ENTITLED, THE PEN; REVEALED AT MECCA.
IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.
N.a BY the pen, and what they write,b
thou, O Mohammed, through the grace of thy LORD, art not distracted.
Verily there is prepared for thee an everlasting reward:
for thou art of a noble disposition.c
Thou shalt see, and the infidels shall see,
which of you are bereaved of your senses.
Verily thy LORD well knoweth him who wandereth from his path; and he well
knoweth those who are rightly directed:
wherefore obey not those who charge thee with imposture.
They desire that thou shouldest be easy with them, and they will be easy
with thee.d
z This comparison is applied by the expositors to the infidel and the
true believer.
a This letter is sometimes made the title of the chapter, but its
meaning is confessedly uncertain. They who suppose it stands for the word Nûn
are not agreed as to its signification in this place; for it is not only the
name of the letter N in Arabic, but signifies also an inkhorn and a fish; some
are of opinion the former signification is the most proper here, as consonant
to what is immediately mentioned of the pen and writing, and, considering that
the blood of certain fish is good ink, not inconsistent with the latter
signification; which is, however, preferred by others, saying that either the
whole species of fish in general is thereby intended, or the fish which
swallowed Jonas (who is mentioned in this chapter), or else that vast one
called Behemoth, fancied to support the earth, in particular. Those who
acquiesce in none of the foregoing explications have invented others of their
own, and imagine this character stands for the table of GOD'S decrees, or one
of the rivers in paradise, &c.1
b Some understand these words generally, and others of the pen with
which GOD'S decrees are written on the preserved table, and of the angels who
register the same.
c In that thou hast borne with so much patience and resignation the
wrongs and insults of thy people, which have been greater than those offered
to any apostle before thee.2
d i.e., If thou wilt let them alone in their idolatry and other wicked
practices, they will cease to revile and persecute thee.
1 Al Zamakh., al Beidâwi, Yahya. 2 Al Beidâwi. 3
Idem, Jallal.
10 But obey not any who is a common swearer, a despicable fellow,
a defamer, going about with slander,
who forbiddeth that which is good, who is also a transgressor, a wicked
person,
cruel, and besides this, of spurious birth:e
although he be possessed of wealth and many children:
when our signs are rehearsed unto him, he saith, They are fables of the
ancients.
We will stigmatize him on the nose.f
Verily we have tried the Meccans,g as we formerly tried the owners of the
garden;h when they swore that they would gather the fruit thereofi in the
morning,
and added not the exception, if it please God:
wherefore a surrounding destruction from thy LORD encompassed it, while
they slept;
20 and in the morning it became like a garden whose fruits had been
gathered.k
And they called the one to the other as they rose in the morning,
saying, Go out early to your plantation, if ye intend to gather the fruit
thereof:
so they went on, whispering to one another,
No poor man shall enter the garden upon you, this day.
And they went forth early, with a determined purpose.
And when they saw the garden blasted and destroyed, they said, We have
certainly mistaken our way:
but when they found it to be their own garden, they cried, Verily we are
not permittedl to reap the fruit thereof.
The worthier of them said, Did I not say unto you, Will ye not give
praise unto GOD?
They answered, Praise be unto our LORD! Verily we have been unjust
doers.
30 And they began to blame one another,m
and they said, Woe be unto us! verily we have been transgressors:
peradventure our LORD will give us in exchange a better garden than this:
and we earnestly beseech our LORD to pardon us.
Thus is the chastisement of this life: but the chastisement of the next
shall be more grievous: if they had known it, they would have taken heed.
Verily for the pious are prepared, with their LORD, gardens of delight.
Shall we deal with the Moslems, as with the wicked?n
e The person at whom this passage was particularly levelled is
generally supposed to have been Mohammed's inveterate enemy, al Walid Ebn al
Mogheira, whom, to complete his character, he calls bastard, because al
Mogheira did not own him for his son till he was eighteen years of age.1
Some, however, think it was al Akhnas Ebn Shoraik, who was really of the tribe
of Thakîf, though reputed to be of that of Zahra.2
f Which being the most conspicuous part of the face, a mark set thereon
is attended with the utmost ignominy. It is said that this prophetical menace
was actually made good, al Walid having his nose slit by a sword at the battle
of Bedr, the mark of which wound he carried with him to his grave.3
g By afflicting them with a grievous famine. See chapter 23, p. 260.
h This garden was a plantation of palm-trees, about two parsangs from
Sanaa, belonging to a certain charitable man, who, when he gathered his dates,
used to give public notice to the poor, and to leave them such of the fruit as
the knife missed, or was blown down by the wind, or fell beside the cloth
spread under the tree to receive it: after his death, his sons, who were then
become masters of the garden, apprehending they should come to want if they
followed their father's example, agreed to gather the fruit early in the
morning, when the poor could have no notice of the matter: but when they came
to execute their purpose, they found, to their great grief and surprise, that
their plantation had been destroyed in the night.4
i Literally, that they would cut it; the manner of gathering dates
being to cut the clusters off with a knife. Marracci supposes they intended
to cut down the trees, and destroy the plantation; which, as he observes,
renders the story ridiculous and absurd.
k Or, as the original may also be rendered, like a dark night; it being
burnt up and black.5
l The same expression is used, chapter 56, p. 398.
m For one advised this expedition, another approved of it, a third gave
consent by his silence, but the fourth was absolutely against it.5
n This passage was revealed in answer to the infidels, who said, If we
shall be raised again, as Mohammed and his followers imagine, they will not
excel us; but we shall certainly be in a better condition than they in the
next world, as we are in this.6
1 Idem, Jallalo'ddin. 2 Idem. 3 Idem, Jallalo'ddin.
4 Idem. 5 Al Beidâwi
6 Idem.
What aileth you that ye judge thus?
Have ye a book from heaven, wherein ye read
that ye are therein promised that which ye shall choose?
Or have ye received oaths which shall be binding upon us to the day of
resurrection, that ye shall enjoy what ye imagine?
40 Ask them, which of them will be the voucher of this.
Or have they companionso who will vouch for them? Let them produce their
companions, therefore, if they speak truth.
On a certain day the leg shall be made bare;p and they shall be called
upon to worship, but they shall not be able.q
Their looks shall be cast down: ignominy shall attend them; for that they
were invited to the worship of God, while they were in safety, but would not
hear.
Let me alone, therefore, with him who accuseth this new revelation of
imposture. We will lead them gradually to destruction, by ways which they
know not:r
and I will bear with them for a long time; for my stratagem is effectual.
Dost thou ask them any reward for thy preaching? But they are laden with
debts.
Are the secrets of futurity with them; and do they transcribe the same
from the table of God's decrees?s
Wherefore patiently wait the judgment of thy LORD: and be not like him
who was swallowed by the fish;t when he cried unto God, being inwardly vexed.
Had not grace from his LORD reached him, he had surely been cast forth on
the naked shore, covered with shame:
50 but his LORD chose him, and made him one of the righteous.
It wanteth little but that the unbelievers strike thee down with their
malicious looks, when they hear the admonition of the Koran; and they say, He
is certainly distracted:
but it is no other than an admonition unto all creatures.
______