What is Islam

AL QALAM (The Pen) or NUN.

1 Nun. By the Pen and by the (Record) which (men) write,
2 Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed.
3 Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing:
4 And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character.
5 Soon wilt thou see, and they will see,
6 Which of you is afflicted with madness.
7 Verily it is thy Lord that knoweth best, which (among men) hath strayed from His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (true) Guidance.
8 So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth).
9 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant.
10 Heed not the type of despicable man, ready with oaths,
11 A slanderer, going about with calumnies,
12 (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin,
13 Violent (and cruel), with all that, base born,
14 Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons.
15 When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, Tales of the Ancients, He cries!
16 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout!
17 Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning,
18 But made no reservation, (If it be Allah's Will).
19 Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep.
20 So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered).
21 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,
22 Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits.
23 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)
24 Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day.
25 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve.
26 But when they saw the (garden), they said: We have surely lost our way:
27 Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!
28 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): Did I not say to you, why not glorify (Allah)?
29 They said: Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!
30 Then they turned, one against another, in reproach.
31 They said: Alas for us! We have indeed transgressed!
32 It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this: for we do turn to Him (in repentance)!
33 Such is the Punishment (in this life): but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter, if only they knew!
34 Verily, for the Righteous, are Gardens of Delight, in the Presence of their Lord.
35 Shall We then treat the People of Faith like the People of Sin?
36 What is the matter with you? How judge ye?
37 Or have ye a Book through which ye learn
38 That ye shall have, through it whatever ye choose?
39 Or have ye Covenants with Us on oath, reaching to the Day of Judgment, (providing) that ye shall have whatever ye shall demand?
40 Ask thou of them, which of them will stand surety for that!
41 Or have they some Partners (in Godhead)? Then let them produce their partners, if they are truthful!
42 The Day that the Shin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned to bow in adoration, but they shall not be able,
43 Their eyes will be cast down, ignominy will cover them; seeing that they had been summoned aforetime to bow in adoration, while they were whole, (and had refused).
44 Then leave Me alone with such as reject this Message: by degrees shall We punish them from directions they perceive not.
45 A (long) respite will I grant them: truly Powerful is My Plan.
46 Or is it that thou dost ask them for a reward, so that they are burdened with a load of debt?
47 Or that the Unseen is in their hands, so that they can write it down?
48 So wait with patience for the Command of thy Lord, and be not like the Companion of the Fish, when he cried out in agony.
49 Had not Grace from His Lord reached him, he would indeed have been cast off on the naked shore, in disgrace.
50 Thus did his Lord choose him and make him of the company of the Righteous.
51 And the Unbelievers would almost trip thee up with their eyes when they hear the Message; and they say: Surely he is possessed!
52 But it is nothing less than a Message to all the worlds.

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Explination of the Surah

Name This Surah is called Nun as well as Qalam, the words with which it begins. Period of Revelation This too is one of the earliest surahs to be revealed at Makkah, but its subject matter shows that it was sent down at the time when opposition to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) had grown very harsh and tyrannical. Theme and Subject Matter It consists of three themes: Replies to the opponents objections, administration of warning and admonition to them, and exhortation to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) to patience and constancy. At the outset, the Holy Prophet has been addressed, to the effect: "The disbelievers call you a madman whereas the Book that you are presenting and the sublime conduct that you practice, are by themselves sufficient to refute their false accusations. Soon they will see as to who was mad and who was sane; therefore, do not at all yield to the din of opposition being kicked up against you, for all this is actually meant to cow you and make you resort to a compromise with them. " Then, in order to enlighten the common people the character of a prominent man from among the opponents, whom the people of Makkah fully well recognized, has been presented, without naming him: At that time, the Holy Prophet's pure and sublime conduct was before them, and every discerning eye could also see what sort of character and morals were possessed by the chiefs of Makkah, who were leading the opposition against him. Then, in vv. 17-33, the parable of the owners of a garden has been presented, who after having been blessed by Allah turned ungrateful to Him, and did not heed the admonition of the best man among them when it was given them. Consequently, they were deprived of the blessing and they realized this, when all they had lay devastated. With this parable the people of Makkah have been warned to the effect: "With the appointment of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) to Prophethood, you, O people of Makkah, too, have been put to a test similar to the one to which the owners of the garden had been put. If you do not listen to him, you too will be afflicted with a punishment in the world, and the punishment of the Hereafter is far greater. " Then, in vv. 34-47 continuously, the disbelievers have been admonished, in which the address sometimes turns to them directly and sometimes they are warned through the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace). A summary of what has been said in this regard, is this: Well being in the Hereafter inevitably belongs to those who spend their lives in the world in full consciousness of God. It is utterly against reason that the obedient servants should meet in the Hereafter the same fate as the guilty. There is absolutely no basis of the disbelievers misunderstanding that God will treat them in the manner they choose for themselves, whereas they have no guarantee for this. Those who are being called upon to bow before God in the world and they refuse to do so, would be unable to prostrate themselves on the Day of Resurrection even if they wanted to do so, and thus would stand disgraced and condemned. Having denied the Qur'an they cannot escape Divine punishment. The rein they are being given, has deluded them. They think that since they are not being punished in spite of their denial, they must be on the right path, whereas they are following the path of ruin. They have no reasonable ground for opposing the Messenger, for he is a preacher without any vested interest: he is not asking any reward of them for himself, and they cannot either make the claim that they know with certainty that he is not a true Messenger, nor that what he says is false. In conclusion, the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) has been exhorted to the effect: "Bear with patience the hardships that you may have to face in the way of preaching the Faith till Allah's judgment arrives, and avoid the impatience which caused suffering and affliction to the Prophet Jonah (peace be on him). "