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 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing: 3 surely thou art upon a mighty morality. 4 Soon wilt thou see, and they will see, 5 which of you is a prey to madness. 6 Surely thy Lord knows very well those who have gone astray from His way, and He knows very well those who are guided. 7 So (O Muhammad SAW) obey not the deniers [(of Islamic Monotheism those who belie the Verses of Allah), the Oneness of Allah, and the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad SAW), etc.] 8 They would like you to relent to them so that they could also relent towards you. 9 And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 obstructing virtues, a sinful transgressor, 12 Greedy therewithal, intrusive. 13 Because he is a possessor of wealth and children, 14 That, when Our revelations are recited unto him, he saith: Mere fables of the men of old. 15 [For this] We shall brand him with indelible disgrace! 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 And they made not the exception. 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 And they called out to each other in the morning, 21 "Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits." 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 'No needy person shall set foot in it today' 24 – and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "Verily, we have gone astray," 26 (Then they said): "Nay! Indeed we are deprived of (the fruits)!" 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 They said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!" 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.” 31 Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us [one] better than it. Indeed, we are toward our Lord desirous." 32 Such is the punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew. 33