Prophet (Muhammad) blessed with endless bounties, The proud ones shall be humiliated, Parable of the owners of gardens, The chastisement of the hereafter greater than the chastisement in this world.

Al-Qalam Verses 1 – 33

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

“In the name of God the Beneficent the Merciful”

ن وَالْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ

“‘Nun’ and (N) by the Pen and by what they write” (68:1).

مَا أَنْتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ بِمَجْنُونٍ

“Thou (O’ Our Prophet!) by the grace of thy Lord, art not mad” (68:2).

وَإِنَّ لَكَ لَأَجْرًا غَيْرَ مَمْنُونٍ

“And verily there is for thee a recompense unending (unobliging)” (68:3)

وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ

“And most certainly thou standest on sublime morality1” (68:4).

فَسَتُبْصِرُ وَيُبْصِرُونَ

“So thou wilt see and they (too) wilt see” (68:5).

بِأَيْيِكُمُ الْمَفْتُونُ

“Which of you is demented2“ (68:6).

إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ ضَلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ

“Verily thy Lord! He knoweth best of him who is astray from His way, and He knoweth best of those guided aright” (68:7).

فَلَا تُطِعِ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ

“So yield3thou not to the beliers!” (68:8).

وَدُّوا لَوْ تُدْهِنُ فَيُدْهِنُونَ

“Wish they that thou shouldst be pliant so they (too) would be pliant4“ (68:9).

وَلَا تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلَّافٍ مَهِينٍ

“And yield thou not unto any despicable swearer5“ (68:10).

هَمَّازٍ مَشَّاءٍ بِنَمِيمٍ

“Defamer, going about with slander” (68:11).

مَنَّاعٍ لِلْخَيْرِ مُعْتَدٍ أَثِيمٍ

“Vehement hinderer of good, uncontrolled transgressor, sunk deep in sin” (68:12).

عُتُلٍّ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ زَنِيمٍ

“Cruelly violent, besides all that, baseborn6“ (68:13).

أَنْ كَانَ ذَا مَالٍ وَبَنِينَ

“Just because possesses he wealth and sons” (68:14).

إِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِ آيَاتُنَا قَالَ أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ

“When unto him are recited Our signs, sayeth he: (they are the) “Stories of yore” (legends of the ancients)7“ (68:15).

سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ

“We will brand him8on the snout!” (68:16).

إِنَّا بَلَوْنَاهُمْ كَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ إِذْ أَقْسَمُوا لَيَصْرِمُنَّهَا مُصْبِحِينَ

“Verily We will try them as We did try the owners of the garden, when they vowed that they would certainly pluck the fruits at morn” (68:17).

وَلَا يَسْتَثْنُونَ

“And made no (room for) exception (for the will of God) (saying ‘If God willeth it’)9“ (68:18).

فَطَافَ عَلَيْهَا طَائِفٌ مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَهُمْ نَائِمُونَ

“So encircled it a visitation from thy Lord, (rendering the garden desolate) while they were asleep” (68:19).

فَأَصْبَحَتْ كَالصَّرِيمِ

“And it became like black barren soil10“ (68:20).

فَتَنَادَوْا مُصْبِحِينَ

“And they cried out one unto each other at morn” (68:21).

أَنِ اغْدُوا عَلَىٰ حَرْثِكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَارِمِينَ

“Be ye early at your tilth if ye would pluck (the fruits)11“ (68:22).

فَانْطَلَقُوا وَهُمْ يَتَخَافَتُونَ

“And went they whispering unto each other” (68:23).

أَنْ لَا يَدْخُلَنَّهَا الْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِسْكِينٌ

“Saying: “No poor man shall enter it today upon you”” (68:24).

وَغَدَوْا عَلَىٰ حَرْدٍ قَادِرِينَ

“And at morn went they, strong in their resolve (to prevent the poor)” (68:25).

فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهَا قَالُوا إِنَّا لَضَالُّونَ

“But when they beheld it, said they: “Verily we have strayed!”” (68:26).

بَلْ نَحْنُ مَحْرُومُونَ

“Nay! we are (the) deprived ones (of the fruits of our labour).’’ (68:27).

