S68. SURATUL QALAM

Introduction
NAME: There is a mention of Qalam (pen) in the beginning which gives this name to this Surah.
TIME OF REVELATION : It is Makkan and the subject shows that it must have been sent down when the Quraishi people termed the holy prophet ‘insane’ or ‘mad’ when he claimed that he was a Messenger of God and that he was receiving Divine revelations.
ORDER OF VERSES: Ayah 1 to 16 clarify as to what a grand personality the Holy Prophet possessed.
They also point out the bad and low character of those who lead opposition to the prophet.
Ayah 17 to 33 present, for admonition, the example of the people of a garden. They became unthankful to Allah and as a result were deprived of the bountiful garden.
Ayah 34 to 36 give good tidings of paradise to those who fear Allah. They also explain the absurdity of the thought of the deniers of the Hereafter who believed that Muslims,(obedient) and Mujrims (criminals) were equal.
Ayah 37 to 41 show that the stand taken by the deniers is totally wrong.
Ayah 42 to 43 warn the disbelievers that though, today, they refuse to prostrate before Allah, the Day is bound to come when they will be unable to prostrate when all will be called upon to prostrate and their faces will become dark due to disgrace.While informing the deniers what Allah’s plan is, their senselessness is explained to them in.
Ayah 44 to 47. The Holy Prophet is guided to be patient during the opposition of the disbelievers in ayah 48 to 50.
Ayah 51 and 52 are the conclusive ayah of the surah which clarify that the words of the holy prophet are not absurd; that they are Divine Words which are full of admonition for the whole mankind.

68. SURATUL QALAM Ayat : 52

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

1. Noon.1 By the pen and by that which they write.2

2. You are, by the Grace of your Lord, not mad ! 3

3. And for you is an unending reward.4

4. And surely you possess a character sublime.5

5. So, soon, you will see and they too will see.

6. Which of you is mad 6

7. Your Lord knows best who has a strayed from His path and HE also knows best who gained Guidance.

8. Therefore, listen not the beliers.

9. They wish you to be pliant, so they will also be pliant. 7

10. And hearken not the oath-monger8 and the mean.

1. These are ‘Huroofe Muqat’taat’ (broken letters). Explanation has been given before in Surah Baqarah, Note:1 and Surah Yunus, Note 1.
In this Surah the ayah (verses) are arranged in such a way that the last letter of most of the ayah is ‘Noon’ which stands in the beginning. It points to this very peculiarity of this Surah. It is one of the marvels of the Holy Quran. It also facilitates learning it by heart. The biggest speciality is that the recitation of this letter ‘NOON’ produces a very attractive rhythm which turns the heart toward listening to the Divine Word.

2. No sooner any part of the Holy Quran descended on the Holy Prophet he arranged for its writing down (recording). The writers of the Divine Word used to write it with a pen on sheets of leather etc. Thus the Holy Quran was being recorded in writing by pen, and, by reading its pages (leaves), one used to be assured about its being the Divine Word. Here the oath of the pen and the writing is by way of a testimony of the Quran being the Word of Allah and, as has been explained elsewhere, in Arabic, such oaths and swearing are in the sense of attestation or witness.
This ayah wants to convey that though the Quran has been sent down to an illiterate community, perfect arrangement had been made so that it may be recorded and that it may reach the people in its original form and remain secure and safe and protected forever. Now any body can study its pages. Its subjects themselves testify that it is the Divine Word.

3. These deniers (kafirs) used to say that the prophet is a mad man, only because his claim was that the revelation comes to him from heaven. Almighty Allah refutes this allegation and asserts that by HIS GRACE the Prophet is not mad; that the thing whatever he recites is indeed Divine Revelation which has been sent down by GOD on the prophet; that the proof of its being the Divine Revelation is the Word itself the preserving and recording whereof has been arranged.
For further explanation please see Surah Hijr, Note: 8.

4. This is by way of consolation to the Holy Prophet that he may remain patient about this false allegation of the kafirs; that Allah will give him such a reward which will never end and will last forever.

