The Qur'an - Translated with a New Introduction - A.J. Droge
68. The Pen
The Qur'an - Translated with a New Introduction - A.J. Droge
A.J. Droge [+]
A. J. Droge is the translator of The Qur’an: A New Annotated Translation (Equinox, 2013), and the author of Homer or Moses? Early Christian Interpretations of the History of Culture and A Noble Death: Suicide and Martyrdom among Christians and Jews in Antiquity (with J.D. Tabor).
Description
This sūra opens with a denial that the Prophet is ‘possessed,’ before turning to denounce one of his opponents directly. Next comes a parable warning against arrogant self-satisfaction, followed by a section on eschatological rewards and punishments, and a concluding exhortation to the Prophet. Q68 receives its title from the opening verse in which God swears ‘by the pen,’ perhaps referring to the idea of God’s written revelation or the Book of Destiny by which everything is ordained.