067
The Message of the Quran
Muhammad Asad
AL-QALAM (THE PEN)
THE SIXTY-EIGHTH
SURAH
Total Verses: 52
Introduction
IN THE chronological order of revelation, this surah most
probably occupies the third place. Some authorities - among them Suyuti -
incline to the view that it was revealed immediately after the first five
verses of surah 96 ("The Germ-Cell"); this, however, is
contradicted by some of the best-authenticated Traditions, according to which
most of surah 74 came second in the order of revelation (see
introductory note to that surah). In any case, "The Pen" is
undoubtedly one of the oldest parts of the Qur'an.
IN THE NAME OF
GOD, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE:
(1) Nun. 1
CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 2
(2) Thou art not, by thy Sustainer's
grace, a madman! 3
(3) And, verily, thine shall be a reward
neverending –
(4) for, behold, thou keepest indeed to
a sublime way of life; 4
(5) and [one day] thou shalt see, and
they [who now deride thee] shall see,
(6) which of you was bereft of reason.
(7) Verily, thy Sustainer alone is fully
aware as to who has strayed from His path, Just as He alone is fully aware of
those who have found the right way.
(8) Hence, defer not to [the likes and
dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth:
(9) they would like thee to be soft
[with them], so that they might be soft [with thee]. 5
(10) Furthermore, 6
defer not to the contemptible swearer of oaths,
(11) [or to] the slanderer that goes
about with defaming tales,
(12) [or] the withholder of good, [or]
the sinful aggressor,
(13) [or] one who is cruel, by greed
possessed, 7 and, in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his
fellow-men]. 8
(14) Is it because he is possessed of
worldly goods and children
(15) that, whenever Our messages are
conveyed to him, such a one says, "Fables of ancient times"? 9
(16) [For this] We shall brand him with
indelible disgrace! 10
(17) [As for such sinners,] behold, We
[but] try them 11 as We tried the owners of a certain garden who vowed that
they would surely harvest its fruit on the morrow,
(18) and made no allowance [for the will
of God]: 12
(19) whereupon a visitation for thy
Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep,
(20) so that by the morrow it became
barren and bleak.
(21) Now when they rose at early morn,
they called unto one another,
(22) "Go early to your tilth if you
want to harvest the fruit!"
(23) Thus they launched forth,
whispering unto one another,
(24) "Indeed, no needy person shall
enter it today [and come] upon you [unawares]," 13
(25) – and early they went, strongly
bent upon their purpose.
(26) But as soon as they beheld [the
garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost
our way!"
(27) - [and then,] "Nay, but we
have been rendered destitute!"
(28) Said the most right-minded among
them: "Did I not tell you, 'Will you not extol God's limitless
glory?’" 14
(29) They answered: "Limitless in
His glory is our Sustainer! Verily, we were doing wrong!"
(30) - and then they turned upon one
another with mutual reproaches.
(31) [In the end] they said: "Oh,
woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously!
(32) [But] it may be that our Sustainer
will grant us something better instead: 15
for, verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn with hope!"
(33) SUCH is the suffering [with which
We try some people in this world]; 16 but
greater by far will be the suffering [which sinners shall have to bear] in the
life to come - if they but knew it!
(34) For, behold, it is the
God-conscious [alone] whom gardens of bliss await with their Sustainer:
(35) or should We, perchance, treat
those who surrender themselves unto Us 17 as
[We would treat] those who remain lost in sin?
(36) What is amiss with you? 18 On
what do you base your judgment [of right and wrong]?
(37) Or have you, perchance, a [special]
divine writ which you study,
(38) and in which you find all that you
may wish to find? 19
(39) Or have you received a solemn
promise, binding on Us till Resurrection Day, that yours will assuredly be
whatever you judge [to be your rightful due]?
(40) Ask them which of them is able to
vouch for this!
(41) Or have they, perchance, anys ages
to support their views? 20 Well, then, if they are sincere in this their claim, let
them produce those supporters of theirs
(42) on the Day when man's very being
shall be bared to the bone, 21 and when they [who now deny the truth] shall be called
upon to prostrate themselves [before God], 22 and
shall be unable to do so:
(43) downcast will be their eyes, with
ignominy overwhelming them - seeing that they had been called upon [in vain] to
prostrate themselves [before Him] while they were yet sound [and alive].
(44) Hence, leave Me alone with such as
give the lie to this tiding. 23 We shall bring them low, step by step, without their
perceiving how it has come about: 24
(45) for, behold, though I may give them
rein for a while, My subtle scheme is exceedingly firm! 25
(46) Or is it that [they fear lest] thou
ask them for a reward, [O Prophet,] so that they would be burdened with debt
[if they listened to thee]?