5. The moral character of the Holy Prophet was very high. It was extremely awkward and nonsense and totally untrue to allege that such a great personality was mad. In refutation of this falsehood here is a description of the holy prophet’s high moral character. Can a mad man ever attain such a high stature of moral character? If not, then the prophet’s sublime character is sufficient to refute this absurdity.
Besides the Holy Quran the sublime character of the holy prophet has also been recorded in the pages of history .It has been so perfectly preserved with details that by reading it even now we can feel that he is in front of us. These pages of history present before us such a personality which possesses a firm resolve, a high character, a pure and pious nature and such an exemplary stature the like of which the human race is unable to produce.

6. That is, before long, the consequences will appear before you and you will see who was in madness. When the deniers and disbelievers will see their end they will realise that they were indulging in madness and hence they did not listen to the words of their true well-wisher and, as a result, met with this ruinous end.

7. These deniers want that you should become somewhat lenient in the matter of Deen (religion) so that they also become lenient and may arrive at some deal of give and take. But there is no question of making such a bargain with other religions because only true religion is that which has been revealed by Almighty God. Any short cut in it would amount to attribution of falsehood to Allah after which the Deen cannot remain pure. The intention of this command was to explain to the disbelievers that the Messenger of Allah is an obedient slave of Allah and therefore they should never expect him to make any compromise in the matter of religion. This is also the responsibility of the followers of the Holy Prophet. They must always remain firm in the matter of Shariat and must never bow to the disbelievers.

8. Only he who loses self-confidence resorts to a lot of oaths. The leaders of the kafirs were trying to assure the people through such false oaths that their polytheistic idol-worship was a true religion and that no revelation ever comes to this man who claims to be a prophet.

11. The taunter 9 the slanderous?10

12. The hinderer of the good, 11 the transgressor, 12 the sinner. 13

13. The rough-tempered 14 and also notorious. 15

14. (His arrogance) is because he has wealth and children. 16

15. When OUR verses are recited to him he says: these are but the fables of the ancients.

16. Soon shall WE brand him on the nose.17

17. WE have put them to trial as WE had tried the owners of the orchard 18 when they vowed that they would surely pluck its fruits early next morning.

18. And made no exception.19

19. They were still asleep when a calamity from your Lord came down upon them. 20

20. And it became like a field harvested. 21

21. At daybreak they cried out one unto another.

22. That hurry to your field 22 at dawn if you want to pluck fruits.

23. So they went off speaking to each other in a low voice.

9. Taunting and fault-finding is a very bad habit. Such a fellow always looks down at others.
Here what is hinted at is that this bad character is finding faults with virtuous persons too.

10. That is, began to spread words from here to there and there to here with an evil intention of making mischief. To narrate one’s word to others just to make them quarrel and thus create ill will in the society is a very bad activity and a mischievous corrupt gesture. This ayah points particularly to the fact that such a character, paints the faithful in a bad colour with an evil intention of inciting people against them.

11. Who withholds the wealth from being spent in good deeds.

12. The oppressor who indulges in excesses.

13. Who does not discriminate between the permissible and the impermissible, commits immorality and wickedness.

14. Hot tempered and quarrelsome.

15. He is notorious due to his immorality and corrupt practices and is being considered a bad character in society.

16. That is, his pride created such bad habits in him and he became so arrogant due to the wealth and children which God gave him. In fact he should have been thankful to Allah.
These ayah do not refer to any particular denier but they describe the condition of the leaders of the disbelievers. On the one hand is such a mean and manner less leadership which incites people against the Islamic call and on the other hand is the noble guidance of the Holy Prophet who is on a very high and lofty station of morality. Now it is up to you to judge who is your true leader and the real guide?

17. It means WE shall brand a symbol (mark) of disgrace on his nose. He wants to keep his nose high with pride. But the nose of such a man is not a human nose but it is the trunk of an animal deserving a taste of disgrace and dishonour.

18. The arrival of the holy prophet has put the disbelievers of Makkah to a test. If they accept his invitation they will be successful in this life as well as the Hereafter. If they deny, they will taste punishment in this world and also an unending torment in the Hereafter. So the example of the owners of an orchard is given by way of admonition. This is not an imaginary fable but is a true event which did take place in the past. The forthcoming citation of the talks of the orchard owners testifies to its truth.

