68-1 : Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write, -

68-2 : Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed.

68-3 : Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing:

68-4 : And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character.

68-5 : Soon wilt thou see, and they will see,

68-6 : Which of you is afflicted with madness.

68-7 : 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.

68-8 : So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth).

68-9 : Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant.

68-10 : Heed not the type of despicable men, - ready with oaths,

68-11 : A slanderer, going about with calumnies,

68-12 : (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin,

68-13 : Violent (and cruel), - with all that, base - born, -

68-14 : Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons.

68-15 : When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries!

68-16 : Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout!

68-17 : 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.

68-18 : But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will").

68-19 : Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep.

68-20 : So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered).

68-21 : As the morning broke, they called out, one to another, -

68-22 : "Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits."

68-23 : So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying) -

68-24 : "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day."

68-25 : And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve.

68-26 : But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way:

68-27 : "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!"

68-28 : Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'"

68-29 : They said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!"

68-30 : Then they turned, one against another, in reproach.

68-31 : They said: "Alas for us! We have indeed transgressed!

68-32 : "It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this: for we do turn to Him (in repentance)!"

68-33 : Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter, - if only they knew!

68-34 : Verily, for the Righteous, are Gardens of Delight, in the Presence of their Lord.

68-35 : Shall We then treat the People of Faith like the People of Sin?

68-36 : What is the matter with you? How judge ye?

68-37 : Or have ye a book through which ye learn -

68-38 : That ye shall have, through it whatever ye choose?

68-39 : Or have ye Covenants with Us to oath, reaching to the Day of Judgment, (providing) that ye shall have whatever ye shall demand?

68-40 : Ask thou of them, which of them will stand surety for that!

68-41 : Or have they some "Partners" (in Allahhead)? Then let them produce their "partners", if they are truthful!

68-42 : The Day that the shin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned to bow in adoration, but they shall not be able, -

68-43 : 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).

68-44 : Then leave Me alone with such as reject this Message: by degrees shall We punish them from directions they perceive not.

68-45 : A (long) respite will I grant them: truly powerful is My Plan.

68-46 : Or is it that thou dost ask them for a reward, so that they are burdened with a load of debt? -

68-47 : Or that the Unseen is in their hands, so that they can write it down?

68-48 : 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.

68-49 : Had not Grace from his Lord reached him, he would indeed have been cast off on the naked shore, in disgrace.

68-50 : Thus did his Lord choose him and make him of the Company of the Righteous.

68-51 : And the Unbelievers would almost trip thee up with their eyes when they hear the Message; and they say: "Surely he is possessed!"

68-52 : But it is nothing less than a Message to all the worlds.