The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen, and all that they write! 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 For you are verily born of sublime nature. 4 So you will see, and they will realise, 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 So do not comply with those who deny: 8 They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate. 9 And obey not thou any swearer ignominous. 10 A defamer, spreader abroad of slander. 11 A preventer of good, transgressing and sinful, 12 moreover ignoble, 13 Because he possesses wealth and sons. 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 We shall brand him on the nose. 16 We have indeed tested them the way We had tested the owners of the garden when they swore that they would reap its harvest the next morning. 17 and made no allowance [for the will of God]: 18 Then there passed by on the (garden) something (fire) from your Lord at night and burnt it while they were asleep. 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 Then they called out one to another as soon as the morning broke, 21 Saying: Run unto your field if ye would pluck (the fruit). 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 And they went in the morning with strong intention, thinking that they have power (to prevent the poor taking anything of the fruits therefrom). 25 But when they saw it, they said, "Indeed, we are lost; 26 Nay, but we are desolate! 27 The best of them said: Did I not say to you, Why do you not glorify (Allah)? 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 So they came towards each other, blaming. 30 They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.” 31 "It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this: for we do turn to Him (in repentance)!" 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33