19. That is, taking an oath they said with full determination that they will definitely pluck the fruits of the garden next morning and forgot to say ‘INSHAA ALLAH’ (God willing). They did not remember God and relied totally on themselves instead of on God. This was an obvious illusion caused by the shaitaans.

20. During that very night when they were fast asleep Allah sent down a disaster on their orchard.

21. The whole orchard was totally ruined.

22. There are plots for tilling too in the orchards therefore it has been termed ‘field’.

24. That no poor man should approach you in.23

25. They set out early morning with a firm determination to do likewise 24

26. But when they saw it (the garden) they said: we have lost path.

27. Rather we are deprived. 25

28. The better among them said: Did I not tell you as to why don’t you hallow (glorify) Allah? 26

29. They cried out: Glory to our Lord. Only we were at fault. 27

30. Then they began to blame oneanother. 28

31. They said: Woe unto us! Only we had become rebellious.29

32. We hope our Lord will grant us a better garden in place of this. We turn toward our Lord.30

33. Such is the punishment.31 And the torment of the Hereafter is far greater, if they but knew it!

34. Surely, for the God-fearing, are blissful gardens with their Lord. 32

35. Shall WE make the obedient equal to the offenders?

23. This was an expression of sheer miserliness. They did not want to pay the dues (rights) of the poor even though God Almighty has reserved a right of the poor in agricultural produce, the demand (feeling) of which is inherent in human nature and is well known to him as a virtue. The Shariat emphatically commands to pay. This emphasis was there in earlier Shariats also.

24. That they would pluck up all the fruits and would not allow any needy fellow to come near them.

25. When they saw the orchard it was ruined already. First they thought that perhaps they had arrived at a wrong place. But later on realised that it was their own orchard but it had been so thoroughly ruined that now there was nothing to be plucked there from. Only sorrow was there.

26. One of the orchard-owners was endowed with a good reasoning by Almighty Allah. He was one of those people who always remember God and hallow HIM. He reminded them that had he not asked them as to why they did not recite the Tasbeeh of Allah? His word was very brief but very meaningful. One who hallows Allah necessarily remembers him in his heart. When he recites HIS Glory he also admits of his own position of a lowly slave. He never entertains any false pride or arrogance. Rather he does all of his works with a trust in God and, sensing his responsibilities, respects the rights of others and pays their dues.

27. Then they realised that the ruin of the orchard was not an oppressive act of God Almighty. HE is absolutely faultless and no wrong can ever be attributed to HIM. In fact we were in error as we had forgotten Allah. Hence we got the punishment of our deeds.

28. That is, they began to blame one another among themselves that they gave wrong advice and so they acted wrongly.

29. At last they confessed that they themselves had become rebellious. Therefore they got the punishment. They regretted over it.

30. They made repentance and reverted back to their Lord hopefully.

31. Means Divine wrath descends as a result of rebellion and it descends suddenly. So the calamity came down on the orchard and its owners could do nothing but repent in despair. They did not heed to the advice of the best among them and tasted the bad end.
Disbelievers ought to take a lesson from this. Allah’s Messenger is among them who is their true well wisher. But if they do not listen to his admonition and do not accept Monotheism (Tawheed) they will taste the punishment of their misdeed both in this world and in the Hereafter. The latter will, of course, be severer and unending.

32. Described above was the punishment for disbelievers. This ayah describes the final reward for those who fear Allah. Quran always describes the aspect of reward along with that of the punishment, so that people may fear the Divine wrath and make themselves worthy of Reward.

36. What has happened to you? How do you judge ! 33

37. Have you any Book wherefrom you read.

38. That for you is whatever you will like? 34

39. Or have you a covenant with US, lasting till Resurrection, that for you is what you will judge? 35

40. Ask them: which of them will stand surety to it? 36

41. Or they have some partners (in Godhood)? Then let them bring their partners if they are true. 37

42. The Day when the severe calamity will befall 38 and they will be called upon to prostrate, but they will not be able.

43. Their eyes will be lowered, disgrace will cover them up. They were being called upon to prostrate when they were sound.39 (but then they kept on refusing).

