| | Arthur John Arberry rendition of Surah The Pen(al-Qalam)
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| 68:1 | | Nun. By the Pen, and what they inscribe |
| 68:2 | | thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed |
| 68:3 | | Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing |
| 68:4 | | surely thou art upon a mighty morality |
| 68:5 | | So thou shalt see, and they will see |
| 68:6 | | which of you is the demented |
| 68:7 | | Surely thy Lord knows very well those who have gone astray from His way, and He knows very well those who are guided |
| 68:8 | | So obey thou not those who cry lies |
| 68:9 | | They wish that thou shouldst compromise, then they would compromise |
| 68:10 | | And obey thou not every mean swearer |
| 68:11 | | backbiter, going about with slander |
| 68:12 | | hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained |
| 68:13 | | moreover ignoble |
| 68:14 | | because he has wealth and sons |
| 68:15 | | When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients! |
| 68:16 | | We shall brand him upon the muzzle |
| 68:17 | | Now We have tried them, even as We tried the owners of the garden when they swore they would pluck in the mornin |
| 68:18 | | and they added not the saving words |
| 68:19 | | Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it, while they were sleeping |
| 68:20 | | and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked |
| 68:21 | | In the morning they called to one another |
| 68:22 | | 'Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck! |
| 68:23 | | So they departed, whispering together |
| 68:24 | | 'No needy man shall enter it today against your will. |
| 68:25 | | And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose |
| 68:26 | | But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray |
| 68:27 | | nay, rather we have been robbed! |
| 68:28 | | Said the most moderate of them, 'Did I not say to you, "Why do you not give glory?" |
| 68:29 | | They said, 'Glory be to God, our Lord; truly, we were evildoers. |
| 68:30 | | And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other |
| 68:31 | | They said, 'Woe, alas for us! Truly, we were insolent |
| 68:32 | | It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better than it; to our Lord we humbly turn. |
| 68:33 | | Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the world to come, is assuredly greater, did they but know |
| 68:34 | | Surely for the godfearing shall be Gardens of Bliss with their Lord |
| 68:35 | | What, shall we make those who have surrendered like to the sinners |
| 68:36 | | What ails you then, how you judge |
| 68:37 | | Or have you a Book wherein you study |
| 68:38 | | Surely therein you shall have whatever you choose |
| 68:39 | | Or have you oaths from Us, reaching to the Day of Resurrection? Surely you shall have whatever you judge |
| 68:40 | | Ask them, which of them will guarantee that |
| 68:41 | | Or do they have associates? Then let them bring their associates, if they speak truly |
| 68:42 | | Upon the day when the leg shall be bared, and they shall be summoned to bow themselves, but they cannot |
| 68:43 | | humbled shall be their eyes, and abasement shall overspread them, for they had been summoned to bow themselves while they were whole |
| 68:44 | | So leave Me with him who cries lies to this discourse! We will draw them on little by little whence they know not |
| 68:45 | | and I shall respite them -- assuredly My guile is sure |
| 68:46 | | Or askest thou them for a wage, and so they are weighed down with debt |
| 68:47 | | Or is the Unseen in their keeping, and so they are writing it down |
| 68:48 | | So be thou patient under the judgment of thy Lord, and be not as the Man of the Fish, when he called, choking inwardly |
| 68:49 | | Had there not overtaken him a blessing from his Lord he would have been cast upon the wilderness, being condemned |
| 68:50 | | But his Lord had chosen him, and He placed him among the righteous |
| 68:51 | | The unbelievers wellnigh strike thee down with their glances, when they hear the Reminder, and they say, 'Surely he is a man possessed! |
| 68:52 | | And it is nothing but a Reminder unto all beings |