قَالَ أَوْسَطُهُمْ أَلَمْ أَقُلْ لَكُمْ لَوْلَا تُسَبِّحُونَ

“Said the most balanced one of them: “Said I not unto you, ‘Why should ye not glorify (God)’?” (68:28).

قَالُوا سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَالِمِينَ

“Said they: “Hallowed be Our Lord! Verily we have been unjust!”” (68:29).

فَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ يَتَلَاوَمُونَ

“Then some of them proceeded against the others, reproaching each other” (68:30).

قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا طَاغِينَ

“Said they: “O’ woe unto us! Verily we have been arrogant!12”” (68:31).

عَسَىٰ رَبُّنَا أَنْ يُبْدِلَنَا خَيْرًا مِنْهَا إِنَّا إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا رَاغِبُونَ

“Happly, our Lord will give us in exchange a better one than it; Verily unto our Lord do we turn (in repentance)” (68:32).

كَذَٰلِكَ الْعَذَابُ وَلَعَذَابُ الْآخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ

“Such hath been Our chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater still; Did they but know (it)!13” (68:33).

Commentary

Verse 1

The letter with which this Sura begins is supposed to mean the Inkpot from which the pen gets the matter (the ink) with which is the writing is affected to spread knowledge and learning into this world. The pen represents the written form of the Will of the Lord about the creation and the events to be affected in the countless generations from the beginning of the world to its end. The inkpot and the pen mentioned here have a mystic expression of the source of the knowledge through the ret elation front God. When a thing gets common or abundant in quantity, however much it may be invaluable in its worth, man does not note its original value. Take for instance air and water which are essential for man’s life and man does not value it accordingly. Similarly, the wonderful use and the degree of the importance of the art of writing which is the source of knowledge and the conduct of the life-business of mankind, being very common, is not kept always in view. Let one imagine what would have been the state of the affairs of the human life on earth today if the device of writing had been unknown to man. It could be this aspect of the importance of the pen that is referred to here in this Verse. There are the other versions of the conjectural interpretation of the letter ‘Noon’ which are not much suggested by the commentators. ‘And that they write’, i.e., what the angels record in writing the revelation of the will of the Lord.

‘Noon’ According to some tradition from Ahl Al-Bayt and Ibn Abbas, is ink or inkpot and it corroborates with the mention of the ‘Pen’, here. However, though neither ‘Noon’ nor the Pen mentioned here, refers to the ink and the pen used by us. It refers to the heavenly or the spiritual ink and pen with which the events of the physical worlds are recorded by the angelical agencies, yet it shows the importance of pen and literacy in Islam (A.P.)

Verse 2

The reference is to what the heathens of Mecca in the beginning of his ministry called the Holy Prophet as ‘Majnun’ (i.e., mad). The people said: what the Holy Prophet preached was the raving of a mad man - whereas it was the Word of God which was recorded in writing by the angels.

Being always under God’s special guidance as Ali says that ‘Ever since his (the Holy Prophet) birth was tinder the care of the greatest of angels, guiding him to all aspects of life. (A.P.)

Verse 3

The return or the recompense for the Holy Prophet being a continuous and an unending flow of the Grace and the Mercy of the Lord. The reward which unlike any earthly bounty, would never cease or never fail him.

Verse 4

The character which the Holy Prophet was endowed with was so matchless that none could reach its limits. The Holy Prophet’s is a historic personality. Every detail of his character, even the minutest aspect of it, has been noted and recorded both by his friends and his foes. It was the sword of the ideal heavenly character and godly conduct that subdued the man like Omar to join the ranks of the Muslims. To cite even a very few instances of his marvellous behaviour would need separate volume. It is said that one can visualise his personality in the mirror of the tenets of the Holy Qur’an. But I would say that one can visualise Qur’an in the personality of the Qur’an. It is not merely falsehood but more than that it is a gross betrayal of moral bankruptcy what the missionaries of the Christian creed say that Islam was spread or propagated by Sword. It was not the sword of steel which rusts and breaks or is lost or snatched away by the antagonist, but it was the unfailing, unconquerable and the eternal weapon of the inimitable excellence of the godly character of the Holy Prophet.

