The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the 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 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 and [one day] thou shalt see, and they [who now deride thee] shall see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily it is thy Lord that knoweth best, which (among men) hath strayed from His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (true) Guidance. 7 Therefore do not listen to the deniers. 8 They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. 9 And do not obey every mean swearer, 10 Defamer, going about with slander 11 [or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor, 12 Crude, and above all, mean and infamous, 13 Because he* has some wealth and sons. (Walid bin Mugaira, who cursed the Holy Prophet.) 14 when Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are just ancient fables." 15 We will brand him upon the snout. 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 And were not willing to set aside a portion (for the poor). 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 So the (garden) became black by the morning, like a pitch dark night (in complete ruins). 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 Let there not enter upon you today any needy man. 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray; 26 Nay! we are made to suffer privation. 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 They said, "Woe to us. We have been arrogant. 31 Maybe, our Lord will give us instead one better than it; surely to our Lord do we make our humble petition. 32 Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33