| | Linda “iLHam” Barto rendition of Surah The Pen(al-Qalam)
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| 68:1 | | Noon. Consider the pen and whatever is written. |
| 68:2 | | You [Prophet Muhammed] are not, by the grace of your Lord, crazy. |
| 68:3 | | Truly for you is an unfailing reward. |
| 68:4 | | Truly, you are of a high, moral character. |
| 68:5 | | You will see, and they will see… |
| 68:6 | | …which of you is afflicted. |
| 68:7 | | Truly, your Lord knows best who has strayed from His path. He knows best those who receive guidance. |
| 68:8 | | Don’t pay attention to those who deny. |
| 68:9 | | Their want is that you would be easily swayed, so they could compromise. |
| 68:10 | | Do not pay attention to the awful person who has a habit of [false] promises. |
| 68:11 | | [He/she is] a liar, spreading gossip. |
| 68:12 | | [He/she is always] hindering good, pushing the limits, sinful. |
| 68:13 | | [He/she is] cruel and, in addition, callous. |
| 68:14 | | [This is] because he/she has money and children. |
| 68:15 | | When he/she hears Our signs, he/she shouts, “Tales of old!” |
| 68:16 | | We will soon brand on the snout! |
| 68:17 | | Truly, We have tested them as We tested the people of the garden when they planned to gather the morning harvest. |
| 68:18 | | They did not make an allowance [by saying, “God willing”]. |
| 68:19 | | On (the garden) came a visit from your Lord while they were asleep. |
| 68:20 | | It became barren. |
| 68:21 | | When morning came, they called to one another. |
| 68:22 | | “Go early to your garden if you would gather its fruits.” |
| 68:23 | | They left, talking in whispers. |
| 68:24 | | “No poor person should interrupt you in (the garden) this day.” |
| 68:25 | | They began the morning with certain determination. |
| 68:26 | | But when they saw (the garden), they said, “We are surely lost! |
| 68:27 | | “No, we are deprived.” |
| 68:28 | | One of the most righteous among them said, “Did I not say to you, ‘Why do you not give glory [to Allah]?’” |
| 68:29 | | They said, “Glory to our Lord! Truly, we have done wrong.” |
| 68:30 | | Then they turned to each other in rebuke. |
| 68:31 | | They said, “O woe to us! We have indeed sinned. |
| 68:32 | | It may be that our Lord will give us something better instead. Truly, we repent to Him.” |
| 68:33 | | Such is the punishment, but even greater is the punishment of the hereafter. If they only knew! |
| 68:34 | | Truly, for the righteous, are gardens of delight with their Lord. |
| 68:35 | | Should We then treat the people of faith the same as the people of sin? |
| 68:36 | | What is wrong with you? Why would you think that? |
| 68:37 | | Or do you have a book from which you learn… |
| 68:38 | | …so you may get from it what you want? |
| 68:39 | | Or do you have promises from Us that are good to the Day of Resurrection? [Do they] indeed provide whatever you demand? |
| 68:40 | | Ask them which of them will vouch for that. |
| 68:41 | | Or do they have [divine] partners? Let them produce their partners if that’s the case. |
| 68:42 | | On the day that the shin will be exposed, they [the unforgiven sinners] will be summoned to prostrate [before the Lord], but they will not be able to do so. |
| 68:43 | | Their eyes will be downcast. Humiliation will overwhelm them [as they recall] that they were indeed summoned to prostrate when they were healthy. |
| 68:44 | | Leave Me [the Lord] with those who reject this message. We will punish them by degrees from directions they cannot even imagine. |
| 68:45 | | I grant them respite, and My plan is truly powerful. |
| 68:46 | | [What is their excuse?:] Did you [Prophet] ask them for some kind of reward so that they are burdened with a load of debt? |
| 68:47 | | Or is the unseen [Word] in their own hands, so that they can write it themselves? |
| 68:48 | | Patiently wait for the judgment of your Lord, and do not be like [Jonah] the companion of the fish when he called in distress. |
| 68:49 | | If it had not been for the arrival of the grace of his Lord, he would certainly have been cast onto the barren shore, disgraced. |
| 68:50 | | His Lord chose him and made him among the righteous. |
| 68:51 | | The unbelievers would like to knock you down with their stares when they hear the message. They say, “He must be crazy!” |
| 68:52 | | This message, however, is nothing less than a message for all the worlds. |
