The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith), 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted. 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 You will see, and they will see, 5 Which of you is the demented. 6 Verily it is thy Lord that knoweth best, which (among men) hath strayed from His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (true) Guidance. 7 Therefore, do not obey those who belie, 8 They wish that in some way you may yield, so they too might soften their stand. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 the backbiter who goes about slandering, 11 the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful; 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 (who so acts) simply because he has wealth and sons, 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 16 Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden, when they swore that they would certainly cut off the produce in the morning, 17 But did not add: "If God may please." 18 Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep. 19 so that by the morrow it became barren and bleak. 20 Then they cried out unto each other in the morning. 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 They all left, whispering to one another, 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 And they went out betimes determined in purpose. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "Verily, we have gone astray," 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than it in exchange. To our Lord we humbly turn' 32 Such is the chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know! 33