The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, most benevolent, ever-merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe, 1 Thou art not, through the grace of thy Lord, mad. 2 And indeed for you is an unlimited reward. 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 So thou shalt see, and they will see, 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 6 Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has gone astray from His way, and He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided. 7 Then do not obey the deniers. 8 They wish that in some way you may yield, so they too might soften their stand. 9 And do not yield to any contemptible swearer, 10 [And] scorner, going about with malicious gossip - 11 (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin, 12 moreover ignoble, 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 When Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are ancient legends". 15 Soon shall We brand him on his snout. 16 Indeed, We have tried them as We tried the companions of the garden, when they swore to cut its fruit in the [early] morning 17 and they added not the saving words. 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it, while they were sleeping, 19 So by the morning it seemed as though picked clean. 20 At daybreak they called out to one another: 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 So off they went, whispering to one another: 23 "Be sure to stop any poor person from entering the orchard today." 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "We must have lost our way. 26 No. In fact we have been deprived of it." 27 One who was temperate among them, said: "Did I not say: 'Why don't you priase God?'" 28 They answered: "Limitless in His glory is our Sustainer! Verily, we were doing wrong!" 29 So they came towards each other, blaming. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better than it; to our Lord we humbly turn.' 32 Such is Our chastisement; and the punishment of the Hereafter will be greater, if only they knew! 33