:13] Forbidder of good, transgressor, sinful,
 عُتُلٍّ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ زَنِيمٍ
[68:14] Ill-mannered and, in addition to that, of doubtful birth.
 أَنْ كَانَ ذَا مَالٍ وَبَنِينَ
[68:15] This is because he possesses riches and children.[3095]
 إِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِ آيَاتُنَا قَالَ أَسَاطِيرُ الأَوَّلِينَ
[68:16] When Our Signs are recited unto him, he says, ‘Stories of the ancients!’
 سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ
[68:17] We will brand him on the snout.[3096]
 إِنَّا بَلَوْنَاهُمْ كَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ إِذْ أَقْسَمُوا لَيَصْرِمُنَّهَا مُصْبِحِينَ
[68:18] We will surely try them as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed that they would certainly pluck all its fruit in the morning,[3097]
 وَلاَ يَسْتَثْنُونَ
[68:19] And they made no exception[3098] and did not say, ‘If God please.’
 فَطَافَ عَلَيْهَا طَائِفٌ مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَهُمْ نَائِمُونَ
[68:20] Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it while they were asleep;
 فَأَصْبَحَتْ كَالصَّرِيمِ
[68:21] And the morning found it like a garden cut down overnight.
 فَتَنَادَوا مُصْبِحِينَ
[68:22] So they called to one another at the break of dawn,
 أَنْ اغْدُوا عَلَى حَرْثِكُمْ إِنْ كُنتُمْ صَارِمِينَ
[68:23] Saying, ‘Go forth early in the morning to your field, if you would gather the fruit.’
 فَانطَلَقُوا وَهُمْ يَتَخَافَتُونَ
[68:24] And they set out, talking to one another in low tones,
 أَنْ لاَ يَدْخُلَنَّهَا الْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِسْكِينٌ
[68:25] Saying, ‘Let no poor man today enter it against you.’[3099]
 وَغَدَوْا عَلَى حَرْدٍ قَادِرِينَ
[68:26] And they went forth early in the morning, determined to achieve their purpose.[3100]
 فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهَا قَالُوا إِنَّا لَضَالُّونَ
[68:27] But when they saw it, they said, ‘Surely, we have lost our way!
 بَلْ نَحْنُ مَحْرُومُونَ
[68:28] ‘Nay, we have been deprived of everything.’
 قَالَ أَوْسَطُهُمْ أَلَمْ أَقُلْ لَكُمْ لَوْلاَ تُسَبِّحُونَ
[68:29] The best among them said, “Did I not say to you, ‘Why do you not glorify God?’ ”
 قَالُوا سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَالِمِينَ
[68:30] Now they said, ‘Glory be to our Lord. Surely, we have been wrongdoers.’
 فَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ يَتَلاَوَمُونَ
[68:31] Then some of them turned to the others, reproaching one another.
 قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا طَاغِينَ
[68:32] They said, ‘Woe to us! We were indeed rebellious against God.
 عَسَى رَبُّنَا أَنْ يُبْدِلَنَا خَيْرًا مِنْهَا إِنَّا إِلَى رَبِّنَا رَاغِبُونَ
[68:33] ‘Maybe our Lord will give us instead a better garden than this; we do humbly entreat our Lord.’
 كَذَلِكَ الْعَذَابُ وَلَعَذَابُ الآخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ
[68:34] Such is the punishment of this world. And surely the punishment of the Hereafter is greater[3101]. Did they but know!
 إِنَّ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّاتِ النَّعِيمِ
[68:35] For the righteous, indeed, there are Gardens of Bliss with their Lord.
 أَفَنَجْعَلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ كَالْمُجْرِمِينَ
[68:36] Shall We then treat those who submit to Us as We treat the guilty?
 مَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ
[68:37] What is the matter with you? How judge ye!
 أَمْ لَكُمْ كِتَابٌ فِيهِ تَدْرُسُونَ
[68:38] Have you a Book wherein you read,
 إِنَّ لَكُمْ فِيهِ لَمَا يَتَخَيَّرُونَ
[68:39] That you shall surely have in it whatever you choose?
