Verses 1–33
Introduction
This chapter comforts the Prophet in the face of the polytheists’ accusation that he is mad. It gladdens him through a beauteous promise and reminds him to be grateful for his noble character. It unilaterally forbids him from obeying them or ceding to their cajoling; instead, it commands him to be steadfast in the face of the divine decree.
The overall context of the verses situates them in Mecca. However, it is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās and Qatādah that the beginning of the chapter—the first sixteen verses, up until We will brand him on the nose ()—was revealed in Mecca, whereas the next seventeen verses—up until did they but know ()—were revealed in Medina. Then, the next fifteen verses—until so that they write (it) down ()—were revealed in Mecca, and the rest of the chapter—the remaining four verses—was revealed in Medina. There is a point here, since seventeen verses—from Surely We will try them () to did they but know ()—better resemble Medinan rather than Meccan verses.
Commentary
ن وَالْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ ١
(68:1) Nūn. I swear by the pen (qalam) and what they write (yasṭurūn)
The verse begins with one of the disjointed letters which preface some chapters and which are discussed in the exegesis of Sūrah al-Shūrā.
‘Pen’ (qalam) takes its conventional meaning (that is, a writing implement). A saṭr—which, according to al-Mufradāt, is also sometimes spelled saṭar—means “line”: a line of writing, a planted row of trees, or a line of standing people. The expression saṭara fulān kadhā means “he wrote line by line.”
God swears by the pen and what they write with it. A prima facie reading of the verses lends itself to an unconditional sense of “pen” and “what they write”; that is, it refers to anything written, since writing is one of the greatest divine blessings, through which, God guides humankind. Throughout writing, people accurately tell of far-away things and thoughts. Through writing, people can traverse the veil of time and space, and be present in far-off times and far-off places.
God reminds the human being to be grateful for these two things, and for being taught about these two things, in: He created man, Taught him the mode of expression (). About the pen—Who taught (to write) with the pen, taught man what he knew not ().
When God swears by the pen and what they write, He swears by a divine blessing. Frequently, elsewhere in His Word, He swears by other of His creations which are a mercy and a blessing, like the sky, the earth, the sun, the moon, the night, the day, and other things, even figs and olives.
Some exegetes say that what in what they write is gerundive (mā maṣdariyyah), rendering the following verb into a gerund; that is, it means “writing.”
Some exegetes say that the pen is the pen on high, which hadith describe as the first thing that God created. What they write then refers to what the noble (angelic) scribes (kirām kātibūn) write.
Further views:
Some exegetes suggest that they write is an honorific plural, but really intended to be singular; this view is as you see.
Some exegetes suggest that what they write is the Guarded Tablet (al-lawḥ al-maḥfūẓ).
Some also suggest that the pen and what they write refers to lettered men and their writings. However, all these views are weak.
مَا أَنتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ بِمَجْنُونٍ ٢
(68:2) By the grace of (bi-niʿmah) your Lord you are not mad.
This is what God is swearing. It is addressed to the Prophet. The preposition bi in bi-niʿmat (“by the grace of”) denotes causality or accompaniment. That is, it either means “you are not mad because of” or “alongside the grace of your Lord.”
The context supports the idea that this ‘grace’ (niʿmah) is prophethood, since a prophet cannot suffer any mental imbalance that would threaten his ability to convey the upright, essential divine guidance which is the basis for the organization of human life. The verse refutes their accusation that he was mad; their accusation is quoted later in the chapter (and they say: Most surely he is mad, ).
An alternate view: Some exegetes say that grace refers to the Prophet’s eloquence, perfect intellect, pleasing conduct, freedom from any kind of defect, and embodiment of all good traits. Since he manifests all good traits (including sanity), he could not be insane. However, the view which we presented previously is stronger. This and the next verses—as you will see—comfort the Prophet and gladden his noble soul, lending support to the view that this verse is meant to refute their accusation.
وَإِنَّ لَكَ لأَجْرًا غَيْرَ مَمْنُونٍ ٣
(68:3) And most surely you shall have a reward (ajr) never to be cut off (mamnūn).
Mamnūn comes from the root m-n-n, meaning “to cut.” The expression mannahu li-sayr mannan means “he weakened him and rendered him unable to walk.” It is from a different word family than minnah, which (comes from a similarly spelled root but which carries connotations of “graciousness” and “gifting” and) means “to remind someone of what you have done for them so they feel heavily indebted.”
‘Reward’ (ajr) is the reward before God for the messengership. This is meant to gladden the Prophet’s noble soul: since God will grant him an unceasing reward for undertaking the messengership, his efforts shall not be in vain.