A Jewess in Madina used to daily keep some rubbish collected and throw it regularly on the head of the Holy Prophet as he passed her house. The Holy Prophet used to brush his head of the rubbish with his hands and raising his hands to heaven would say ‘Lord! The poor woman is ignorant of my position as Thine, Apostle, Let not Thy Wrath fall on her’ - One day he passed the house of the Jewess and contrary to the usual occurrence, no rubbish fell. When for three days continuously he passed without the usual event, he stopped at the door of the Jewess and knocked it. A voice from within, enquired about the identity of the one who knocked the door.

The Holy Prophet replied that he was Muhammad the Apostle of God. The door was opened, and he found the lady of the house lying sick in her bed - and he asked about her health. The first question from the lady was “How didst thou know O’ Muhammad! that I was ill?” The Holy Prophet said: “Thou didst usually act in a particular way, regularly every day and it did not happen for the last three days. I thought that something must have happened to thee to prevent thee from thy regular behaviour” Tears rushed into the eyes of the lady, and she asked: “Is the door of repentance open to me?” The Holy Prophet said: “O’ servant of God! The door of the Lord’s mercy is always open to pardon any sincerely repentant sinner” The lady declared the faith in God and His Holy Prophet and sought the forgiveness of her sins and passed away.

Once the Holy Prophet was in the apartment of Hafsa when Ayesha sent a bowl of boiled oats. Hafsa lost her temper and snatching away the bowl from the hands of the servant who had brought it and threw it on the ground saying “What! could I not have prepared this for the Holy Prophet - Why should Ayesha try to prove superior to me in her position in which I am an equal to her” The Holy Prophet collected a few grains of the boiled oats spread on the ground and ate them and told the maid servant to tell Ayesha that he ate of what she sent for him and not to relate about the conduct of Hafsa for he hated quarrel and dis-harmony, between souls. This Verse was revealed. (MS.)

The sublime moral excellence of the Holy Prophet manifested in every aspect of his life private as well as public which gave the most emphatic lie to the allegation of his being mad or possessed but the prejudice of infidelity does not help anyone to see the truth or to acknowledge it. The heavenly plan in delaying the proclamation or the public announcement of his ministry until forty years of his age was also with a purpose to first impress or stamp upon the hearts of the people, his divine truthfulness, the marvels of his sublime character and the ideal reliability of his conduct until they themselves acknowledge it by their voluntary award of the Title of ‘Al-Ameen’, The Trustworthy, which was never before conferred upon any one by any authority in the history of the world.

Note that those who conferred the title were people themselves divided and warring against each other. They were the people haughty and proud, who could not be expected to appreciate or recognise the superiority of anyone in any admirable quality, particularly in the one who did not occupy any position in the public life to draw and arrest their attention and win their appreciation for he was neither a ruler, nor a chief of any tribe nor a poet among their famous poets to confer upon him the unparalleled honour, and the exclusive and the unique distinction to flatter him to earn his favour or gratitude.

The title ‘Al-Ameen’ bears a comprehensive range of meaning to infer the one who could be trusted in anything and everything and the prefix ‘Al’ in the Arabic language stands to denote the exclusive distinction to mean the only one having the quality and none else. The heavens’ plan was to first bind the people with their own verdict about the distinguished truthfulness, and the ideal conduct and the unique character and the most sublime morality of the Holy Prophet, so that when he preaches the truth against their idolatrous belief and the heathen practices, the people might not have any excuse thereafter to doubt the bonafide of his factual position.

No religious scriptures of the world has enjoined the people saying that its teacher is the model for them in every aspect of their life. People might have been exhorted to believe in the message which the teacher conveyed to them but nowhere in any of the scriptures of the religions of the world a teacher has been exemplified as done in the case of the Holy Prophet14. Since he was the last of God’s apostles and no other apostle had to come after him, perfection in every aspect of the human life was illustrated in the personality of the Holy Prophet to the maximum extent desirable to be on earth.

A study of the lives of the other apostles of God would disclose that each one of them presented some moral ideals in one or a few of the aspects of the human life in this world whereas no phase of the human life has been spared from being fully illustrated as a perfect model in the personality of the Holy Prophet and thus the attention of mankind is drawn towards it15. The life of the Holy Prophet and his Ahl Al-Bayt is nothing but Qur’an in action. It is referring to this fact also that the Holy Prophet said that the Qur’an and his Ahl Al-Bayt will never be separated from each other.

