The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 Thou art not, by thy Sustainer's grace, a madman! 2 and surely yours shall be a never-ending reward, 3 and you are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence. 4 You shall see and they will see 5 which of you is a prey to madness. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 Therefor obey not thou the rejecters 8 They wish that in some way you may yield, so they too might soften their stand. 9 Furthermore, defer not to the contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 back-biting, gossiping, 11 or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 When Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are ancient legends". 15 Soon shall We brand him on his snout. 16 Indeed, We have tried them as We tried the companions of the garden, when they swore to cut its fruit in the [early] morning 17 Without saying: Insha' Allah (If Allah will). 18 Then a calamity from your Lord fell upon it, but they remained fast asleep. 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 And they went early in determination, [assuming themselves] able. 25 When they saw the garden, they said, "Surely we have lost our way. 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 The best among them said: “Did I not say to you: why do you not give glory to (your Lord)?” 28 They said: Glory be to our Lord, surely we were unjust. 29 Some of them started to blame others. 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 suffering [with which We try some people in this world]; but greater by far will be the suffering [which sinners shall have to bear] in the life to come - if they but knew it! 33