The Pen (Al-Qalam)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 Thou art not, by thy Sustainer's grace, a madman! 2 And verily thine shall be a hire unending. 3 And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are on an exalted standard of character. 4 Soon wilt thou see, and they will see, 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 6 Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has gone astray from His way, and He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided. 7 Do not yield to those who reject the Truth. 8 They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate. 9 Nor ever listen to any excessive oath maker, ignoble person. 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful, 12 the crude of low character 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 When Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are ancient legends". 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 16 We have tried them as we tried the owners of a certain orchard, who vowed to harvest all its fruits the next morning, 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 A visitor from your Lord circled around the garden during the night while they were asleep 19 So in the morning it became as if harvested. 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 22 So they went, while they consulted together secretly, 23 "Be sure to stop any poor person from entering the orchard today." 24 They went betimes, strong in (this) purpose. 25 But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!" 26 (Then they said): "Nay! Indeed we are deprived of (the fruits)!" 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 They said: "Glory to Our Lord! Verily, we have been Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)." 29 And they came blaming one another. 30 [In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously! 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; and indeed the punishment of the Hereafter is the greatest, if only they knew! 33