The Sublime Character of Messenger Muhammad

 

The Noble Quran English Translation and Tafsir of Surah Al-Qalam Ayah 1-16 

68:1 Nun. By the pen and what they write,  

68:2 You are not, by the Blessing of your Lord, a madman. 

68:3 And verily for you will be a reward, never-ending. 

68:4 And truly, you are of an exalted character. 

68:5 Hence, you will see, and they will see,

68:6, which of you is afflicted with madness. 

68:7 Surely your Lord knows best those who stray from His path, and He knows best those who are rightly guided.

68:8 Hence, do not obey the deniers. 

68:9 They wish that you should compromise, then they would compromise.

68:10 And do not obey every mean swearer, 

68:11 backbiter, going about with slander, 

68:12 preventer of good, transgressor, sinful, 

68:13 cruel, after all that ignoble. 

68:14 Because he has wealth and sons,  

68:15 when our ayat are recited to him, he says, ‘Fables of the ancients.’

68:16 We shall brand him on his nose! 

Tafsir 

68:1 Nun. By the pen and what they write,  

Surah Al-Qalam begins with the word ‘Nun’, which is one of the separated letters ‘al-Muqatta letters’ found at the beginning of twenty-nine surahs of the noble Quran. The scholars differ about their meanings. Their opinions can be summarized as follows: 

a) These letters have meanings; however, they differ about specifying their meanings whether they are names of Allah or names of the surahs, or that they refer to how long the nation of Messenger Muhammad will remain, and so on. 

b) They are alphabetical letters and do not have meanings.

c) They have meanings, which only Allah knows. 

d) Refraining from giving any opinion.

The most correct opinion is (b), i.e. they are alphabetical letters and do not have meanings. This opinion is based on the fact that the Quran was revealed in the Arabic language, and its alphabetic letters do not have meanings. Similarly, these separated letters at the beginning of some surahs of the Quran do not have meanings. 

The wisdom behind these letters, according to the scholars who say that they do not have meanings, is that the separated letters demonstrate the inimitability of the Quran. That is because it has not brought words or letters that are beyond the reach of man. Rather, these letters are some of the letters that are used in people’s speech; however, they cannot bring something like the Quran. 

Furthermore, beginning some surahs of the noble Quran with these separated letters draws the attention of those who reject to listen to it and reflect on its meaning when it is recited to them. That is because listening to these unfamiliar letters makes them concentrate and try to understand them, which may cause them to embrace Islam, and Allah knows best. 

According to those who maintain that these separated letters have meanings, the scholars mention the following: 1) Nun means the pen. 2) It is the name of the whale that appeared on earth. 3) Nun is the name of a tablet made of light. 4) It is the name of a river in Paradise. 

68:1 Nun. By the pen and what they write,  

68:2 You are not, by the Blessing of your Lord, a madman. 

By the pen that the writers use and by what they write, you are not by the blessing of your Lord a madman, O noble Messenger Muhammad. 

Abdul Allah Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said, ‘The first thing that Allah created was the pen, and He commanded it to write everything that will happen in this universe, which it did.’ 

O noble Messenger Muhammad, how could you be a madman though Allah, your Lord, blessed you with prophethood and wisdom? 

The intended meaning is to console Messenger Muhammad for the abuse that he suffered at the hands of the disbelievers of Makkah, refute their baseless claims, and confirm that he is Allah’s Prophet and Messenger. 

Allah, Exalted be He, swore by the pen to indicate its high rank and great benefits. The pen is used to write beneficial knowledge and the divine Scriptures were written with the pen. 

Allah can swear by whatever thing of His creatures, but the created being can only swear by Allah. 

The ayah negates that Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon him] is mad; rather, Allah has blessed him with the blessing of prophethood and wisdom. 

In the previous ayah, Allah addresses His beloved Prophet and Messenger Muhammad by saying, ‘your Lord,’ which reveals a great love and care for him, and a strong negation of the false claims of the disbelievers, who accuse him of madness and magic.

68:3 And verily for you will be a reward, never-ending. 

O noble Messenger Muhammad, a never-ending reward will be for you with your Lord, Allah. You will be rewarded immensely because you patiently fulfilled the requirements of prophethood and were patient with the hardship you faced to do so. Your reward will be great and continuous. 

68:4 And truly, you are of an exalted character. 

Allah, Exalted be He, praises His beloved Prophet and Messenger by using the most beautiful and pleasant compliment. 

O noble Messenger Muhammad, you truly have exalted character and sound personality in all your statements, deeds, and affairs. 

O noble Messenger Muhammad, you have patiently endured the abuse of the disbelievers and hardship to carry out the message of Islam. You are characterized by the noblest character that makes you ignore whatever ill-treatment of the enemies of Islam without even trying to revenge for yourself.

Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, was asked about the character of Messenger Muhammad. She said, ‘His character was the Quran.’  In other words, Messenger Muhammad used to comply with all the sublime ethics mentioned in the Quran and avoid all that the Quran prohibits.

68:5 Hence, you will see, and they will see,

68:6, which of you is afflicted with madness. 

O noble Messenger Muhammad, We have confirmed that you are never as the disbelievers accuse you; rather, you have a high rank with your Lord. Hence, you will see and know and the disbelievers will see and know, which of you is afflicted with madness. You will see and know who of you follow the path of guidance and who of you follow the path of misguidance.

Abdul Allah Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said the following about [68:5 Hence, you will see, and they will see…]: ‘You and they will know on the Day of Judgment.’ 

68:7 Surely your Lord knows best those who stray from His path, and He knows best those who are rightly guided.

