68- Surat Alqalam

68- Surat Alqalam

52 Verses Meccan (revealed in Mecca)

A'auzu Bellahi mena ash-shytani ar-rajim

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan

Bismi Ellahi Ar-rhmani Ar-rahim

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Noun wa alqalami wa ma yasturuon (1).

Noun, by the pen and what they write.

Ma anta bene'mati Rabbika be-majnuon (2).

You are not by the grace of Your Lord, a madman.

Wa inna laka la-ajran ghayri mamnuon (3).

And indeed, for you is a reward, uninterrupted.

Wa inaka la-ala khuluqin azeem (4).

And indeed, You are surely of a great moral character.

Fa-satubseruo wa youbseruon (5).

So You will see and they will see.

Be-ayyekumuo almaftuon (6).

Which of you is the afflicted one.

Inna Rabbaka huwa a'alamuo beman dalla an sabeelehi wa huwa a'alamuo bel-muhtadeen (7).

Indeed, Your Lord knows best he who has gone astray from His way, and He knows best who are the guided ones.

Fa-la tute'e almukazzebeen (8).

So do not obey the deniers.

Wadduo la-w tud-henuo fa youd-henuon (9).

They wish that You should soften, so they would soften.

Wala tute' kulla hallafin maheen (10).

And do not obey every wretched swearer.

Hammazin mashsha-in benameem (11).

A backbiter, who going about with malicious gossip.

Manna-in lel-khayri mu'tadin atheem (12).

A preventer of good, transgressor, sinful.

Utullin ba'da zaleka zaneem (13).

Cruel after all that, notorious.

An kana za malin wa baneen (14).

Because he is a possessor of wealth and children.

Iza tutla alaiyhi ayatuna qala asateeruo alawwaleen (15).

When Our verses are recited to him, he says a legends of the former people.

Sa-nasemuhuo ala alkhurtuom (16).

We will brand him on the snout.

Inna balawnahum kama balawna ass-haba aljannati iz aqsamuo la-yasremunnaha musbeheen (17).

Indeed We have tested them as We tested the companions of the garden when they swore to pluck its fruit in the morning.

Wa la yastathnuon (18). 

And not making exception.

Fa-tafa alayha ta-efun men Rabbika wa hum na-emuon (19).

So there came a visitation from Your Lord while they were asleep.

Fa asbahat ka-ssareem (20).

So it became as if reaped.

Fa tanadaw musbeheen (21).

And they called one another at morning.

Ani eghduo ala harthekum in kuntum saremeen (22).

That go early to your field if you would pluck.

Fa entalaquo wa hum yatakhafatuon (23).

So they set out while they were whispering to each other.

An la yad-khulannaha alyawma alaiykum meskeen (24).

That today, will not enter it upon you a needy.

Wa ghadaw ala hardin qadereen (25).

And they went in determination, while they were able.

Fa lamma ra'awha qaluo inna la-dalluon (26).

And when they saw it, they said indeed we are lost.

Bal nahnuo mahrumuon (27).

But we are deprived.

Qala awsatuhum alam aqul lakum la-wla tusabbehuon (28).

The moderate of them said, did I not say to you why do you not glorify?.

Qaluo subhana Rabbina inna kunna zalemeen (29).

They said Glory be to our Lord, indeed, we were wrongdoers.

Fa-aqbala ba'duhum ala ba'din yatalawamuon (30).

Then some of them approached others, blaming each other.

Qaluo ya-waiylana inna kunna tagheen (31).

They said O! woe to us, indeed, we were transgressors.

Asa Rabbuna an youbdelana khaiyran menha inna ela Rabbina raghebuon (32).

Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us better than it, indeed, to our Lord we are turning desirous.

Kazaleka alazabuo wala-azabuo alakherati akbaruo la-w kanuo ya'lamuon (33).

Such is the punishment, and the punishment of the hereafter is greater, if they know!.

Inna lel-muttaqeena enda Rabbehim jannati alna-eem (34).

Indeed, for the righteous with their Lord, the gardens of bliss.

Afnaja'luo almuslemeena kal-mujremeen (35).

