The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Nuun* – by oath of the pen and by oath of what is written by it. (Alphabet of the Arabic language; Allah and to whomever He reveals, know their precise meanings.) 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are on an exalted standard of character. 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 5 Which of you is the demented. 6 Verily, your Lord knows better, who (among men) has gone astray from His Path, and He knows better those who are guided. 7 Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth: 8 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. 9 Do not yield to any contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin, 12 Ignoble, besides all that, base-born; 13 (who so acts) simply because he has wealth and sons, 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “These are stories of earlier people.” 15 We shall brand him on the nose. 16 We have tried them as we tried the owners of a certain orchard, who vowed to harvest all its fruits the next morning, 17 Without making exception. 18 Thereupon a calamity from your Lord passed over it while they were asleep, 19 so that by the morrow it became barren and bleak. 20 (Then) in the morning they called out to one another, saying: 21 Saying: Go early to your tilth if you would cut (the produce). 22 So they went, while they consulted together secretly, 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 They set out early in the morning, thinking they had the power to prevent. 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 Nay! we are made to suffer privation. 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 They said, "All glory belongs to God. We have certainly been unjust". 29 Then they turned to each other reproaching. 30 They said, "Woe to us. We have been arrogant. 31 Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us [one] better than it. Indeed, we are toward our Lord desirous." 32 Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the world to come, is assuredly greater, did they but know. 33