The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 (Muhammad), you are not insane, thanks to the bounty of your Lord. 2 Most surely, you will have a never ending reward. 3 for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; 4 Soon you will see, as will they, 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth: 8 Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise. 9 And obey thou not every mean swearer, 10 back-biting, gossiping, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, malefactor 12 Ignoble, besides all that, base-born; 13 just because he has wealth and sons, 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 We will soon singe his pig-nose. 16 We have tried you as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed to gather the fruits in the morning 17 and they added not the saving words. 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 And in the morning it was as if plucked. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 "Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" 22 And so they departed, 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 When they saw the garden, they said, "Surely we have lost our way. 26 "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" 27 The best among them said: Said I not unto you: Why glorify ye not (Allah)? 28 They said, "Glory be to God, our Lord. We have surely done wrong." 29 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 They said: “Woe to us! We had indeed transgressed. 31 [But] it may be that our Sustainer will grant us something better instead: for, verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn with hope!" 32 Such is the punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew. 33