Are We treat the Muslims like the criminals?.

Ma lakum kaiyfa tahkumuon (36).

What is with you, How do you judge?.

Am lakum ketabun feehi tadrusuon (37).

Or you have a book wherein you learn.

Inna lakum feehi lama takhayyaruon (38).

Indeed, there is for you in it whatever you choose.

Am lakum aymanun alaiyna baleghatun ela yawmi alqeyamati inna lakum lama tahkumuon (39).

Or you have oaths upon Us till the day of resurrection, indeed, there is for you what you judge.

Salhum ayyuhum be-zaleka za-eem (40).

Ask them which of them is responsible for that?.

Am lahum shuraka'uo fal-ya'tuo beshuraka-ehim in kanuo sadeqeen (41).

Or do they have partners, then let them bring their partners, if they are truthful.

Yawma youkshafuo an saqin wa youd'awna ela alsujuodi fala yastati-uon (42).

The day when the shin will be uncovered, and they will be called to prostrate, but they will not be able.

Khashe'atan absaruhum tarhaquhum zellatun wa qad kanuo youd'awna ela alsujuodi wa hum salemuon (43).  

Their eyes humbled, and humiliation will cover them, and indeed, they had been called upon to prostrate while they were sound.

Fa-zarni wa man youkazebuo behaza alhadeethi sa-nastadrejuhum men haithuo la ya'lamuon (44).

So leave Me with whoever denies this statement, We will progressively lead them from where they do not know.

Wa aumli lahum inna kaiydi mateen (45).

And I give respite to them, Indeed, My plan is firm.

Am tasa'luhum ajran fa-hum men maghramin muthqaluon (46).

Or do You ask them a wage, so they are burdened from the debt?.

Am endahumuo alghaiybuo fa-hum yaktubuon (47).

Or do they have the unseen, so they write?.

Fa-sber lehukmi Rabbika wa la takun ka-sahebi alhuoti iz nada wa huwa makzuom (48).

So be patient for the judgement of Your Lord, and do not be like the companion of the fish when He called while He was distressed.

Lawla an tadarakahuo ne'matun men Rabbehi la-nubeza belara'ee wa huwa mazmuom (49).

If not that a favor from His Lord reaches Him, He would surely have been thrown onto the naked shore, while He was blameworthy.

Fa-jtabahuo Rabbuhu fa-ja'alahuo mena alsaleheen (50).

But His Lord choose Him, and made Him of the righteous.

Wa in yakaduo allazina kafaruo la-youzlequnaka be-absarehim lamma same-uo alzekra wa yaquluona innahuo la-majnuon (51).

And indeed, those who disbelieve look at You with contempt until they almost killed You with their eyes when they heard the reminder, and they say, indeed, He is mad.

Wa ma huwa ella zekrun lel-alameen (52).

And it is nothing but a reminder for the worlds.

Simplified interpretation: 

 Surat Alqalam begins with a single letter of the Arabic language, just like 28 Surahs of the Holy Quran that start with individual letters ranging from one to five letters. It is noticeable that in all 29 Surahs the book or the Holy Quran is mentioned whether it is immediately after these letters or it is included in the Surah or even at the end of it. It is a challenge from Allah, Almighty, to the infidels of Quraish, as if Allah says to them this is the book in the letters of the language you speak, but you will not be able to produce the like of it, and He has already challenged them in Aya (88) of Surat Alisraa "Say, if mankind and the Jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants". As for the current Surah it begins with the letter "Nuon" or letter N in English, and ended with "And it is nothing but a reminder for the worlds" which is the Holy Quran, but the knowledge of these letters remains with Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

 Allah says in the first four verses "Noun, by the pen and what they write, You are not by the grace of Your Lord, a madman, and indeed, for you is a reward, uninterrupted, and indeed, You are surely of a great moral character", where Allah swears by the pen, and Allah's Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) said in narration of Abdul-Wahed bin Sulaim "Verily, the first of what Allah created was the pen, He said to it: write, so it wrote what will be forever". And He swears by what the angels write of the deeds of people to assure Quraish who accused Our Prophet of being mad, that He is not a madman, and he has an endless reward for his patience over whatever harm He finds from them. And He is of a great moral character, and that is the character of the Holy Quran that Allah has taught Him with, which is Islam and its laws.