An alternate view on mamnūn: (Some aver that) that mamnūn (in ghayr mamnūn, “never to be cut off”) could actually mean “reminding someone of what you have done for them so they feel heavily indebted” and troubling their life. They adduce that, since God is giving the Prophet a well-deserved reward for his deeds, God would not burden the Prophet with a sense of obligation for receiving this reward.
However, this is incorrect, for God owns all workers in the truest sense of ownership—in essence, in attributes, and in acts. Even though a servant of God may offer something to God, He is already the true owner of that thing, and the servant only possesses it because God has loaned it to them. God owns all, from before time to eternity, and bestows it (on His creation). When God rewards His servants in exchange for their efforts with a “wage” or “reward” as a form of trade, this is another gift from God, for God alone has the right to demand that His servants be grateful; in that, there is no difference between the Prophet and those beneath him.
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ ٤
(68:4) And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality (khuluq)
Khuluq is a spiritual (or psychological) trait which easily sparks deeds. Khuluq are divided into noble—such as chastity and bravery—and ignoble, such as gluttony and cowardice. When used alone, khuluq refers to a good moral trait.
Al-Rāghib says:
Khalq and khulq originally meant the same thing, like sharb and shrub, or ṣarm and ṣurm. However, khalq began to be used for the external form of things which the eye sees, whereas khulq began to be used for inner faculties and dispositions which the intuition perceives. God uses the word khulq in: And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality (khulq, ).
Alone, this verse praises the handsome conduct of the Prophet. However, when viewed in context of the other verses, it implies praise of his handsome conduct on a societal level, with respect to interpersonal relations, such as upholding justice, tolerating rudeness and harassment, clemency, overlooking things, striving hard, kindness, civility, humility, and so on. At the end of volume 6 of this work (the end of Sūrah al-Māʾidah), we related some of what has been narrated about the Prophet’s noble characteristics.
Some exegetes understand khulq to mean “religion”; that is, “Islam.” However, from the foregoing, it should be clear that this view is incorrect, unless it is explained in such a manner that it refers to what we just said.
فَسَتُبْصِرُ وَيُبْصِرُونَ ٥ بِأَييِّكُمُ الْمَفْتُونُ ٦
(68:5-6) So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, which of you (bi-ayyikum) is afflicted with madness.
The conjunction so (fa-) introduces a consequent of what was stated previously. That is, since you are not mad, since you are a prophet with outstanding conduct, and since you have a great reward from God, your prophetic mission will become evident, and people’s inner and outer eyes will be unveiled. They will see who was really afflicted with madness: you, or those liars who accused you of madness?
Some exegetes question whether it means that the result of the prophetic mission will become clear to him and them in this world or the afterlife, since the verse can be interpreted both ways.
Each side has its advocates, but there is no reason why the verse cannot imply both, since (in this world) God made His prophet victorious over them, and His religion victorious over theirs. He made people celebrate his name and erased any trace of (his opponents) from the world. Tomorrow, they shall taste the ill effects of their deeds. They shall know that God is the clear truth, on the day they are seized by the fire. Taste your persecution! This is what you would hasten on ().
Which of you is afflicted with madness (bi-ayyikum al-maftūn): The preposition bi is extraneous and acts as a conjunction (bāʾ zāʾidah lli-ṣilah). Maftūn is the passive participle of fitnah, meaning “to afflict.” Here, it means “afflicted with madness” and “losing one’s mind.” It means that you shall see, and they shall see, which of you has been tried with madness: you or them?
Some exegetes say that maftūn is a verbal noun in the mafʿūl form, similar to the words maʿqūl, maysūr, and maʿsūr, as used in the expressions “he is brainless (laysa lahu maʿqūl)” and “chose what is easy (maysūr) over what is more difficult (maʿsūr).” Then, the preposition bi- in bi-ayyikum would mean “in/on,” and the sentence would mean, “You shall see, and they shall see, on which side affliction shall fall.”
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن ضَلَّ عَن سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ ٧
(68:7) Surely your Lord best knows him who errs from His way, and He best knows the followers of the right course.
This can be understood in light of the foregoing, which spoke of guidance and guidance, implying that those who accused the Prophet of madness are really those who are erring and afflicted. Their situation shall become clear, and it shall also become clear that the Prophet is guided. God affirms that because God knows better who is straying from His path and who is guided on His path. Since it is His path, He knows best who is on it and who is not. Guidance is a matter which belongs to Him.
فَلا تُطِعِ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ ٨
(68:8) So do not yield to the rejecters.
The conjunction so (fa-) presents this as the natural conclusion of the previous verses. The definite article al- in the rejectors (al-mukadhdhibīn) denotes that it is a known and specific group of rejectors (rather than any rejector whatsoever; it is a lām al-ʿahd). Do not yield is unconditional, encompassing both word and deed. It means: Since these people who reject you are afflicted and erring, do not yield to them.
