The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Nuun* – by oath of the pen and by oath of what is written by it. (Alphabet of the Arabic language; Allah and to whomever He reveals, know their precise meanings.) 1 You are not insane, by the munificence of your Lord. 2 And verily, thine shall be a reward neverending 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 So you will soon see, and they too 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 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 They would like you to relent to them so that they could also relent towards you. 9 And yield not to any mean swearer 10 the backbiter who goes about slandering, 11 [or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 that, whenever Our messages are conveyed to him, such a one says, "Fables of ancient times"? 15 We shall brand him upon the muzzle! 16 We have put them [i.e., the Makkans] to test even as We put to test the owners of the orchard when they vowed that they would gather the fruit of their orchard in the morning, 17 without saying, "If it be God's 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 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 So they set out, while lowering their voices, 23 “Make sure that no needy person enters your garden this day.” 24 They left early in the morning bent on this purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray; 26 No, rather, we have been prevented' 27 (Whereupon) the best among them said: 'Did I not say to you to exalt (Allah)' 28 They said: hallowed be Our Lord! verily we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 They said 'Woe to us, truly we were insolent' 31 Maybe our Lord will give us better than this. We turn to our Lord in supplication." 32 Such was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33