| | A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018) rendition of Surah The Pen(al-Qalam)
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| 68:1 | | Nuun. By the pen and what they write |
| 68:2 | | You are not, by the grace of your Lord, insane or possessed |
| 68:3 | | No, indeed for you is a reward unfailing |
| 68:4 | | And you stand on an exalted standard of character |
| 68:5 | | Soon will you see, and they will see |
| 68:6 | | Which of you are afflicted with insanity |
| 68:7 | | Indeed it is your Lord Who knows best who has strayed from His path, and He knows best those who receive guidance |
| 68:8 | | So do not listen to those who reject it |
| 68:9 | | Their desire is that you would let up, so that they might regroup |
| 68:10 | | Do not compromise with this type of despicable person, ready with promises |
| 68:11 | | A slanderer going about with slander |
| 68:12 | | Hindering all good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin |
| 68:13 | | Violent and cruel, with all that– useless |
| 68:14 | | Because he possesses wealth and sons |
| 68:15 | | When Our signs are rehearsed to him, “Tales of the ancients,” he says |
| 68:16 | | Soon We will brand them on the nose |
| 68:17 | | Indeed We have tried them as We tried the people of the farm-orchard, when they decided to gather the fruits in the morning |
| 68:18 | | But without making a contingency plan |
| 68:19 | | Then there came on them a visitation from your Lord, from all around while they slept |
| 68:20 | | So it became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot |
| 68:21 | | As the morning broke, they called out one to another |
| 68:22 | | “Go to your land in the morning, if you will 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 this day. |
| 68:25 | | And they started the morning strong in resolve |
| 68:26 | | But when they saw it they said, “We have surely lost our way |
| 68:27 | | “Indeed we are shut out. |
| 68:28 | | One of them more just than the others said, “Did I not say to you, ‘Why not praise God?’ |
| 68:29 | | They said, “Glory to Our Lord, indeed we have done wrong. |
| 68:30 | | Then they turned one against another in blame |
| 68:31 | | They said, “Unfortunately for us, we have indeed transgressed |
| 68:32 | | “It may be that our Lord will give us something better than this in exchange, for we turn to Him. |
| 68:33 | | Such is this punishment, but greater is the punishment in the hereafter, if they only knew |
| 68:34 | | Indeed for the righteous are gardens of pleasure 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 do you judge |
| 68:37 | | Or do you have a book through which you learn |
| 68:38 | | That you will have through it whatever you wish |
| 68:39 | | Or do you have covenants with Us reaching to the Day of Accountability, that you will have whatever you demand |
| 68:40 | | Ask them which of them will stand for that |
| 68:41 | | Or have they partners? Then let them produce their partners, if they are truthful |
| 68:42 | | The day that the leg will be laid bare, and they will be summoned to bow in adoration, though they will not be able |
| 68:43 | | Their eyes will be cast down, disgrace will cover them, seeing that they had been asked to bow in adoration while they were whole |
| 68:44 | | Then leave Me alone with those who reject this message. By degrees We will punish them from directions they do not perceive |
| 68:45 | | I will grant them respite. Truly powerful is My plan |
| 68:46 | | Or is it that you ask them for a reward, so that they are burdened with a load of debt |
| 68:47 | | Or that the unknown is in their hands, so that they can write it down |
| 68:48 | | So wait with patience for the command of your Lord, and do not be like the companion of the fish when he cried out in agony |
| 68:49 | | Had grace from his Lord not reached him he would indeed have been cast up on the naked shore in disgrace |
| 68:50 | | So his Lord chose him and made him of the company of the righteous |
| 68:51 | | And the unbelievers would nearly trip you 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 for all the systems of knowledge |