وَدُّوا لَوْ تُدْهِنُ فَيُدْهِنُونَ ( ٩ )
(68:9) They wish that you should be pliant (tudhin) so they (too) would be pliant.
Tudhin comes from d-h-n, and here means “to soften.” The verse means that these rejectors wish you would soften towards them and find a middle ground in your religions. They want reconciliation and religious tolerance. As is narrated, they offered, “Keep your hands off our gods, and we will keep our hands off yours.”
From the foregoing, it is clear that they refers to all (of those who rejected the Prophet), and the conjunction so (fa-, in so they would be pliant) denotes what would happen next, not causality.
وَلا تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلاَّفٍ مَّهِينٍ ١٠ هَمَّازٍ مَّشَّاء بِنَمِيمٍ ١١ مَنَّاعٍ لِّلْخَيْرِ مُعْتَدٍ أَثِيمٍ ١٢ عُتُلٍّ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ زَنِيمٍ ١٣
(68:10-13) And yield not to any mean swearer, defamer, going about with slander, forbidder of good, outstepping the limits, sinful, ignoble, besides all that, base-born;
A ‘swearer’ (ḥallāf) is someone who swears oaths so often that he ends up swearing over little and big things, and true and false things. He swears so often that he does not respect his oaths. When he swears by God, he does not perceive the enormity of God—mighty be His name; this is enough to make being a swearer a low trait.
‘Mean’ (mahīn) is from m-h-n, meaning “belittling” and “vulgar.” Here, it is speaking of someone who is low-minded. Some say that it means “someone who often speaks ill” and others say it means “a liar.”
‘Defamer’ (hammāz) is the exaggerated form of hamz (“slandering”). It means that this type of person (keeps their eyes open) for faults and (their ears open) for slander. Some say that a hammāz is a person who slanders others through their gestures and glances. Others say that it means “a hardened gossip.”
Going about with slander (mashshāʾ bi-namīm): Namīm is slander. Mashshāʾ is to spread tales from one people to another to ruin relations between them.
Forbidder of good (mannāʿ lil-khayr) refers to someone who often acts as an obstacle to good deeds, or who stops something good from reaching the deserving.
Outstepping the limits (muʿtadī) is from the verb form al-iʿtidāʾ (“aggression,” “wrongdoing”) and means “crossing the limits into aggression or wrongdoing.”
A ‘sinful’ (athīm) person is someone who has sinned so much that it has become part of parcel of him and he never stops. An ithm (“sin”) is a wicked act which slows down what is good.
A person who is ignoble (ʿutul, with two u’s) has a crude, boorish temperament. Here, it refers to someone who is obscene, vile, rude, and hostile in his efforts to uphold falsehood. It can also be used for a glutton who keeps others away from his food, or someone who accosts people and imprisons or tortures them.
A base-born (zanīm) person has no known lineage. Some say that it refers to a bastard who claims to have been born from a group that he was not actually born from. Others say that it refers to a person who is known for being vile. Others say that it refers to someone who is so known for evil, that when evil is mentioned, this person rushes to mind. All these meanings resemble each other.
With these nine despicable traits, God describes the enemies of the religion who are urging the Prophet to obey and yield to them. They are the sum total of vices.
Ignoble, besides all that, base-born: Meaning, after all that has been said about these people’s vile flaws, they are also base-born. Some exegetes deduce from this verse that these two traits (being ignoble and base-born) are the worst of their flaws.
This implies that it is unsuitable to obey someone with such horrid traits in the matter of truth. Even if one were to overlook those traits, he is still a crude, ill-natured bastard. The likes of him should not be obeyed in human society. Rather, he should be repulsed, neither obeyed in word nor copied in deed.
أَن كَانَ ذَا مَالٍ وَبَنِينَ ١٤
(68:14) Because he possesses wealth and sons.
This clause appears to express causality (that is, it is as if contained the preposition li- and were a lām taʿlīl, meaning “because”). Referring back to the verb, it describes the upshot of the sum total of these vile traits. That is, “he does this and that because he has wealth and children. This has made him arrogant, so he denies the blessings of God and acts wickedly instead of thanking God for His blessings and rectifying himself.” The verse conveys censure and scorn, along the lines of: Have you not considered him (Nimrod) who disputed with Abraham about his Lord, because God had given him the kingdom? ()
Additional views:
Some exegetes say that the clause refers back to a previous verse (And yield not…, ). They say that it means, “Do not obey him because he has wealth and children”; that is, “Do not obey him just because he has wealth and children.” However, the meaning that we previously presented is broader and is closer to what comes to mind.
Some exegetes say that it cannot refer back to the verb he said in a subsequent conditional clause because grammarians say that what comes after a condition cannot act on something before it.
إِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِ آيَاتُنَا قَالَ أَسَاطِيرُ الأَوَّلِينَ ١٥
(38:15) When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories (asāṭīr) of those of yore.
Asāṭīr is the plural of usṭūrah, which means “superstitious fable.” The verse continues to explain “yield not…” ().
سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ ١٦
(68:16) We will brand him on the nose (sanasimuhu ʿalā al-khurṭūm).
Wasm and simah mean “to mark.” Khurṭūm means “nose.” Some say that khurṭūm is used denotes an elephant’s trunk or a pig’s snout, so when it is used for this person’s nose, it is sarcastic. The verse delivers a severe threat to the enemies of God, His Messenger, and the revelation.
“Branding on the nose” evidently means to be utterly humiliated in such a way that all will see, since the nose is prominent and conveys pride or humiliation, as in the expressions “he stuck his nose up in the air,” “his nose burned (i.e. he was infuriated)”, “he rubbed his nose in the dirt,” and “he lopped off his nose (i.e. he humiliated him).”
إِنَّا بَلَوْنَاهُمْ كَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ إِذْ أَقْسَمُوا لَيَصْرِمُنَّهَا مُصْبِحِينَ ١٧ وَلا يَسْتَثْنُونَ ١٨ فَطَافَ عَلَيْهَا طَائِفٌ مِّن رَّبِّكَ وَهُمْ نَائِمُونَ ١٩ فَأَصْبَحَتْ كَالصَّرِيمِ ٢٠
(68:17-20) Surely We will try them (balawnā) as We tried the owners of the garden, when they swore that they would certainly cut off the produce (la-yaṣrimunnahā) in the morning, and were not willing to set aside a portion (for the poor) (wa lā yastathnūn). Then there encompassed it a visitation from your Lord (fa-ṭāfa… ṭāʾif) while they were sleeping. So it became as black, barren land (ṣarīm).
Balāʾ means “trials and afflictions.” Ṣurm is “to pluck fruit from trees (or vines).” Istithnāʾ means “to separate and not treat the same as the rest.” It also means to say “God willing” when affirming something since, when a person says “God willing,” they are making an exception. For instance, if someone says, “I will leave tomorrow, if God wills,” they mean, “I will leave tomorrow, unless God wills otherwise.” Ṭāʾif means “punishment which falls at night.” A ṣarīm is a tree whose fruits have been plucked; some say it means “a dark night,” and some say it means “a sand dune on which nothing grows, where there is no benefit to be found.”
The seventeen verses, beginning with Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden…, threaten the rejecters of the Prophet who accused him of madness. Like the owners of the garden, they were about to be punished. The punishment was already on its way, but they knew not; soon, they would find out. They were enamored with amassing wealth and children. Arrogantly, they relied on their assets and other material causes—whatever struck their fancy—instead of thanking their Lord for these blessings, traversing the path of truth, and worshipping their Lord. Either they would carry on like this until they reached the end of their lives, and then be shocked by the punishment in the hereafter; or they would be taken by surprise with punishment in this world, like during the Battle of Badr. They would see that there is no way out, and that their wealth and children are to no avail. These things will be useless to them, just as they were to the owners of the garden. They will regret what they did and plead to their Lord; however, that will not avert the chastisement of God, just like the inhabitants of the garden regretted and (blamed each other) and pleaded to their Lord, but it was of no help. Such is the chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know! () This understanding depends on reading these verses alongside the prior verses, and assumes they were revealed together.
However, it is narrated that these verses were revealed about the year of drought that afflicted the people of Mecca and the Quraysh after the Prophet prayed against them. He entreated, “O God! Be hard on the Muḍar tribe; give them years (of famine) like the years of Joseph!” In this understanding, “trial” (balāʾ) would refer to the drought. Their situation would resemble that of the owners of the garden, except for the verse Then some of them advanced against others, blaming each other (), which does not fit into the story of the people of Mecca.
In any case, Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden means “We afflicted them with a trial, like We did to the owners of the garden.” The owners of the garden (aṣḥāb al-jannah, ) were a people in Yemen, and their garden was also in Yemen. Their story will be recounted in the section on narrations, God willing.
Further points about Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden, when they swore (idh aqsamū) that they would certainly cut off the produce (la-yaṣrimunnahā) in the morning (muṣbiḥīn), and were not willing to set aside a portion (for the poor) (wa lā yastathnūn) ():
Idh (“when”) is an adverb, describing balawnā.
Aqsamū means “they swore.”
La-yaṣrimunnahā means “to cut” and “to pluck fruit from their garden.”
Muṣbiḥīn means “in the morning.”
It is as if they conferred by night and decided to pick the fruit the next morning. However, they either (a) did not say “God willing,” but, rather, relied on material causes, or (b) did not set aside a share for the poor and destitute.
