The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 you are not, because of the favor of your Lord, mad. 2 And indeed for you is an unlimited reward. 3 You have attained a high moral standard. 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 5 Which of you is the demented. 6 Indeed your Lord well knows those who have strayed from His path, and He well knows those who are upon guidance. 7 Then do not obey the deniers. 8 They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. 9 And obey thou not every mean swearer, 10 [or to] the slanderer that goes about with defaming tales, 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 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 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 saying: Insha' Allah (If Allah will). 18 Thereupon a calamity from your Lord passed over it while they were asleep, 19 So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). 20 At daybreak they called out to one another: 21 [Saying], "Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit." 22 So they went off, while whispering to one another. 23 “Make sure that no needy person enters your garden this day.” 24 And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose. 25 Then when they beheld it, they said: verily we have strayed. 26 Nay! we are made to suffer privation. 27 The best among them said, “Did I not tell you, ‘Why do you not proclaim His purity?’” 28 They said: hallowed be Our Lord! verily we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching. 30 They said: “Woe to us! We had indeed transgressed. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than this in place thereof. Lo! we beseech our Lord. 32 Such is the punishment [of this world]. And the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew. 33