The morality for which Qur’an declared the Holy Prophet as the most perfect example for mankind16 to be followed by the devotees of God and Qur’an said he is the witness over and above all the witnesses of the truth17 and the illuminating torch18. (A.P.)

Verse 5

When the Qoreish (the Meccans) found the Holy Prophet always speaking high of Ali, assigning to him a unique position next only to himself, they taunted saying that the Holy Prophet has gone mad in his love for Ali - ‘Muhammad Ibn Sama’ reports of Ka’b Ibn Alzah and Abdullah Ibn Masood that once when they were in the presence of the Holy Prophet a man asked him about the personal excellence of Ali to which the Holy Prophet replied: -

1. Ali Ibn Abi Taleb is Foremost in Islam among you and none else before him, mas blessed with this degree in faith.

2. The degree of faith of Ali, is greater than that of all of you.

3. His patience is always triumphant against you all.

4. His anger in the matters of faith is more justified than that of you.

5. His knowledge is of my knowledge - I have vested in him, all the secrets of the faith.

6. I have entrusted to him all the matters of the faith.

7. He is my Kalif in the earth and the Amir or the Ruler or the Commander of my followers.

The report says that when the Holy Prophet reached this point of his statement about Ali, some of the hypocrites murmured saying: “The love for Ali has maddened him (the Holy Prophet). He has not spared anything from giving away to Ali” These two and the next Verse was revealed (MS.)

Verse 6

The appeal is to reasoning in view of the factual position of the enemies of the Holy Prophet who were ultimately befooled by their disbelief what was the ultimate position of Walid-Ibn Mughaira, Abu Jehl and Abu Lahab.

Verse 7

This Verse warns man against the false standards and the wrong and the mistaken standpoints of judgment about men and matters. The correct viewpoint is always that of God Whose knowledge of every being in the Universe is complete and all-comprehending. To Him alone are known the hidden motives and the open conduct of men. It is He and He alone Who knows the past in which are embedded the roots of the present and also the future of everyone, which is always generated from the present. Hence the value which man assesses to anyone is not always the true or the correct one. The praise of the Ahl Al-Bayt is by God19 and the praise of the others is by men. To follow either the praised ones of God or those praised by men, is left to each individual, see 76:3 and 2:256.

Verse 8

Though the address is to the Holy Prophet - which means a consolation to him against the offending remarks of the hypocrites, but it means a command to the Ummat (the Muslims) not to be deluded by the false estimation about anyone if they have to earn the approval and the pleasure of God.

Verses 9-12

The hateful qualities mentioned in this Verse refer to the personal qualities of the enemies of the Holy Prophet, particularly the hypocrites who doubted about the bonafide of the statement of the Holy Prophet about the unique excellence of the holy personality of Ali.

As the guided ones shall never be compromising with their opponents (the unguided ones). (A.P.)

There, such people depicted in the Verses above, cannot be guided. Therefore they should not be followed. (A.P.)

Verse 13

‘Zaneen’ a product of adultery. Walid who was a Qoreishite chief, did not know that he owned the quality. When this Verse was revealed, Walid said to himself. “I am the Qoreishite Chief and Mughaira is known to be my father, I am also sure that Muhammad never utters a falsehood” He got wild, drew his sword and with a drawn sword went to his mother and asked her to tell him the truth about his parentage. She had to helplessly disclose saying “Look! Thy father Mughaira was unfit for any woman. Since I had no issues from him, his brother’s sons coveted to inherit the enormous wealth of thy father Mughaira. I did not like them to get all that thy father Mughaira owned hence I induced a slave to behave with me as men do with their wives and thou art the issue, I got, through this device” (MS.). According to a tradition of the Holy Prophet that an illegitimate issue shall not enter the heaven, the Holy Prophet said: “Neither ‘Jawwat’ nor ‘Ja’thari’ nor ‘Utle-Zaneen’ would enter heaven. The definitions were asked to be fully explained the Holy Prophet said:

1. 'Jawwat’, i.e., He who accumulates wealth and does not allow the others to he benefited by it or hare a share into it.

