{"collection":"Texts of Islam","full_text_available":false,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/sacred_texts_v1_isl_068_htm/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/sacred_texts_v1_isl_068_htm","id":"sacred_texts_v1_isl_068_htm","license":"unknown_pending_legal_review","rights_basis":"sacred_texts_v1_preview_gate_primary_text_only; acquisition-method/ToS and compilation-copyright questions still open, not resolved by this gate","source":"sacred_texts_v1","source_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/isl/068.htm","summary":"This is Surah Al-Qalam (Chapter 68, \"The Pen\") from the Quran, one of the early Meccan revelations directed at the Prophet Muhammad during a period of intense opposition from the Quraysh. Its central purpose is to defend the Prophet against accusations of madness and moral unworthiness, insisting that God knows the difference between the guided and the erring, and commanding Muhammad to resist the pressure of powerful detractors who want him to compromise. The surah is notable for its unusual opening \u2014 the isolated letter \"Nun\" followed by an oath sworn on the pen and the act of writing, an invocation of literacy and divine record as sources of authority. To illustrate the consequences of greed and ingratitude, it includes a parable of wealthy orchard owners who conspire to harvest their crop before the poor can claim any share, only to find their garden destroyed overnight as divine punishment; they repent but the lesson is directed outward at the Meccan elite. The text closes with a brief allusion to Jonah (\"the fellow of the fish\") as a warning against impatient rage in the face of rejection, urging the Prophet toward steadfast endurance. Throughout, the surah frames the Quran itself as a \"reminder to the worlds,\" positioning its opponents' mockery not as evidence of the Prophet's delusion but as a sign of their own moral blindness.","tags":[],"text":null,"title":"068","tradition":"Texts of Islam","translated_text":null,"word_count":656}