The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 And thou wilt see and they will see 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily, your Lord knows better, who (among men) has gone astray from His Path, and He knows better those who are guided. 7 Therefor obey not thou the rejecters 8 They wish that you should be pliant so they (too) would be pliant. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 Detracter, spreader abroad of slanders, 11 Who hinders men from (doing) good, the transgressor, the iniquitous, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 Simply because he possesses wealth and children. 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 16 Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden, when they swore that they would certainly cut off the produce in the morning, 17 But did not add: "If God may please." 18 whereupon a visitation for thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep, 19 So it became as black, barren land. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 “Hurry to your orchard if you would gather its fruit.” 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." 24 They left early in the morning bent on this purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "Indeed, we are lost; 26 nay, rather we have been robbed!' 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then they approached one another, blaming each other. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 [But] it may be that our Sustainer will grant us something better instead: for, verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn with hope!" 32 Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! 33