2. ‘Ja’thuri’ i.e., the Bad-tempered, hard-hearted, stiff-necked.

3. ‘Utle-Zaneen’, i.e. One who is the product of adultery - glutton - the one who teases others and hurts the feelings of other men.

‘Zaneen’ - he whose father not known whose mother is unchaste, base-born. (A.P.)

Verse 14

Abundance of wealth and male issues was a matter of pride. It is not uncommon among the people even today. People who are puffed up with wealth and the largeness of the number of their family members, are in the view of the Lord branded as rebellious. A believer is not to heed to such worldly possessions and positions.

Verse 15

Nose being the most prominent or the raised part of the face, is always used to indicate the proud part of it and it is a popular proverb to rub the nose of one on the ground or to cut or disfigure it, is to degrade or humiliate the individual. Walid Ibn Mughaira was branded with a wound in the Battle of Badr, the mark of which remained to his shame and disgrace until his death. (Bd., Rz., MS)

(Kartoom) literally means the proboscis, the most sensitive part of elephant’s body by which he could very easily be controlled, the rebellious one against God is compared to have been degenerated to a beast.

Verses 16-28

The story of the sons of the charitable man related in these Verses serves a double purpose. It gives the state of the conduct of the enemies of the Holy Prophet and the hypocrites, and it also illustrates how the unlimited mercy of the Lord allows wickedness to flourish for some time, allowing the respite for the individuals to turn to the right course. This also refers to the long patience which the infinite mercy of the Lord allowing the individual to behave as they please and then effecting the punishment in gradual stages, allowing chance after chance for the sinner at every stage to repent and rectify, his conduct. The story illustrates how greed and selfishness and the love of wealth, take a man away from the right course even though it was already made known to them by their predecessors, and how man when caught in his own folly tends to throw the blame on the others.

The story runs as follows: -

At about twelve miles from Yaman was the township of Saria in which lived a good-hearted owner of a garden. Of the produce of his garden, the man used to provide the poor, the needy, the wayfarer and everyone who needed the fruits. The garden also yielded abundantly. At his death, his three sons inherited the garden. Two of the sons decided not to give anything of the yield to anyone but to enrich themselves which the third one dissented and desired to follow the tradition of the father. When the other two did not agree to his suggestion he too hail to helplessly yield to their decision. When they decided to collect the fruits the next day, they also neglected saying “If God wills,” i.e., they did not rest their plan on the will of God. And they talked slowly because they did not like the poor and the needy to know of the harvest lest they might be surrounded by them. Their evil intention and their neglecting to depend upon the will of the Lord, had roused His wrath and the next day they came to their garden only to see it totally destroyed and reduced to dust. The third good- hearted son, reminded his brothers of his decision to follow the footsteps of their father.

Verses 27-32

Ibn Abbas says that the sons thereafter repented, and God of His infinite mercy accepted their repentance and granted them a better garden of a greater, i.e., of a more profuse yield. This indicates also that sincere repentance on the part of sinners, earns the pardon from the Lord and the Lord rewards the sincerely repentant ones with greater blessings and bestows more bounties.

Verse 33

The punishment in this life might be gradual with the respite for repentance and amendment but in the hereafter, the time for the repentance would have passed and thus the punishment, meted out would naturally be in full.

• 1. Character. See Verses 2:143, 33:45, 33:21.
• 2. Fascinated – crazy.
• 3. The Prophet addressed for the people.
• 4. Compromising.
• 5. Refer to Verse 2:224.
• 6. Ar. ‘Zaneem’, He whose father is not known, and whose mother is unchaste. He is a base born.
• 7. Refer to Verses 6:25, 83:13.
• 8. Walid Ibn Moghaira.
• 9. In complete conformity with Verses 18:23; 18:24.
• 10. Or reaped land.
• 11. Refer to Verse 3:117.
• 12. Inordinate – Transgressing. Refer to Verses. 34:18, 34:19.
• 13. Refer to Verse 39:26.
• 14. See 33:21.
• 15. See 33:21.
• 16. See 33:21.
• 17. See 2:143, 2:41, 33:45.
• 18. See 3:31.
• 19. See 33:33.