Overview - Surah 68: al-Qalam (The Pen )

The Surah tells us that the message of the Prophet is not the talk of a madman.  The writings of all scriptures bear testimony to the truth of this message.  It urges people to be charitable and help the poor and needy.  The story of the people of a garden is mentioned who wished to deny the charity to the poor and they suffered the consequence in losing everything. The Surah ends with the story of Prophet Jonah. It urges the Prophet and through him his followers to continue this mission and not to give up in frustration.  The mission of Islam is for the whole world.

Surah al-Qalam takes its name from the first Ayat, ن ۚ وَالْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ "Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe," [68:1].

There are 52 Ayat in this Surah.

The Surah tells us that the message of the Prophet is not the talk of a madman.  The writings of all scriptures bear testimony to the truth of this message.  It urges people to be charitable and help the poor and needy.  The story of the people of a garden is mentioned who wished to deny the charity to the poor and they suffered the consequence in losing everything. The Surah ends with the story of Prophet Jonah. It urges the Prophet and through him his followers to continue this mission and not to give up in frustration.  The mission of Islam is for the whole world.

Surah al-Qalam takes its name from the first Ayat, ن ۚ وَالْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ "Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe," [68:1].

There are 52 Ayat in this Surah.

It consists of three themes: Replies to the objections of the opponents, warning and admonition to them, and exhortation to the Prophet to be patient and firm. At the outset, the Prophet has been consoled: “The disbelievers call you a madman whereas the Book that you are presenting and your magnificent conduct are in themselves sufficient to refute their accusations. Soon they will know as to who was mad and who was sane; therefore do not be affected by them, for they are only trying to intimidate you and make you 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 recognised, has been presented, without naming him: At that time, the 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 v. 17-33, the parable of the owners of a garden has been presented, who after having been blessed by God 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 realised 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 Prophet 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 v. 34-47, the disbelievers have been admonished, in which they are addressed directly and sometimes through the Prophet. A summary of what has been said is: Well being in the Hereafter 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 Prophet has been exhorted to bear with patience the hardships that you face in the way of preaching the Faith till God’s judgment arrives.

It consists of three themes: Replies to the objections of the opponents, warning and admonition to them, and exhortation to the Prophet to be patient and firm. At the outset, the Prophet has been consoled: “The disbelievers call you a madman whereas the Book that you are presenting and your magnificent conduct are in themselves sufficient to refute their accusations. Soon they will know as to who was mad and who was sane; therefore do not be affected by them, for they are only trying to intimidate you and make you 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 recognised, has been presented, without naming him: At that time, the 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 v. 17-33, the parable of the owners of a garden has been presented, who after having been blessed by God 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 realised 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 Prophet 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 v. 34-47, the disbelievers have been admonished, in which they are addressed directly and sometimes through the Prophet. A summary of what has been said is: Well being in the Hereafter 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 Prophet has been exhorted to bear with patience the hardships that you face in the way of preaching the Faith till God’s judgment arrives.

• Both Surah al-Qalam [68] and Surah al-Haqqah [69] have 52 Ayat.

• Both Surah al-Qalam [68] and Surah al-Haqqah [69] have 52 Ayat.

This is one of the earliest Surahs to be revealed at Makkah and its subject matter shows that it was sent down at the time when opposition to the Prophet had grown very harsh and oppressive.

This is one of the earliest Surahs to be revealed at Makkah and its subject matter shows that it was sent down at the time when opposition to the Prophet had grown very harsh and oppressive.

• Allah declared Muhammad (pbuh) to be of the highest moral character.
• Allah Almighty swears by the pen, highlighting the importance of knowledge and writing. (68:1)
• Commandment of not yielding to any disbelieving oath monger, slanderer and wicked person.
• Example of the arrogant stingy owners of a garden who did not want to pay charity and as a result, their garden was destroyed.
• Allah is not going to treat the Muslims as He will treat the guilty.
• Those who do not believe in Allah's revelations are led step by step towards destruction.
• Three important themes of this Surah:
• Response to the opponents objections,
• Warning and admonition to the disbelievers, and
• Exhortation of patience to the Prophet (pbuh).

• Allah declared Muhammad (pbuh) to be of the highest moral character.
• Allah Almighty swears by the pen, highlighting the importance of knowledge and writing. (68:1)
• Commandment of not yielding to any disbelieving oath monger, slanderer and wicked person.
• Example of the arrogant stingy owners of a garden who did not want to pay charity and as a result, their garden was destroyed.
• Allah is not going to treat the Muslims as He will treat the guilty.
• Those who do not believe in Allah's revelations are led step by step towards destruction.
• Three important themes of this Surah:
• Response to the opponents objections,
• Warning and admonition to the disbelievers, and
• Exhortation of patience to the Prophet (pbuh).

• 068 - Al-Qalam - Saad Alghamdi  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5AipeB_7jc
• 068 - Al-Qalam Mahmoud Khalil Al Hussary  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO-B6vk8hKE&index=68&list=PLxpAkjlGauHfMFWX22VZWOKpzjr-vH_BM
• 068 - Al-Qalam Muhammad Al Luhaydan  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjIQOxkUDYI&list=PLxpAkjlGauHfKAYuQLRNAZomoezhfhRZe&index=68​
• Idris Akbar Surah Qalam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-HyswsZURs​
• 068 - Al-Qalam Muhammad MInshawi  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMUVDeTrN7c&index=68&list=PLxpAkjlGauHdUcO_uc-8F8J2NUQRDZjPGhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMUVDeTrN7c&index=68&list=PLxpAkjlGauHdUcO_uc-8F8J2NUQRDZjPG