Further points about Then there encompassed it a visitation (fa-ṭāfa ʿalayhā ṭāʾif) from your Lord (min rabbika) while they were sleeping, so it became as a black, barren land (fa-aṣbaḥat kal-ṣarīm) ():
Ṭāʾif (translated as “visitation”) means “an affliction circling them, surrounding them by night.”
The preposition min (“from”) here denotes from which direction something comes from.
When it says that their garden became like a ṣarīm, it means either that (a) their garden became like a tree whose fruit was cut off, (b) their garden turned black as night, charred by a fire which God sent upon it, or (c) their garden turned into a barren, useless sand-dune.
فَتَنَادَوا مُصْبِحِينَ ٢١ أَنِ اغْدُوا عَلَى حَرْثِكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَارِمِينَ ٢٢ فَانطَلَقُوا وَهُمْ يَتَخَافَتُونَ ٢٣ أَن لّا يَدْخُلَنَّهَا الْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكُم مِّسْكِينٌ ٢٤ وَغَدَوْا عَلَى حَرْدٍ قَادِرِينَ٢٥
(68:21-25) And they called out to each other (tanādaw) in the morning (muṣbiḥīn), saying: Go early to your tilth (ḥirthikum) if you would cut (the produce) (ṣārimīn). So they went, while they consulted together secretly (yatakhāfatūn), saying: No poor man shall enter it today upon you. And in the morning they went, having the power to prevent (ʿalā ḥirdin qādirīn).
Tanādaw means “to call out to each other.” Muṣbiḥīn means “when it became morning for them.” Ṣārimīn is from ṣurm and means “to pluck the fruit from a tree.” Here, in the verse, it means that they intended to pluck the fruit from their trees (not that they actually did that). Ḥirth means “crops and orchards.” Yatakhāfatūn means “to hide.” Ḥird means “to prevent.” Qādirīn comes from qadr and means “capability.”
It means:
Tanādaw—They called out to each other.
Muṣbiḥīn—They did this after morning came.
Go early to your tilth (an ighdū ʿalā ḥirthikum)—This explains what they called out to each other; that is, they shouted, “Go out early and pluck the fruit from your garden!” Ighdū is a command, meaning “go forth in the morning.” According to Tafsīr al-Kashshāf, it inherently includes the meaning of “to turn towards” and hence takes an object with the preposition ʿalā; otherwise, it takes an object with the preposition ilā.
If you would cut (the produce) (in kuntum ṣārimīn)—If you have resolved to harvest the fruit.
So they went (fa-inṭalaqū)—They went to their garden.
While they consulted together secretly (wa hum yatakhāfatūn)—They went while secretly taking council.
Shall (not) enter (an lā yadkhulannahā)—Do not let anyone into the garden.
No poor man… today upon you (al-yawma ʿalaykum miskīn)—Meaning, they crept into the garden out of the sight of the poor so that none of the poor would follow them in and pressure them to allot them some of the harvest.
And in the morning (wa ghadaw)—When morning dawned over the garden.
To prevent (ʿalā ḥirdin)—Meaning, to keep out the poor.
Having the power (qādirīn)—While they had the inherent capability to harvest the fruit without giving any to the poor.
فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهَا قَالُوا إِنَّا لَضَالُّونَ ٢٦ بَلْ نَحْنُ مَحْرُومُونَ ٢٧
(68:26-27) But when they saw it, they said: Most surely we have gone astray. Nay! We are made to suffer privation.
When they saw their garden had been stripped bare, destroyed by God, they said, “We did wrong this morning when we wanted to harvest while keeping out the poor!”
Some exegetes say that we have gone astray means going the wrong way towards their garden and its fruit.
Nay! We are made to suffer privation: This statement parallels and escalates the previous verse. “Not only were we wrong, but we have now been deprived of our harvest!”
قَالَ أَوْسَطُهُمْ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ لَوْلا تُسَبِّحُونَ ٢٨
(68:28) The best of them said: Did I not say to you, Why do you not glorify (Allah)?
The best of them (awsaṭuhum): The most moderately-tempered one, since he reminded them of what was right. Some exegetes say that awsaṭahum means the one who was middlemost in age, but this view is incorrect.
Did I not say to you (a lam aqul lakum): He had already told them that, but it was not mentioned previously in the story for the sake of brevity; instead, it suffices to mention it here.
Why do you not glorify (God) (law lā tusabbiḥūn)? Here, “glorifying God” means to absolve God of any partners, which they failed to do when they relied on themselves and material means. When they swore that they would harvest their fruit in the morning, but did not say “God willing,” they did not acknowledge God as a cause or as having any effect. Rather, they saw only themselves and other material causes as pertaining to cause and effect. This is an assertion of shirk (assigning partners to God). Had they but said, “We shall harvest the fruit tomorrow, unless God wills,” they would have denied that God has any partners, for if they had not harvested successfully, it would have been due to the will of God; and if they had harvested successfully, it would have been due to the permission of God, since God alone possesses the Divine Command, with no partner.
