AL QALAM

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

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Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,-

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Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed.

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Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing:

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And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character.

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Soon wilt thou see, and they will see,

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Which of you is afflicted with madness.

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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.

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So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth).

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Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant.

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Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths,

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A slanderer, going about with calumnies,

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(Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin,

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Violent (and cruel),- with all that, base-born,-

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Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons.

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When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries!

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Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout!

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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.

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But made no reservation, ("If it be God's Will").

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Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep.

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So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered).

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As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,-

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"Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits."

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So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)-

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"Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day."

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And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve.

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But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way:

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"Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!"

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Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (God)?'"

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They said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!"

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Then they turned, one against another, in reproach.

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They said: "Alas for us! We have indeed transgressed!

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"It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this: for we do turn to Him (in repentance)!"

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Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew!

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Verily, for the Righteous, are Gardens of Delight, in the Presence of their Lord.

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Shall We then treat the People of Faith like the People of Sin?

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What is the matter with you? How judge ye?

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Or have ye a book through which ye learn-

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That ye shall have, through it whatever ye choose?

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Or have ye Covenants with Us to oath, reaching to the Day of Judgment, (providing) that ye shall have whatever ye shall demand?

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Ask thou of them, which of them will stand surety for that!

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Or have they some "Partners" (in Godhead)? Then let them produce their "partners", if they are truthful!

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The Day that the shin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned to bow in adoration, but they shall not be able,-

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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).

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Then leave Me alone with such as reject this Message: by degrees shall We punish them from directions they perceive not.

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A (long) respite will I grant them: truly powerful is My Plan.

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Or is it that thou dost ask them for a reward, so that they are burdened with a load of debt?-

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Or that the Unseen is in their hands, so that they can write it down?

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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.

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Had not Grace from his Lord reached him, he would indeed have been cast off on the naked shore, in disgrace.

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Thus did his Lord choose him and make him of the Company of the Righteous.

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And the Unbelievers would almost trip thee up with their eyes when they hear the Message; and they say: "Surely he is possessed!"

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But it is nothing less than a Message to all the worlds.