 أَمْ لَكُمْ أَيْمَانٌ عَلَيْنَا بَالِغَةٌ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّ لَكُمْ لَمَا تَحْكُمُونَ
[68:40] Or have you any covenant binding on Us till the Day of Resurrection that you shall surely have all that you order?[3102]
 سَلْهُم أَيُّهُمْ بِذَلِكَ زَعِيمٌ
[68:41] Ask them which of them will vouch for that.
 أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ فَلْيَأْتُوا بِشُرَكَائِهِمْ إِنْ كَانُوا صَادِقِينَ
[68:42] Or have they any ‘partners’ of God? Let them, then, produce those ‘partners’ of theirs, if they speak the truth.
 يَوْمَ يُكْشَفُ عَنْ سَاقٍ وَيُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى السُّجُودِ فَلاَ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ
[68:43] On the day when the truth shall be laid bare[3103] and they will be called upon to prostrate themselves, they will not be able to do so;
 خَاشِعَةً أَبْصَارُهُمْ تَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌ وَقَدْ كَانُوا يُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى السُّجُودِ وَهُمْ سَالِمُونَ
[68:44] Their eyes will be cast down, and humiliation will cover them; and they were indeed called upon to prostrate themselves when they were safe and sound, but they obeyed not.
 فَذَرْنِي وَمَنْ يُكَذِّبُ بِهَذَا الْحَدِيثِ سَنَسْتَدْرِجُهُمْ مِنْ حَيْثُ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ
[68:45] So leave Me alone with those who reject this word of Ours. We shall draw them near to destruction step by step[3104] from whence they know not.
 وَأُمْلِي لَهُمْ إِنَّ كَيْدِي مَتِينٌ
[68:46] And I give them respite; for My plan is strong.
 أَمْ تَسْأَلُهُمْ أَجْرًا فَهُمْ مِنْ مَغْرَمٍ مُثْقَلُونَ
[68:47] Dost thou ask a reward of them that they are as if being weighed down with a heavy tax?
 أَمْ عِنْدَهُمْ الْغَيْبُ فَهُمْ يَكْتُبُونَ
[68:48] Is the unseen with them so that they write it down?
 فَاصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ وَلاَ تَكُنْ كَصَاحِبِ الْحُوتِ إِذْ نَادَى وَهُوَ مَكْظُومٌ
[68:49] So be thou steadfast in carrying out the command of thy Lord, and be not like the Man of the Fish when he called to his Lord and he was full of grief.
 لَوْلاَ أَنْ تَدَارَكَهُ نِعْمَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ لَنُبِذَ بِالْعَرَاءِ وَهُوَ مَذْمُومٌ
[68:50] Had not a favour from his Lord reached him, he would have surely been cast upon a bare tract of land[3105], while he would have been blamed by his people.
 فَاجْتَبَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَجَعَلَهُ مِنْ الصَّالِحِينَ
[68:51] But his Lord chose him and made him one of the righteous.
 وَإِنْ يَكَادُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَيُزْلِقُونَكَ بِأَبْصَارِهِمْ لَمَّا سَمِعُوا الذِّكْرَ وَيَقُولُونَ إِنَّهُ لَمَجْنُونٌ
[68:52] And those who disbelieve would fain dislodge thee from thy Godgiven station with their angry[3106] looks when they hear the Reminder; and they say, ‘He is certainly mad.’
 وَمَا هُوَ إِلاَّ ذِكْرٌ لِلْعَالَمِينَ
[68:53] Nay, it is naught but a source of honour for all the worlds.
3089. In this verse the inkstand and the pen and all the written material are cited as evidence to support and substantiate the statement made in the next three verses.
3089A. The verse means that by whatever test of knowledge and learning the claim of the Holy Prophet is examined, he will be found to be not a maniac, as the disbelievers say, but the sanest and the wisest of men. The next verse gives the reason why this charge is not only unfounded but is also foolish and fantastic.
