The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen, and all that they write! 1 You are not insane, by the munificence of your Lord. 2 Indeed, there is an unfailing wage for you. 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 You shall see and they will see 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Surely your Lord knows well those who have strayed from His Way just as He knows well those who are on the Right Way. 7 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 They wish that you should be pliant so they (too) would be pliant. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 [And] scorner, going about with malicious gossip - 11 those who hinder good, the guilty aggressor, 12 the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble; 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 When Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are ancient legends". 15 We shall brand him on the nose. 16 Verily We! We have proved them even as We proved the fellows of a garden when they sware that they would surely reap it in the morning. 17 And were not willing to set aside a portion (for the poor). 18 A visitor from your Lord circled around the garden during the night while they were asleep 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 And they called out to each other in the morning, 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 And in the morning they went, having the power to prevent. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way: 26 "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" 27 The best of them said: Did I not say to you, Why do you not glorify (Allah)? 28 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 So they came towards each other, blaming. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 May be our Lord will give us a better orchard in its stead; we turn to Him." 32 Such is the torment. And the torment of the Hereafter is far greater; if they but knew. 33