 Then Allah says to His Messenger in the next three verses (5-7) "So You will see and they will see, which of you is the afflicted one, indeed, Your Lord knows best he who has gone astray from His way, and He knows best who are the guided ones", That is, you and them will see on the day of resurrection which of you is misguided and mad one, and Allah knows which of the two groups among you and among them is the guided one, and He knows those who gone astray from the truth.

 So He said to Him in the next nine verses (8-16) "So do not obey the deniers, they wish that You should soften, so they would soften, and do not obey every wretched swearer, a backbiter, who going about with malicious gossip, a preventer of good, transgressor, sinful, cruel after all that, notorious, because he is a possessor of wealth and children, When Our verses are recited to him, he says a legends of the former people, We will brand him on the snout", where Allah commanded Him not to obey the deniers who disbelieve in Allah and His messenger, and they wish that Our Prophet would grant them concessions or would soften in His religion and they will do like Him, so Allah commanded Him again not to obey every wretched swearer who is liar, wicked, a backbiter who goes about with gossiping between people to spoil their relationships with each other, stingy with the good, transgressor, sinful, and cruel after all that, notorious. 

 Our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said regarding "Cruel after all that, notorious", that it was revealed in connection with a man from Quraish who had a notable sign similar to the notable sign which usually hung on the neck of a sheep", that is, he was famous for evil like the fame of a sheep with a notable sign (Zanamah) between its sisters, and He said in narration of Haritha Alkhuza'i "And may I inform you of the people of the Hellfire?, they are those all cruel, arrogant, and stubborn people".

 And because he is a possessor of wealth and children, he is arrogant and turns away from the truth and says that the holy Quran is a legends of the former people, and this is similar to Ayat (12,13) of Surat Almutaffifin, where Allah says "No one can deny it except every sinful aggressor, When Our verses recited to him, he says legends of the former people", so Allah will brand him on the snout, that is, on his face and Allah expressed the face with the snout as a sign of the severity of the torment that awaits him in the hereafter.

 Then Allah says that He tested Quraish with what He gave them of great blessings as He tested the companions of the garden, then He tells their story in Ayat (17-32), and says that they swore among themselves to pluck the fruits of their garden in the morning, so that neither the poor nor the beggar would know about them, and they should not give anything of it in charity, and they will not make any exception by saying "If Allah wills", so there came a visitation from Allah while they were asleep, so it became as if reaped, and became a dry grass, and they called one another at morning to go early to their field if they would pluck its fruits, so they set out while they were whispering to each other so that no one hears their words, and they told each other "That today, will not enter it upon you a needy", then they went in determination, while they were able, but when they reached it and saw it, they said indeed we are lost, they thought that they had gone to a garden other than their own, and when they were sure that it was their garden they said "But we are deprived", that is, we have been deprived from the fruits of our garden for what we have done.

 Then the moderate of them said to his brothers "did I not say to you why do you not glorify?", so they said Glory be to our Lord, indeed, we were wrongdoers, they understood that what happened was a result of their evil intentions, and they confessed their sin, so they disavowed Allah from being unjust in what He did, therefore, some of them approached others, blaming each other, and they said O! woe to us, indeed, we were transgressors by preventing the right of the poor and the needy, and we have not fulfilled the right of Allah in it. They confessed their guilt and repented from it then they turned to Allah desirous in His generosity and His vast bounty, so they said "Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us better than it, indeed, to our Lord we are turning desirous".

 And then Allah says in Aya (33) "Such is the punishment, and the punishment of the hereafter is greater, if they know!", that is, such is the torment in the worldly life for he who disobeys Allah's command, for he who is miserly with what Allah has bestowed upon him, and he who prevents the right of the poor and the needy, and the torment of the Hereafter is greater, and if they know, they would turn back from their disbelief and their stubbornness, so Allah assures them in the next two verses (34,35) "Indeed, for the righteous with their Lord, the gardens of bliss, are We treat the Muslims like the criminals?", where for those who fears and obeys Him in the hereafter are gardens of bliss that do not perish and whose bliss do not end. and Allah will not treat the Muslims like the criminal with regard to the reward of the Hereafter. 

