Al-Qalam, "The Pen," is the sixty-eighth surah — 52 verses revealed in Mecca, and among the very earliest parts of the Quran.1 It opens: "Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe, you are not, [O Muhammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman. And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted. And indeed, you are of a great moral character."2 Asked later about that character, 'A'isha said: "The character of the Messenger of Allah was the Qur'an."7
What it is about
The surah comforts a Prophet newly facing ridicule and warns him not to compromise: "They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]." It describes one of his opponents — "every worthless habitual swearer [and] scorner, going about with malicious gossip — a preventer of good" — whose confidence comes from wealth and sons.3
Then comes a parable. The owners of a garden swore to harvest it early in the morning, whispering to one another, "There will surely not enter it today upon you [any] poor person." They arrived to find it destroyed overnight. "The most moderate of them said, 'Did I not say to you, "Why do you not exalt [Allah]?"'" and they turned to God in repentance.4
The surah warns of "the Day the shin will be uncovered and they are invited to prostration but they will not be able," though "they used to be invited to prostration while they were sound."5 It closes: "be patient for the decision of your Lord, [O Muhammad], and be not like the companion of the fish when he called out while he was distressed," noting that the deniers "would almost make you slip with their eyes... and they say, 'Indeed, he is mad.' But it is not except a reminder to the worlds."6
Why it matters
Al-Qalam holds the Quran's most famous tribute to the Prophet's ﷺ character, and its parable of the garden is a sharp lesson on greed and on denying the poor their share. Coming from the first years of revelation, it shows how early the Quran joined belief in God to justice toward the needy. To read Al-Qalam in Arabic with translations and recitation, open it on Quran.com.