Some exegetes say that “glorifying God” means remembering God and repenting after intending to harvest while depriving the poor of the fruit. This view is worthy of consideration, if one understands la yastathnūn to mean “depriving the poor of their share of the fruit” (not “God willing”).
قَالُوا سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَالِمِينَ ٢٩
(68:29) They said: Glory be to our Lord, surely we were unjust.
They said “glory be to our Lord” due to the censure from the best of them. That is, when they were swearing to harvest the fruit, they were associating partners with God, but now they are disassociating partners from God. “He is our Lord who manages our affairs through His will. We were wrong when we asserted partners to Him.” This is tasbīḥ (“glorification”) and their confession of how they wronged themselves when they associated partners with God.
Another view is that this means that they repented and confessed that they wronged themselves and the poor.
فَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ يَتَلاوَمُونَ ٣٠
(68:30) Then some of them advanced against others, blaming each other.
They were blaming each other for what they had done wrong.
قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا طَاغِينَ ٣١ عَسَى رَبُّنَا أَن يُبْدِلَنَا خَيْرًا مِّنْهَا إِنَّا إِلَى رَبِّنَا رَاغِبُونَ٣٢
(68:31-32) Said they: O woe to us! surely we were inordinate: maybe, our Lord will give us instead one better than it; surely to our Lord do we make our humble petition.
Ṭughyān means “to cross the limits.” The pronoun -hā in minhā grammatically refers to the garden, although it is speaking about the garden’s fruit. It means: They said, ‘Alas! We crossed the limits of servitude towards God when we affirmed partners to our Lord and did not acknowledge His unity! We hope that our Lord will replace our garden, which was destroyed by an affliction from God, with something better, for we have besought Him, turning away from everything else.”
كَذَلِكَ الْعَذَابُ وَلَعَذَابُ الآخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ ٣٣
(68:33) Such is the chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know!
The subject and predicate of the sentence are flipped; chastisement is the subject, and ‘such is’ is the predicate. It means that “the punishment will be similar to that which befell the owners of the garden.” That is, a person is tried with wealth and children. Deluded and arrogant, he crosses the line. Seeing himself as independent, he forgets his Lord and treats material causes and effect, and himself, as partners with God. He commits evil, heedless of the ill consequences of his deeds which flutter about him, readying him for the punishment. This goes on, until the punishment takes him by surprise, showing its most horrendous face. Awakened from his heedlessness, he remembers what he had been advised before, and regrets his wrongdoing and transgression. Like the owners of the garden, he begs God to restore His blessings upon him, so that he might thank Him for them. The story of the owners of the garden, therefore, is a general pattern which is often followed.
And certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know!: This is because it emanates from divine power, leaving nothing standing and no hope of escape, not even through death or annihilation, just as when the tribulations of this world surround a person from all sides. Unlike worldly calamities and chastisement, it is eternal, unending.
Examining Narrations
- In Maʿānī (al-Akhbār), via a chain of narration from Sufyān ibn Saʿīd al-Thawrī, on the exegesis of the disjointed letters in the Qur’an, it is related:
Imām al-Ṣādiq said, “Nūn is a river (nahr) in the garden. God, the Mighty and Glorious, said, ‘Freeze!’ So it froze and became ink. Then He told the pen, ‘Write!’ So it wrote line-by-line all that had been and all that would be, until the day of resurrection, upon the guarded tablet (al-lawḥ al-maḥfūẓ). The ink is an ink of light, and the pen is a pen of light, and the tablet is a tablet of light.”
I (Sufyān al-Thawrī) said to him, “O son of the Messenger of God! Explain the tablet, the pen, and the ink—a deep explanation. Teach me what God has taught you!”
He (Imām al-Ṣādiq) said, “O Ibn Saʿīd! Were you not among those befitting a response, I would not have replied. The nūn is an angel which reports to the pen, which is an angel that reports to the tablet, which is an angel that reports to Isrāfīl, who reports to Michael, who reports to Gabriel, who reports to the prophets and messengers.”
Then he said, “Get up, O Sufyān, for I will not entrust you (with more).”
- In al-Maʿānī (al-Akhbār), it is related via its chain of narration from Ibrāhīm al-Karkhī:
I (Ibrāhīm al-Karkhī) asked Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad (Imām al-Ṣādiq) about the tablet and pen.
He said, “They are both angels.”