 Then Allah says to them as a denunciation in Ayat (36-39) "What is with you, How do you judge?, or you have a book wherein you learn, indeed, there is for you in it whatever you choose, or you have oaths upon Us till the day of resurrection, indeed, there is for you what you judge", that is, How did they judge that he who obeys Allah will be equal to those who disobey Him, or Do they have a book wherein they learn that judgement, and in that they have the choice of matter for themselves, or do they have a covenant upon Allah that they will enter Paradise.

 And Allah said to His Prophet Muhammad in the next two verses (40,41) "Ask them which of them is responsible for that?, or do they have partners, then let them bring their partners, if they are truthful", This is a challenge from Allah that what they say will not happen, and who among them will take care of that matter, and if they have partners, they should bring them if they are truthful.

 And on the day of resurrection "the shin will be uncovered, and they will be called to prostrate, but they will not be able, their eyes humbled, and humiliation will cover them, and indeed, they had been called upon to prostrate while they were sound" Ayat (42,43), and Our Prophet said about that in narration of Abu Sa'id "Our Lord will lay bare His shin, and then all the believers, men and women, will prostrate themselves before Him, but there will remain those who used to prostrate in the worldly life for showing off, and for gaining good reputation, such people will try to prostrate but their back will be as stiff as if it is one bone". likewise, the disbelievers will not be able to prostrate, and humiliation will cover them for they had been called upon to prostrate while they were sound in the worldly life but they insisted on their disbelief.

 Then Allah threatens them and said to His Prophet "So leave Me with whoever denies this statement, We will progressively lead them from where they do not know, and I give respite to them, Indeed, My plan is firm" Ayat (44,45), where Allah gives respite to those who deny the Holy Quran, and gives them a little time, then He will take revenge on them and take them suddenly while they do not know, and Allah's plan is firm, that is, Allah's torment is too painful and severe.

 Then Allah says in the next two verses (46,47) "Or do You ask them a wage, so they are burdened from the debt?, or do they have the unseen, so they write?, and these two verses are mentioned respectively in Surat Altuor Ayat (40,41), it is a kind of denunciation where Allah says to His Prophet that He did not ask them a wage for conveying the message of Allah, and they did not pay Him anything to be burdened from the debt, so why are they running away from the way of the truth?. Or do they have the unseen which informing them that they will be in a better position than the believers as mentioned above.

 And Allah says to His Prophet "So be patient for the judgement of Your Lord, and do not be like the companion of the fish when He called while He was distressed, if not that a favor from His Lord reaches Him, He would surely have been thrown onto the naked shore, while He was blameworthy, But His Lord choose Him, and made Him of the righteous", where Allah commanded our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to be patient for their harm and their denial, and for the judgement of Allah on him and on these polytheists, and He commanded Him not to be like the Prophet Yunus "the companion of the fish", who hastened and left the call of His people to belief, and He went in anger and rode the sea, and then the whale ate Him, then as mentioned in Surat Alanbiyaa Aya (87) "And He called out within the darknesses, there is no deity except You, exalted are You, indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers", and for this, the mercy of Allah reached Him where Allah says in Surat Alsaffat Ayat (143,144) "And had he not been of those who exalt Allah, He would have remained inside its belly until the day they are resurrected", so that a favor from Allah reached Him by taking Him out of the whale's belly, and He choose Him, and made Him of the righteous, and sent Him to His people of a hundred thousand or more.

 And Allah says in the last two verses to His Prophet (51,52) "And indeed, those who disbelieve look at You with contempt until they almost killed You with their eyes when they heard the reminder, and they say, indeed, He is mad, and it is nothing but a reminder for the worlds", that is, because of their severe enmity towards You, they look at you disdainfully until they almost killed you with their eyes, and when they heard the Holy Quran, they said that you are mad while the Holy Quran is nothing but a reminder for the worlds. 

No one Knows its interpretation except Allah