(47) Or [do they think] that the hidden
reality [of all that exists] is within their grasp, so that [in time] they can
write it down? 26
(48) BEAR THEN with patience thy
Sustainer's will and be not like him of the great fish, who cried out [in
distress] after having given in to anger. 27
(49) [And remember:] had not grace from
his Sustainer reached him, 28 he would indeed have been cast forth upon that barren
shore in a state of disgrace: 29
(50) but [as it was,] his Sustainer had
elected him and placed him among the righteous.
(51) Hence, [be patient,] even though
they who are bent on denying the truth would all but kill thee with their eyes
whenever they hear this reminder, and [though] they say, "[As for
Mubammad,] behold, most surely he is a madman!"
(52) [Be patient:] for this is nought
else but a reminder [from God] to all mankind.
1
Chronologically, this is the first appearance of any of the
"disjointed" [i.e., single] letters (al-muqatta’at) which
precede a number of the surahs of the Qur'an: for the various theories
relating to these letters, see Appendix II. The supposition of some of the
early commentators (extensively quoted by Tabari) that the letter n, pronounced
nun, represents here an abbreviation of the identically-pronounced noun
which signifies both "great fish" and "inkwell" has been
convincingly rejected by some of the most outstanding authorities (e.g.,
Zamakhshari and Razi) on grammatical grounds.
2 For the meaning of the
adjurative particle wa at the beginning of this sentence, see first half
of note 23 on 74:32. The mention of "the pen" is meant to recall the
earliest Qur'anic revelation, namely, the first five verses of surah 96
("The Germ-Cell"), and thus to stress the fact of Muhammad's
prophethood. As regards the symbolic significance of the concept of "the
pen", see 96:3-5 and the corresponding note 3.
3 This is an allusion to the taunt
with which most of Muhammad's contemporaries greeted the beginning of his
preaching, and with which they continued to deride him for many years. In its
wider sense, the above passage relates - as is so often the case in the Qur'an
- not merely to the Prophet but also to alll who followed or will follow him: in
this particular instance, to all who base their moral valuations on their
belief in God and in life after death.
4 The term khuluq, rendered
by me as "way of life", describes a person's "character",
"innate disposition" or "nature" in the widest sense of
these concepts, as well as "habitual behaviour" which becomes, as it
were, one's "second nature" (Taj al-Arus). My identification
of khuluq with "way of life" is based on the explanation of
the above verse by Abd Allah ibn Abbas (as quoted by Tabari), stating that this
term is here synonymous with din: and we must remember that one of the
primary significances of the latter term is "a way [or "manner"]
of behaviour" or "of acting" (Qamus). More over, we have
several well-authenticated Traditions according to which Muhammad's widow
A'ishah, speaking of the Prophet many years after his death, repeatedly
stressed that "his way of life (khuluq) was the Qur'an."
(Muslim, Tabari and Hakim, on the authority of Said ibn Hisham; Ibn Hanbal, Abu
Da'ud and Nasa"i, on the authority of Al-Hasan al-Basri; Tabari, on the
authority of Qatadah and Jubayr ibn Nufayl; and several other compilations).
5 I.e., "they would like thee
to be conciliatory in the matter of ethical principles and moral valuations,
whereupon they would reciprocate and desist from actively opposing thee"
6 Lit., "And". The
subsequently enumerated types of moral deficiency are, of course, mentioned
only as examples of the type of man to whose likes or dislikes no
consideration whatever should be shown.
7 The term utul - derived
from the verb atala, "he dragged [someone or something] in a rough
and cruel manner" - is used to describe a person combining within himself
the attributes of cruelty and greed; hence the composite rendering adopted by
me.
8 The commentators give the most
divergent interpretations to the term zanim, which is evidently derived
from the noun zanamah, denoting either of the two wattles, or fleshy
skin protuberances, hanging below the ears of a goat. Since these wattles do
not seem to have any physiological function, the term zanim has come to
signify "someone [or "something"] not needed" (Taj
al-Arus): in other words, redundant or useless. It is, therefore, logical
to assume that in the above context this term describes a person who is
entirely useless in the social sense.
9 The term banun (lit.,
"children" or "sons") is often used in the Qur'an
metonymically, denoting "popular support" or "many
adherents"; in conjunction with the term mal ("worldly
goods") it is meant to illustrate a certain mentality which attributes a
pseudo-religious significance to wealth and influence, and regards these
visible signs of worldly success as a post-factum evidence of the
"righteousness" of the person concerned and, hence, of his not being
in need of further guidance.
10 Lit., "We shall brand him
on the snout" (khurtum). All commentators point out that this,
idiomatic phrase has a strictly metaphorical meaning, namely, "We shall
stigmatize him with indelible disgrace" (cf. Lane II, 724, quoting both
Raghib and Taj al-Arus).