44. So (O Prophet!) leave alone ME and them who deny this revelation. 40 WE will lead them gradually (to their bad end) in such a way that they will not even know. 41

45. I give them allowance (bear with them). MY strategy is firm.

33. The leaders of unbelievers were, on the basis of their worldly wealth, thinking that God was pleased with them and hence they were given these bounties whereas the prophet and his followers were living a life of poverty due to displeasure of God. So if at all there would be a resurrection they will continue to be happy there also and these people who were with the messenger would never earn God’s pleasure. Refuting this faulty assumption of the disbelievers it is said here that Allah does appreciate HIS obedient slaves and that HE will not deal with them just like with the sinners. Do you imagine that, despite your disobedience, you will be rewarded? What a nonsense and unjust talk you are talking!

34. Have you got any Heavenly Book which says that everything depends solely on your wish and not on your deeds and that you will get whatever you desire?

35. The point is that if you are under the illusion that as you belong to the race of Ibrahim, with whom God hold made a covenant, you have become HIS favoured community and that not withstanding whatever you do you will not be brought to book. Then let it be known to you that GOD had not entered into any such agreement with Ibrahim regarding his race. The Imamat (religious leadership) which was to be raised in his race was not unconditional. It was clarified that ‘MY PROMISE WILL, NOT APPLY TO THE TRANSGRESSORS”. (Baqarah: 124) And Allah has never given a permanent guarantee of salvation to any race or community, that they are free to do whatever they wish. On the contrary, through the media or Messengers, every community was instructed that every individual is responsible regarding his or her deed and that they will get reward or punishment according to their acts.

36. Who from among you takes up the responsibility of proving that there hold been such a covenant? Obviously such hollow claims can never be proved.

37. If their self-made partners have given them a decree of salvation then let them produce it so that the truth may be seen. A section of ignorant Muslims is also under such illusion that since they are the devotees of such and such peers (saints) they will not be caught whatever may be their deeds; that those ‘buzurgs’ will save them in this world and deliver them in the Hereafter too.

38. The original word used in the text is “SAQ” which literally means ‘leg shin’. It also means the trunk of a tree and so also the root of anything. Here this word has been used as a common noun and that too in a particular manner. Hence according to linguists it is a usage of Arabic language which indicates vehemence of something. It is mentioned in ‘Lisaan-ul- Arab’:- “In Arabic language ‘Saq’ means a severe thing and its ‘kashf’ (opening) is byway of an example of the severe ness of it. For instance, they say ‘His hand is closed;’ But in that case there is neither a hand nor its closing. It is an example to indicate extreme miserliness. Similarly, here there is neither a leg shin nor its opening or revealing.” (Lisan-ul- Arab, Vol:10, p.168) Most of the Mufassirs too have taken it in the meaning of severity and hence we have translated it as “the day when a severe calamity will befall”. But some commentators have translated it as “On the Day of Qiyamat when Allah will open His leg shin.” In support of this translation they have quoted a hadith of the’ Saheehain’ the words of which are: “When Our Lord will reveal His leg shin.” (Bukhari, Kitabut Tafseer) But, first, these words are not in conformity with the words of the Quran because the Quran has never made any mention of Allah’s leg shin but has used the common noun ‘Saq’. Moreover, though this hadeeth is found in the ‘Saheehain’ one of its narrators is Zaid bin Aslam who is not much reliable. Ibne Uyaynah says: Zaid bin Aslam was a righteous man but his memory was weak. And Aboo Hatim says Zaid’s narration ‘Rivayat’ from Aboo Saeed is ‘mursal’. Ibne Habban has considered him among ‘thiqah’ (reliable) narrators whereas what Ibne Abdul Barr has said in the Muqaddimah indicates that he used to commit ‘tadlees’ (a defect in quotation). (‘Tahzeebut Tahzeeb’, Vol:3,p.397) And Ubaidullah bin Umar says: We do not find any defect in this narration but he was explaining Quran according to his own opinion. (Meezaanul Etedaal, Vol:2, p. 98) It seems this hadeeth has been quoted ‘bill Maanee’ (that is, the original words have not been preserved). Therefore the words of the holy Quran are the real argument and they mean severity of something.

