The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 By your Lord's Grace, you are not afflicted with madness, 2 And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted. 3 And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality. 4 So thou shalt see, and they will see, 5 Which of you is the demented. 6 Verily thy Lord! He is the best Knower of him who strayeth from His path, and He is the best Knower of the guided one. 7 Therefore, do not obey those who belie, 8 They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you. 9 And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, 10 Detracter, spreader abroad of slanders, 11 A preventer of good, transgressing and sinful, 12 the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble; 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 shall brand him upon the muzzle! 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 without adding ("if God wills"). 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept 19 So by the morning it seemed as though picked clean. 20 Now when they rose at early morn, they called unto one another, 21 [Saying], "Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit." 22 So they departed, whispering together, 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 And they went out betimes determined in purpose. 25 When they saw (and did not recognise it) they said: "Surely we have lost the way. 26 "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" 27 Said the most moderate of them, 'Did I not say to you, "Why do you not give glory?"' 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 Some of them started to blame others. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33