The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith), 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 Indeed, there is an unfailing wage for you. 3 Surely, you (Prophet Muhammad) are of a great morality. 4 Soon you will see, as will they, 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 So obey thou not those who cry lies. 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 Neither obey thou each feeble oath-monger, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful, 12 Cruel, moreover, and an illegitimate pretender. 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 We will brand him on the nose. 16 We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden who had sworn that in the morning they would reap it, 17 And were not willing to set aside a portion (for the poor). 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 and so by morning the orchard lay as though it had been fully harvested. 20 (Then) in the morning they called out to one another, saying: 21 'Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck!' 22 So they went off, while whispering to one another. 23 Let there not enter upon you today any needy man. 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray; 26 "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 They said, 'Glory be to God, our Lord; truly, we were evildoers.' 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 They said: Alas for us! In truth we were outrageous. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us a better orchard in its place; to our Lord do we penitently turn.” 32 Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! 33