The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 You will certainly receive a never-ending reward. 3 For you are verily born of sublime nature. 4 You shall see and they will see 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided. 7 So do not comply with those who deny: 8 They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. 9 Neither obey thou each feeble oath-monger, 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 obstructing virtues, a sinful transgressor, 12 Cruel, moreover, and an illegitimate pretender. 13 or that because he may possess wealth and children. 14 That, when Our revelations are recited unto him, he saith: Mere fables of the men of old. 15 We will soon singe his pig-nose. 16 [As for such sinners,] behold, We [but] try them as We tried the owners of a certain garden who vowed that they would surely harvest its fruit on the morrow, 17 without adding ("if God wills"). 18 Then a calamity from your Lord fell upon it, but they remained fast asleep. 19 So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 Saying: Go early to your tilth if you would cut (the produce). 22 So they went off speaking to each other in a low voice. 23 No Miskin (poor man) shall enter upon you into it today. 24 They went forth early, believing that they had the power (to gather the fruit). 25 Then when they saw it, they said, “We have indeed strayed.” 26 Nay, but we are desolate! 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 Some of them started to blame others. 30 They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.” 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 chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know! 33