The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 By the grace of your Lord, you are not a mad man. 2 And indeed for you is an unlimited reward. 3 For you are truly of a sublime character. 4 You will see and they will also 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 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 They only want that you should relent, so that they may come to terms. 9 And yield not to any mean swearer 10 Defamer, going about with slander 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, malefactor 12 the crude of low character 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 We shall brand him on the muzzle. 16 Now We have tried them, even as We tried the owners of the garden when they swore they would pluck in the morning 17 And made no exception (for the Will of Allah); 18 Wherefore an encircling visitation visited it even as they slept on. 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 Saying: Run unto your field if ye would pluck (the fruit). 22 So they set out, while lowering their voices, 23 No Miskin (poor man) shall enter upon you into it today. 24 And they went out betimes determined in purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Most surely we have gone astray 26 “In fact, we are unfortunate.” 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 Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)." 29 Then they approached one another, blaming each other. 30 They said 'Woe to us, truly we were insolent' 31 Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us [one] better than it. Indeed, we are toward our Lord desirous." 32 Such was their punishment, [in this life]. But the punishment of the life to come is much more severe, if only they knew it! 33