The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
۞ Nun. [These letters (Nun, etc.) are one of the miracles of the Quran, and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings]. By the pen and what the (angels) write (in the Records of men). 1 You (O Muhammad SAW) are not, by the Grace of your Lord, a madman. 2 And verily thine shall be a hire unending. 3 And verily thou art of a high and noble disposition. 4 So you will 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 They wish that you should be pliant so they (too) would be pliant. 9 Furthermore, defer not to the contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 the backbiter who goes about slandering, 11 hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained, 12 Ignoble, besides all that, base-born; 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 When Our Verses (of the Quran) are recited to him, he says: "Tales of the men of old!" 15 We shall brand him over the nose! 16 We have put them [i.e., the Makkans] to test even as We put to test the owners of the orchard when they vowed that they would gather the fruit of their orchard in the morning, 17 and they added not the saving words. 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it, while they were sleeping, 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 Then they cried out unto each other in the morning. 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 No Miskin (poor man) shall enter upon you into it today. 24 They were resolved to repel the beggars. 25 Then when they saw it, they said, “We have indeed strayed.” 26 Nay! we are made to suffer privation. 27 One who was temperate among them, said: "Did I not say: 'Why don't you priase God?'" 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 Then some of them advanced against others, blaming each other. 30 They said: “Woe to us! We had indeed transgressed. 31 We hope that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this. Truly, we turn to our Lord (wishing for good that He may forgive our sins, and reward us in the Hereafter)." 32 Such is the torment. And the torment of the Hereafter is far greater; if they but knew. 33