The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by that which they inscribe. 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 And verily, for you (O Muhammad SAW) will be an endless reward. 3 For you are verily born of sublime nature. 4 So thou shalt see, and they will see, 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Surely thy Lord knows very well those who have gone astray from His way, and He knows very well those who are guided. 7 So do not comply with those who deny: 8 They only want that you should relent, so that they may come to terms. 9 And do not yield to any contemptible swearer, 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained, 12 moreover ignoble, 13 Because he is a possessor of wealth and children, 14 When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' 15 Anon We shall brand him on 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 they added not the saving words. 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it, while they were sleeping, 19 and the garden was turned into a barren desert. 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 “Hurry to your orchard if you would gather its fruit.” 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 They went betimes, strong in (this) purpose. 25 Then when they saw it, they said, “We have indeed strayed.” 26 “In fact, we are unfortunate.” 27 (Whereupon) the best among them said: 'Did I not say to you to exalt (Allah)' 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 They said: “Woe to us! We had indeed transgressed. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us better than this. We turn to our Lord in supplication." 32 Such was their punishment, [in this life]. But the punishment of the life to come is much more severe, if only they knew it! 33