11 I.e., by bestowing on them
affluence out of all proportion to their moral deserts.
12 I.e., they resolved upon their
objective without the reservation, "if God so wills"; which points to
the first lesson to be derived from this parable, as well as to its connection
with the rhetorical question in verses 14-15 above.
13 Ever since Biblical times it
has been understood that the poor have a right to a share in the harvest of the
fields and gardens owned by their more fortunate fellow-men (cf. 6:141 -
"give [unto the poor] their due on harvest-day"). The determination
of the "owners of the garden" to deprive the poor of this right is
the second type of sin to which the above parable points: and inasmuch as it is
a social sin, it connects with verses 10-13.
14 This is obviously a reference
to their failure to realize that nothing can come about unless the Almighty so
wills (verse 18).
15 Namely, His forgiveness.
16 This connects with the first
clause of verse 17 above, which, in its turn, contains an allusion to the
mentality spoken of in verses 14-15.
17 This is the earliest occurrence
of the term muslimun (sing. muslim) in the history of Qur'anic
revelation. Throughout this work, I have translated the terms muslim and
islam in accordance with their original connotations, namely, "one
who surrenders [or "has surrendered"] himself to God", and
"man's self-surrender to God"; the same holds good of all forms of
the verb aslama occurring in the 'Qur'an. It should be borne in mind
that the "institutionalized" use of these terms - that is, their
exclusive application to the followers of the Prophet Muhammad - represents a
definitely post-Qur'anic development and, hence, must be avoided in a translation
of the Qur'an.
18 Sc., "O you sinners".
19 Lit., "so that in it you
[may] have all that you choose [to have]" - i.e., a moral justification of
the claim that whatever is considered "expedient" is eo ipso
right.
20 Lit., "Or have they any
associates?" - i.e., wise people (‘uqala) who would share their
views and their way of life (Zamakhshari and Razi). Accordingly, the expression
shuraka'uhum in the next sentence has been rendered as "those
supporters of theirs".
21 Lit., "when the
shin[-bone] shall be bared": i.e., when man's innermost thoughts, feelings
and motivations will be laid bare. The implication is that their erstwhile
claim that whatever is "expedient" is morally justifiable (see note
19 above), shall be revealed in all its nakedness - namely, as something
indefensible and spiritually destructive.
22 I.e., willingly, gladly
humbling themselves before Him.
23 I.e., to divine revelation in
general, and to the tiding of resurrection and judgment, in particular - the
implication being that God alone has the right to decide whether or how to
chastise them.
24 Lit., "without their
knowing whence [it comes]". The above sentence, as well as the next,
(verse 45), are found in exactly the same formulation in 7:182-183
25 The term "subtle
scheme" (kayd) evidently circumscribes here God's unfathomable plan
of creation of which man can glimpse only isolated fragments and never the
totality: a plan in which every thing and happening has a definite function,
and nothing is accidental. (See in this connection note 11 on 10:5 - "None
of this has God created without [an inner] truth".) Indirectly, the above
passage alludes to the question as to the reason why God allows so many evil
persons to enjoy their lives to the full, while so many of the righteous are
allowed to suffer: the answer being that during his life in this world man
cannot really understand where apparent happiness and unhappiness ultimately
lead to, and what role they play in God's "subtle scheme" of
creation.
26 Sc., "and that, therefore,
they need not listen to divine revelation." For the real significance of
the term al-ghayb - of which the above is undoubtedly the earliest
instance in the chronology of Qur'anic revelation - see surah 2, note 3.
Its use in the above context is meant to elucidate and further develop the idea
already touched upon in 96:6 - "man becomes grossly overweening whenever
he believes himself to be self-sufficient". More particularly, the present
passage points to the fallacy of the arrogant belief that the solution of all
the mysteries of the universe is "just around the corner" and that
man-centred science - epitomized in the reference to its being "written
down" - can and will teach its adepts how to "conquer nature"
and to attain to what they regard as the good life.
27 This is a reference to the
Prophet Jonah - see 21:87 and the corresponding notes 82 and 83. As mentioned
in 37:140, "he fled like a runaway slave" from the task with which he
had been entrusted by God, because his people did not all at once accept his
preaching as valid: and so Muhammad is exhorted not to give in to despair or
anger at the opposition shown to him by most of his contemporaries in Mecca,
but to persevere in his prophetic mission.
28 Cf. 37:143 - "had he not
been of those who [even in the deep darkness of their distress are able to]
extol God’s limitless glory": i.e., who always remember God and pray for
His forgiveness.
29 Lit., "while he was still
blameworthy", i.e., burdened with sin and unredeemed by repentance:
implying that but for God's grace he would have died as a sinner.