The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 You are not, [O Muhammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 Who is distracted. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 Therefore, do not obey those who belie, 8 They wish that you should be pliant so they (too) would be pliant. 9 And obey not thou any swearer ignominous. 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 obstructing virtues, a sinful transgressor, 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 Simply because he possesses 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 Indeed, We have tried them as We tried the companions of the garden, when they swore to cut its fruit in the [early] morning 17 without adding ("if God wills"). 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 so that by the morrow it became barren and bleak. 20 Then they cried out unto each other in the morning. 21 Saying: Run unto your field if ye would pluck (the fruit). 22 So they departed, talking in low voices: 23 "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." 24 They left early in the morning bent on this purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "Indeed, we are lost; 26 Nay! we are made to suffer privation. 27 The best among them said, “Did I not tell you, ‘Why do you not proclaim His purity?’” 28 They said, "Glory be to God, our Lord. We have surely done wrong." 29 And they came blaming one another. 30 They said, "Woe to us. We have been arrogant. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than it in exchange. To our Lord we humbly turn' 32 Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33