O noble Messenger Muhammad, your Lord knows best those who stray from the straight path and turn away from the path of guidance, and He knows best those who are rightly guided and follow the path of guidance. Hence, go ahead on your path. The happy end will be for you and your followers. As for the followers of the path of misguidance, let them go aimlessly until they face the evil end of their arrogance and stubbornness. 

Then, Allah, Exalted be He, informs His beloved Messenger about the evil behaviors of the disbelievers and their abominable characters. He, Exalted be He, also warns him of agreeing to any of their suggestions.

68:8 Hence, do not obey the deniers. 

68:9 They wish that you should compromise, then they would compromise.

O noble Messenger Muhammad, noting of your conditions and that of the disbelievers is hidden from your Lord. Hence, beware to obey the disbelievers or to agree to any of their suggestions. Indeed, they hope that you should accept some of their proposals. They wish that you should compromise concerning their suggestions, and then they would compromise with you and cease to abuse you and your followers. 

This ayah refers to some half-measures that the disbelievers offered Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon him] to convince him to stop condemning worshipping false gods besides Allah. 

Mujahid, may Allah have mercy on him, said about [68:8 Hence, do not obey the deniers.] ‘The disbelievers wish that you accept their false gods and stop following the truth, and then they would compromise with you.’ 

After mentioning the opinions of the scholars, Imam Muhammad Ibn Jarir at-Tabari, may Allah have mercy on him, said, ‘The correct opinion is the following: O Muhammad, the disbelievers wish that you should relent and accept their proposals to worship their gods; hence, they would accept worshipping your God.’ 

68:10 And do not obey every mean swearer, 

68:11 backbiter, going about with slander, 

68:12 preventer of good, transgressor, sinful, 

68:13 cruel, after all that ignoble. 

O noble Messenger Muhammad, do not obey every mean swearer, who lies when he swears. He is a backbiter and likes to go about among people with slander. He aims to cause dissension among people. He also strongly prevents any good thing to happen or reach even those who deserve it, especially, if they are believers. He transgresses all acceptable boundaries of conduct by extremely loving to harm people and cause them problems and insists on sinning without feeling the least degree of remorse. Moreover, He is cruel and hardhearted, and after having all these detestable characteristics, he is ignoble and of low birth. 

68:14 Because he has wealth and sons,  

68:15 when our ayat are recited to him, he says, ‘Fables of the ancients.’ 

The ayah mentions some drives and manifestations of the disbeliever’s arrogance and disbelief. 

The disbeliever rejects believing in Allah’s Oneness and His Messenger Muhammad because he has wealth and children. Allah has bestowed these blessings on him; however, instead of thanking Allah for these blessings, he meets them with ingratitude and disbelief in Allah’s Oneness. However, his wealth and children will not benefit him when he stands before Allah, Exalted be He, on the Day of Judgment for reckoning.

When Allah’s revelation is recited to this disbeliever, he says, ‘These ayat are fables of the ancients and are taken from their books, and Allah has not revealed them.’

68:16 We shall brand him on his nose! 

This is a warning to the disbeliever, who is characterized by these hideous attributes. 

Allah will brand this disbeliever and put a clear mark on his nose so that people can easily recognize him. 

The scholars of Tafsir mention the following opinions about the meaning of ayah [16]: 1) His nose will be branded with a sword that will remain as long as he lives. 2) He will be branded with a permanent brand. 3) His face will be black.  

Branding the face implies defamation as it includes deformation and humiliation. That is because the branding will be on the nose, which lies on the upper part of the face. Hence, the branding will be clear.

Moreover, these aforementioned ayat imply a consolation to Messenger Muhammad and the believers for the great abuse they suffered at the hands of the disbelievers. It is as if the ayat say to them, ‘The disbelievers will reap the evil consequences of their evil deeds.’ 

Learned Lessons from Surah Al-Qalam Ayah 1-16

• Allah, Exalted be He, swears by the pen and what is written with the pen, which indicates their lofty ranks and benefits in the fields of knowledge, learning, and civilization. 

• The oath by the pen and what is written with it is to negate that Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon him] is mad, as the disbelievers claim. It also confirms that Allah will give Messenger Muhammad a never-ending reward, and affirms that Messenger Muhammad enjoys the most sublime character, which is abiding by the teachings of the Quran by obeying Allah’s commands and avoiding Allah’s prohibitions mentioned in the Quran.

• Having a noble character and sound mind contradicts the accusations of the disbelievers that Messenger Muhammad is a madman or magician.

• A noble character is a natural disposition that makes one perform righteous deeds easily. 

• The disbelievers are warned that they will surely know who follows the right path and who follows the wrong path in the life of this world and the Hereafter.  

• The believers are prohibited to compromise with the disbelievers. The disbelievers wished that Messenger Muhammad [peace be upon him] should compromise with them by refraining from condemning their worship of the false gods, and they were willing to compromise with Messenger Muhammad concerning his message to worship Allah alone. Thus, Allah commanded His beloved Messenger Muhammad to reject their offer.

• Some of the hideous characteristics of the disbelievers are lying when swearing, meanness, backbiting, slandering, transgressing, sinning, cruelty, and ignobleness. 

• The disbelievers deny Allah’s blessings on them. Instead of thanking Him for the wealth and children, He has given them, they disbelieve in His Oneness and are arrogant to obey Him.

• The disbelievers claim that the Quran contains fables of the ancients, which is a sheer lie; rather, Allah revealed the Quran to His Messenger Muhammad and it contains all that man needs to achieve happiness in the life of this world and the Hereafter.

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