3090. This verse, along with the next one, most effectively exposes the absurdity of the charge of madness. It purports to say that the actions of a madman produce no abiding and useful result, but the Holy Prophet is eminently succeeding in fulfilling the object of his Divine mission and in bringing about a wonderful revolution in the lives of his degenerate people. And this revolution will not end with his death. Whenever in future his followers will deviate from the path of rectitude, God will raise among them Reformers who will regenerate them and will infuse in them a new life. And this process will continue till the end of time.
3091. This verse constitutes a further eloquent commentary on the charge of madness, imputed to the Holy Prophet, as being foolish. The Prophet, it says, not only is not a maniac but is the noblest and sublimest of men, possessing in full measure all those moral excellences that combine to make their possessor a perfect image of his Creator. He is a complete embodiment of all good moral qualities that a man is capable of possessing. All the high moral qualities are blended in his person in a perfect and harmonious whole. 'A'ishah, the Prophet's talented spouse, when once asked to shed some light on the Prophet's morals, said, 'He possessed all those moral excellences which are mentioned in the Qur'an as the special marks of a true servant of God' (Bukhari).
3092. The verse turns the tables upon the accusers of the Holy Prophet, and tells them in challenging words that time will show whether it was he or they who suffered from madness, or whether his claim to be God's Messenger was the outpouring of a heated brain, or they themselves were so demented as not to read the signs of time and so refused to believe in him.
3093. The verse may have special reference to the offers which the Quraish of Mecca made to the Holy Prophet in order to tempt him away from his fixed purpose; or it may possess general application, since Truth is as firm as rock while falsehood has no legs to stand upon and gives way to pressure or temptation and is ready to make compromises.
3094. The reference in this and the preceding three verses may particularly be to Walid bin Mughirah or Abu Jahl; or, for that matter, to every leader of falsehood.
3095. All sins, vices and opposition to Truth are born of conceit or false pride and are the moral maladies of one who manages to amass great wealth by questionable means; and wields great power and influence. Or, the verse may mean that a base and vile man should not be shown consideration or respect simply because he happens to possess wealth and influence.
3096. "Branding on the snout" is a metaphor for disgracing a person.
3097. Here the base, greedy and conceited disbelievers have been compared to the owner of a garden who would devour all its fruit and would not share it with those who had also put in their labour in developing it and would defraud them of their just rights in it.
3098. The owners of the "garden" greedily devoured the fruit of the labour of others and fed fat on it; excluding the latter from sharing it with them. They were so sure of the successful outcome of their labours and so certain of gathering in their harvest without any mishap that they consigned God to complete oblivion, failing to Seek Divine protection by uttering the words, 'If God please.'
3099. The rich owners of the "garden" in the parable are compared to those selfish, cruel and greedy persons who, besides exploiting the labour of others, are so stingy that they would not spend any part of their ill-gotten gains to meet the needs of the needy and the poor.
3100. The exploiters of the labour of others are a class by themselves. They seek and scheme to debar the latter from the benefits of what they earn by the sweat of their brow. They revel in wealth, while their poor brethren grovel in dirt and squalor before their very eyes.
3101. Sooner or later nemesis overtakes the exploiters and their contrivances to deprive others of the fruit of their labour fail altogether in their evil purpose.
3102. The verse asks the disbelievers, "Have they any authority in any revealed Scripture that they will be allowed to choose a way of life of their own liking and will also escape the consequences of their evil deeds? Or, have they taken a covenant from God which will remain in force till the Day of Judgment that they will have whatever they like and do whatever they like and yet wilt not suffer the consequences flowing from their actions?
3103. The verse may refer to the hardness and severity of the Day of Resurrection, or to the lifting of the veil from all mysteries and coming to light of all secrets on the Judgment Day. See 2177.
3104. Divine punishment will overtake disbelievers by degrees and in stages and thus they will have ample opportunities to repent and make amends by accepting the Quranic Message.
3105. The verse may also imply a subtle hint to the Holy Prophet's Hijrah (Emigration) to Medina.
3106. The disbelievers cast severe looks at the Holy Prophet that might frighten a person of lesser caliber into giving up his mission, but the Prophet has a Divine Message to deliver and so he can hardly be intimidated, cajoled or bribed into yielding to such pressure tactics.
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