Islam
Surah Al-Qalam (68)"The Pen", 52 verses, revealed in Mecca
Text
Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith),
Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman.
And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing.
And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature.
And thou wilt see and they will see
Which of you is the demented.
Lo! thy Lord is Best Aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is Best Aware of those who walk aright.
Therefor obey not thou the rejecters
Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise.
Neither obey thou each feeble oath-monger,
Detracter, spreader abroad of slanders,
Hinderer of the good, transgressor, malefactor
Greedy therewithal, intrusive.
It is because he is possessed of wealth and children
That, when Our revelations are recited unto him, he saith: Mere fables of the men of old.
We shall brand him on the nose.
Lo! We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed that they would pluck its fruit next morning,
And made no exception (for the Will of Allah);
Then a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept
And in the morning it was as if plucked.
And they cried out one unto another in the morning,
Saying: Run unto your field if ye would pluck (the fruit).
So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones:
No needy man shall enter it to-day against you.
They went betimes, strong in (this) purpose.
But when they saw it, they said: Lo! we are in error!
Nay, but we are desolate!
The best among them said: Said I not unto you: Why glorify ye not (Allah)?
They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers.
Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching.
They said: Alas for us! In truth we were outrageous.
It may be that our Lord will give us better than this in place thereof. Lo! we beseech our Lord.
Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know.
Lo! for those who keep from evil are gardens of bliss with their Lord.
Shall We then treat those who have surrendered as We treat the guilty?
What aileth you? How foolishly ye judge!
Or have ye a scripture wherein ye learn
That ye shall indeed have all that ye choose?
Or have ye a covenant on oath from Us that reacheth to the Day of Judgment, that yours shall be all that ye ordain?
Ask them (O Muhammad) which of them will vouch for that!
Or have they other gods? Then let them bring their other gods if they are truthful
On the day when it befalleth in earnest, and they are ordered to prostrate themselves but are not able,
With eyes downcast, abasement stupefying them. And they had been summoned to prostrate themselves while they were yet unhurt.
Leave Me (to deal) with those who give the lie to this pronouncement. We shall lead them on by steps from whence they know not.
Yet I bear with them, for lo! My scheme is firm.
Or dost thou (Muhammad) ask a fee from them so that they are heavily taxed?
Or is the Unseen theirs that they can write (thereof)?
But wait thou for thy Lord's decree, and be not like him of the fish, who cried out in despair.
Had it not been that favour from his Lord had reached him he surely had been cast into the wilderness while he was reprobate.
But his Lord chose him and placed him among the righteous.
And lo! those who disbelieve would fain disconcert thee with their eyes when they hear the Reminder, and they say: Lo! he is indeed mad;
When it is naught else than a Reminder to creation.
English: Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain, via alquran.cloud.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”
Leviticus 19:18
“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
Mahabharata 5.1517
“One should never do to another what one regards as injurious to oneself.”
Dhammapada 129 (trans. Bhikkhu Sujato)
“All tremble at the rod, all fear death. Treating others like oneself, neither kill nor incite to kill.”
The Path to Wisdom
Proverbs 4:7
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”
Dhammapada 20:282 (trans. Bhikkhu Sujato)
“From meditation springs wisdom, without meditation, wisdom ends.”
Analects 2:11 (trans. James Legge)
“If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others.”
Tao Te Ching 33 (trans. James Legge)
“He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is intelligent.”
Humility & Surrender
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18 (trans. Edwin Arnold)
“And let go those, Rites and writ duties! Fly to Me alone! Make Me thy single refuge! I will free Thy soul from all its sins! Be of good cheer!”
Matthew 5:5
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
Tao Te Ching 22 (trans. James Legge)
“The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the worn out, new. He whose (desires) are few gets them; he whose (desires) are many goes astray.”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
Dhammapada 2 (trans. Bhikkhu Sujato)
“Intention is the leader of things; intention is first, they’re made by intention. If with pure intent you speak or act, happiness follows you like a shadow that never leaves.”
Genesis 1:3
“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”