- In al-Maʿānī (al-Akhbār), it is related via a chain of narration from al-Aṣbagh ibn Nabātah from the Commander of the Faithful (Imām ʿAlī):
Nūn. I swear by the pen and what they write: The pen is a pen of light, and writing is of light, upon the guarded tablet, witnessed by those brought near (al-muqarrabūn, )—and God suffices as a witness ().
Author’s comment: Maʿānī (al-Akhbār) has other (similar) Shīʿī narrations. At the end of the exegesis of (This is Our book that speaks against you with justice; surely We wrote what you did), we included al-Qummī’s narration from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Qaṣīr from Imām al-Ṣādiq about the tablet and pen, which includes the following: “Then he sealed the mouth of the pen. It did not speak after that, will never speak again; it is the hidden book in which all has been transcribed.”
- In Al-Durr al-manthūr, Ibn Jarīr relates from Muʿāwiyah ibn Qurrah that his father said that the Messenger of God said:
Nūn. I swear by the pen and what they write (): The tablet is of light, and the pen is of light, putting into effect what will happen until the day of resurrection.
Author’s comment: There are other narrations of this ilk. “Putting into effect what will happen” applies to the things will come to pass exactly as they have been written there. There is a similar narration from Abū Hurayrah, in which he says, “Then the pen was sealed, and it did not speak again, and will not speak until the day of resurrection.”
- In Maʿānī (al-Akhbār), it is related via a chain of narration from Abū Jārūd that Imām al-Bāqir said regarding And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality (): This is Islam.
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, it is related from Abū al-Jārūd from Imām al-Bāqir regarding And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality (): On a great religion (dīn).
Author’s comment: He means that Islam includes all forms of moral perfection, which the Prophet embodied in his life. A well-known narration from the Prophet says, “I was appointed (as a prophet) to perfect top-notch morals.”
- In Majmaʿ (al-Bayān), it said via a chain of narration from al-Ḥākim, from a chain of narration from al-Ḍaḥḥāk:
When the Quraysh saw the Prophet putting ʿAlī forward and treating him as important, they maligned ʿAlī, saying, “Muḥammad is being tested by him!”
So God revealed: Nūn. I swear by the pen and what they write (). This is an oath which God swears.
By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality. () Meaning the Qur’an.
…Surely your Lord best knows him who errs from His way ()—This is the group who said what they said (about ʿAlī).
And He best knows the followers of the right course ()—meaning ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib.
Author’s comment: Something similar is narrated in Tafsīr al-Burhān from Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAbbās, via a chain of narration from al-Ḍaḥḥāk; at the end, it says, “And the right course () is ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib.”
- In Majmaʿ (al-Bayān), it says regarding: And yield not to any mean swearer ():
It is said that this refers to al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah. He offered to pay the Prophet to renege on his religion.
It is also said that this refers to al-Akhnas ibn Sharīq. This is related from ʿAṭā.ʾ
It is also said that this refers to al-Aswad ibn ʿAbd Yaghūth. This is related from Mujāhid.
Author’s comment: There are other narrations about this in Al-Durr al-manthūr and elsewhere. We have left them out here, but whoever wishes to consider them can consult the comprehensive compilations of narrations.
- In Majmaʿ (al-Bayān), it is related that Shaddād ibn Aws said:
The Messenger of God said, “A jawwāẓ, a jaʿẓarī, and an ʿutul zanīm shall never enter the garden.”
I said, “What is a jawwāẓ?”
He said, “Libertines.”
I said, “What is a jaʿẓarī?”
He said, “The crude and boorish.”
I said, “What is a ʿutul zanīm?”
He said, “Paunchy, rude, gluttonous, despotic, wrongdoing drunkards.”
- In the same source, regarding the meaning of zanīm, it says that it means “those who have no (known) lineage.”
- Tafsīr al-Qummī says regarding Ignoble (ʿutul), besides all that, base-born (zanīm) ():
ʿUtul means to be extremely blasphemous, and zanīm means to be illegitimate.
- In the same source, it is related from Abū al-Jārūd from Imām al-Bāqir regarding Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden ():
The people of Mecca were afflicted with hunger, just like the owners of the garden. Their garden was in this world, in Yemen, in a place called “al-Riḍwān,” nine miles from Ṣanʿāʾ.
- In the same source, it is related via a chain of narration from Ibn ʿAbbās:
Someone said to him (Ibn ʿAbbās), “A group of Muslims hold that the servant (of God) who sins will be denied sustenance (from God).”
Ibn ʿAbbās said, “By God—whom there is no god but He! In the book of God, this is elucidated more clearly than the shining sun. God discusses it in the chapter ‘Nūn and the Pen’ (Sūrah al-Qalam).
