Al-Qalam

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Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]!

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Thou art not, by thy Sustainer's grace, a madman!

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And, verily, thine shall be a reward neverending –

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for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life;

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and [one day] thou shalt see, and they [who now deride thee] shall see,

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which of you was bereft of reason.

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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.

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Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth:

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they would like thee to be soft [with them], so that they might be soft [with thee].

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Furthermore, defer not to the contemptible swearer of oaths,

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[or to] the slanderer that goes about with defaming tales,

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[or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor,

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[or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and, in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men].

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Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children

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that, whenever Our messages are conveyed to him, such a one says, "Fables of ancient times"?

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[For this] We shall brand him with indelible disgrace!

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[As for such sinners,] behold, We [but] try them as We tried the owners of a certain garden who vowed that they would surely harvest its fruit on the morrow,

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and made no allowance [for the will of God]:

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whereupon a visitation for thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep,

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so that by the morrow it became barren and bleak.

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Now when they rose at early morn, they called unto one another,

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"Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!"

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Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another,

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"Indeed, no needy person shall enter it today [and come] upon you [unawares],"

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– and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose.

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But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!"

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- [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!"

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Said the most right-minded among them: "Did I not tell you, 'Will you not extol God's limitless glory?’"

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They answered: "Limitless in His glory is our Sustainer! Verily, we were doing wrong!"

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- and then they turned upon one another with mutual reproaches.

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[In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously!

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[But] it may be that our Sustainer will grant us something better instead: for, verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn with hope!"

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SUCH is the suffering [with which We try some people in this world]; but greater by far will be the suffering [which sinners shall have to bear] in the life to come - if they but knew it!

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For, behold, it is the God-conscious [alone] whom gardens of bliss await with their Sustainer:

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or should We, perchance, treat those who surrender themselves unto Us as [We would treat] those who remain lost in sin?

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What is amiss with you? On what do you base your judgment [of right and wrong]?

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Or have you, perchance, a [special] divine writ which you study,

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and in which you find all that you may wish to find?

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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]?

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Ask them which of them is able to vouch for this!

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Or have they, perchance, any sages to support their views? Well, then, if they are sincere in this their claim, let them produce those supporters of theirs

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on the Day when man's very being shall be bared to the bone, and when they [who now deny the truth] shall be called upon to prostrate themselves [before God], and shall be unable to do so:

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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].

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Hence, leave Me alone with such as give the lie to this tiding. We shall bring them low, step by step, without their perceiving how it has come about:

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for, behold, though I may give them rein for a while, My subtle scheme is exceedingly firm!

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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]?

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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?

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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.

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[And remember:] had not grace from his Sustainer reached him, he would indeed have been cast forth upon that barren shore in a state of disgrace:

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but [as it was,] his Sustainer had elected him and placed him among the righteous.

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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 Muhammad,] behold, most surely he is a madman!"

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[Be patient:] for this is nought else but a reminder [from God] to all mankind.