39. A time will come in the field of assembly in the Hereafter when these disbelievers will be commanded to prostrate before Allah but their backs will not bend and despite their intention to prostrate they will not be able to do so. This display of their inability will be arranged so that they may realise and remember that in their worldly life when they were bodily sound and strong and when they were being asked to bow (prostratrate) before Allah they were refusing to do so and were bowing before others besides Allah. The Messenger of God was asking them to prostrate before ONLY ALLAH; [which was one of the forms of HIS worship,] they did not obey him and brought this disgrace to themselves.

40. That is, now you need not worry about these deniers. I will deal with them Myself.

41. I will cause such causes whereby, looking to the apparent conditions, they will consider themselves quite safe but, in reality, those conditions will cause their ruin. The disbelievers feel happy due to their wealth and prosperity. But their prosperity becomes the cause of their destruction. Similarly whatever conspiracies they make in order to oppose the true religion (DEEN) turn upon themselves and they fall in their own traps.
But his Lord chose him up and included him in the righteous. When they (disbelievers) hear the Reminder, they look at you as if they will cause you to stumble with their looks and they say: he is, indeed mad. Whereas this (Quran) is a reminder to the nations.(Al-Quran)

46. Are you demanding any payment from them so that they are burdened with debt? 42

47. Or they have knowledge of the unseen which they write down? 43

48. So (O Prophet!) Be patient till the judgment of your Lord 44 and do not be like the one (who had to remain in the stomach) of the fish 45 when he called out (to his Lord) while he was in agony. 46

49. Had his Lord’s Grace not reached him he would indeed have been thrown out in the open ground in a plight.47

50. But his Lord chose him up and included him in the righteous. 48

51. When they (disbelievers) hear the Reminder, they look at you as if they will cause you to stumble with their looks 49 and they say: he is, indeed mad.

52. Whereas this (Quran) is a reminder to the nations. 50

42. This has been clarified in Surah Shuara, note: 98.

43. This has been explained in Surah Toor note:40.

44. The holy prophet has been advised to be patient and await Allah’s decision, and not to leave his place until Allah’s command arrived.

45. “Sahibil Hoot” (man of the fish) means Prophet Yunus (Peace Be Upon Him) who was swallowed by a big fish. His community had denied him. So in embarrassment he left his community and went out without waiting for Allah’s command. As a consequence of this lapse God put him in the stomach of a fish. This event has been described in Surah Saf-faat, ayah 139 to 148. Pointing to it, here, the holy prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) is being advised not to become restless and not to leave his people until Allah asks him to migrate.

46. That is, when prophet Yunus was in extreme grief in the stomach of the fish he cried out to Allah. He recited the Tasbeeh by which he was delivered by Allah from the stomach of fish. This tasbeeh has been mentioned in Surah Anbiya, ayah 87.

47. When the fish vomited him out he fell on a plain barren ground. Had Allah not showered His Grace on him he would have remained listless in that lonely field. But Allah showered His Mercy on him and caused a shadowy tree to grow over him and protected and helped him in every way. Please also see Surah Safaat, note: 128.

48. HE pardoned his lapse and chose him as HIS Messenger. HE guided him and made him among the righteous. A Prophet’s life is an example for others. Whenever he makes any mistake, Allah instantly cautions him and they make necessary improvement at once. Thus there remains no blame on their high moral character nor are the people misguided at all.

