The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace
۞ Nun. [These letters (Nun, etc.) are one of the miracles of the Quran, and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings]. By the pen and what the (angels) write (in the Records of men). 1 Thou art not, through the grace of thy Lord, mad. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 For you are verily born of sublime nature. 4 So you will soon see, and they too will see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily your Lord knows those who have gone astray from His path, and He knows those who are guided on the way. 7 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 Neither obey thou each feeble oath-monger, 10 Or backbiter, calumniator, slanderer, 11 Forbidder of good, outstepping the limits, sinful, 12 Cruel, moreover, and an illegitimate pretender. 13 Because he* has some wealth and sons. (Walid bin Mugaira, who cursed the Holy Prophet.) 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 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 And they made not the exception. 18 Wherefore an encircling visitation visited it even as they slept on. 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 "Go early to your farms, if you want to pluck the fruits". 22 And so they departed, whispering to one another: 23 "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." 24 They were resolved to repel the beggars. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "Verily, we have gone astray," 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 They cried out: “Glory be to our Lord! Certainly we were sinners.” 29 So they came towards each other, blaming. 30 They said: “Woe to us! We had indeed transgressed. 31 May be our Lord will give us a better orchard in its stead; we turn to Him." 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