“There was an old man who had a garden. He never used to bring its produce home to his family until he had given a share to the deserving. After he died, his five sons inherited his garden. The year their father died, their garden bore fruit as never before. After the afternoon prayers, the young men went to their garden and found abundant fruit and sustenance, the likes of which they had never seen when their father was alive. When they saw the bounty, they became greedy, and told each other, ‘Our father was an old man who had gone senile. Let’s agree not to give anything to the poor Muslims this year, so we can get rich. Then, we will continue doing what was done before.’
“Four of them agreed, but one of them objected. He is the one whom God speaks of when He says: The best of them said: Did I not say to you, Why do you not glorify (Allah)? ()”
The man said, “O Ibn ʿAbbās! Was he the middlemost (awsaṭuhum) in age?”
He (Ibn ʿAbbās) said, “No, he was the youngest but he had the greatest intellect, and he was the most moderate (awsaṭ) and the best of his people. Evidence for that is found in the Qur’anic verse which says that ‘you, the community of Muḥammad, are the youngest of nations and best of nations’. God says: And thus We have made you a medium (just) (awsaṭ) nation ().
“The best of them said, ‘Fear God, and do as your father did; you will be safe and profit.’ However, they attacked him, hitting him violently. When he realized that they intended to kill him, he went along with their plan—unwillingly, not obediently.
“They went home, then swore by God that they would harvest the produce the next morning. However, they did not say ‘God willing’. So God afflicted them on account of their sin, and they were separated from the sustenance (rizq) which they almost had. God spoke of them in the Book when He said: Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden, when they swore that they would certainly cut off the produce in the morning, and were not willing to set aside a portion (for the poor). Then there encompassed it a visitation from your Lord while they were sleeping. So it became as black, barren land (ṣarīm) (). That is, it was as if it had been burnt.
The man said, “O Ibn ʿAbbās! What does ṣarīm mean?”
He said, “A dark night.” Then he said, “Nothing shines in it; there is no light.”
(Ibn ʿAbbās continued,) “When morning came, they called out to each other in the morning, saying: Go early to your tilth if you would cut (the produce). So they went, while they consulted together secretly (yatakhāfatūn) (68:21-13).”
The man asked, “O Ibn ʿAbbās, what does yatakhāfatūn mean?”
He said, “(It means) they were secretly conferring so that no one else could hear them. They were saying, ‘No poor man shall enter it today upon you.’ And in the morning they went, having the power to prevent (). They were planning to harvest the produce without anyone else knowing, and so divine wrath and vengeance befell them.
“But when they saw it—they saw what had befallen them—they said: ‘Most surely we have gone astray. Nay! We are made to suffer privation’ (). God had deprived them of that sustenance due to their sin, but was not unjust to them in any way.
“The best of them said: Did I not say to you, Why do you not glorify (Allah)? They said: Glory be to our Lord, surely we were unjust. Then some of them advanced against others, blaming each other (). They blamed themselves for what they had decided. Said they: ‘O woe to us! surely we were inordinate: maybe, our Lord will give us instead one better than it; surely to our Lord do we make our humble petition’ (). So God said: Such is the chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know ().”
Author’s comment: There are other narrations which say similar things to this and the preceding narrations. Other narrations say that the garden belonged to a man of the Banū Isrāʾīl. When he died, his sons inherited his garden, and events unfolded as they did.
See Eng. Vol. 35. (Ed.) ↩︎
Editor’s note: The gist of the author’s explanation of verse is as follows: This verse starts with an oath on the ‘pen’ and ‘what they write.’ The ‘pen’ symbolizes the traditional writing tool, and ‘what they write’ encompasses all forms of writing, a divine blessing that transcends time and space. This oath highlights the significance of writing in human civilization and communication. Various interpretations exist, including the pen as a celestial object and ‘what they write’ referring to angelic recordings or the Guarded Tablet. However, the broader emphasis is on the importance and sanctity of writing as a divine gift. ↩︎
Some headers have been added by the translator for ease of reading. ↩︎
Translator’s note: That is, this is the opposite understanding of mamnūn that ʿAllāmah expresses in the first paragraph. ↩︎
See Eng. vol. 11 (Ed.) ↩︎
Translator’s note: Duhn is oil or fat, so it is used figuratively to indicate softening to or cajoling someone, similar to how, in English, one says “to grease someone.” ↩︎
Translator’s note: This is an unusual phrase in English, but is used in the Old Testament to describe anger. ↩︎
Translator’s note: Since, in both cases, their crops were destroyed. ↩︎
Translator’s note: As discussed above, lā yastathnūn can be interpreted both ways, although the English translation renders it as “not setting aside a portion for the poor.” ↩︎
Editor’s note: The author’s commentary of verses of the Qur’an, focuses on the actions and intentions of a group of people regarding their orchard. Overall, the commentary portrays the group’s selfish motives and actions to exclude the needy from their orchard’s bounty. ↩︎
Translator’s note: Awsaṭ literally means “middlemost.” ↩︎