49. This refers to the angry and resentful and malicious looks of the disbelievers. Whenever they saw the holy prophet (peace be upon him) reciting the holy Quran to his audience the disbelievers ‘eyes used to become red hot with “anger. By such looks they were trying to awe the holy prophet so that be may waver. But, by the Grace of Allah such contemptible attempts of the kafirs never succeeded. The meaning of “cause you to stumble with their looks” is the same as mentioned above. It is just like we say: “He was looking at me as if he will eat me.” Obviously here eating’ is not in its usual sense but only indicates the vehemence of anger. Some Mufassirs have taken this ayah as an evidence of the influence of an evil eye’. They have also quoted the hadeeth “Al AIYNU HAQQUN” (influence of an evil eye is a fact). Bukhari and Muslim and Abu Dawood have also narrated it. (Please see Bukhari Kitabut Tibb. Muslim: Kitabus Salam and Abu Dawood: Kitabut Tibb). But what is understood by saying ‘influence of the evil eye’ is that when some one may look at somebody with an evil intention the other fellow may become ill under the influence of that look. But there is nothing of this kind in this ayah. What is said in it is that these disbelievers look at the prophet with so much contempt and anger as if they will move him from his stand. There is a big difference between this assertion which has been made as a figure of speech and the talk of an evil eye’s influence. In short, it is wrong to support the prevalent thought of evil eye’s influence by this ayah. As regards the hadeeth ‘al aiynu haqqun’ its meaning too should be fixed in the light of the clear orders of the Quran and Sunnah. Quran digs out the roots of superstition and guides us to walk in the light of knowledge: “Do not be after that of which you have no knowledge.” (Bani Israil: 36) When someone becomes ill, they think he is under the influence of an evil eye. The\question arising here is how can we know that he fell ill due to the evil eye and not because of something else? Obviously this is mere superstition for which there is no justification. Again how strange is the idea of evil eye! If somebody is struck by someone else’s beauty he or she looks at that beautiful person and he or she becomes ill. The question is whether the ‘evil’ strikes due to a look at the beauty or due to jealousy or contempt? Some people think that if a man is taking food and if someone else looks at him with a greedy eye the cater vomits out his food. But this happens only with the superstitious fellows, never with others. Why so?! Do not thousands of people eat in Market and do not many greedy people pass by them daily? Does it cause vomiting? What is more astonishing is that the influence of an evil eye has become a matter of belief. So a special formula has been invented to ward off that evil influence. They take some quantity of salt, a little turmeric and some mustard seeds in hand, then pass it over the body (from head to feet) of the affected person. Thereafter when that mixture is burnt in fire which emits smell they think that the evil effect has now been warded off. It seems they have acquired this practice from the Hindus as this practice is still prevalent among them. Anyway this idea of the effect of evil eye and its removal is based entirely on ignorance. There is no room for such superstitions in Islam. Hearing someone’s cry or shriek man becomes sorrowful. A frightening sound awes him. Similarly eye-looks can also affect people. For example if a murderer stares scornfully at somebody the other fellow does become fearful. Maybe some mischievous looks are such which may cause the other fellow’s face to become pale with fright. All this is possible due to natural reasons. Hence if there is some such natural reason or cause we can say that it is the cause of the trouble. This is what is meant by the hadeeth “Al Ainu Haqqun”. Mischievous eyes (looks) do have effect. Man sometimes becomes awed. It is also possible that he becomes pale faced with fear. But if there is no such natural cause, it is mere superstition to think that the trouble is due to an evil eye. Further it is a misplaced suspicion to believe that the eye of someone has caused the trouble. According to the hadeeth: “A baseless suspicion is the worst kind of lie”. The meaning of the hadeeth “Al Ainu Haqqun” which we have described is supported also by that hadeeth of Saheeh al Muslim wherein it is mentioned that when the holy prophet had become ill, the angel Jibrail (peace be on him) had recited this prayer: “May Allah cure you from the evil of the look of the jealous”. (Muslim: Kitabus Salam). These words of this prayer are in conformity with the Quranic words of Surah Falaq: “And from the evil of the jealous when he indulges in jealousy: (For the explanation of this verse please see Surah Falaq, note:7). Therefore it will not be correct to take the hadeeth “Al Aiynu Haqqun” in a sense which may be contrary to the apparent cause and which may drive one to superstition. Hadeeth also teaches, for the cure of the affliction from eye, the same prayer which has been taught for all other diseases: “O Lord of Mankind! Remove the ailment trouble. Heal me. YOU alone are the Curer. There is no cure save YOUR cure. Grant me such a cure which may not allow any diseases to persist.” (Bukhari Kitabut Tib) This is the best prayer (Duaa). To leave it aside and to turn toward charms and spells will only corrupt true belief.

50. When they hear Quran from the mouth of the Messenger they term him ‘mad’ whereas this Quran is, from beginning to end, exhortation and admonition for the entire humanity, and it reminds people that lesson which is inherent in their nature. This ayah also makes it clear that Quran is not meant only for the Arabs but that it has been revealed as a reminder for the whole mankind.