The Pen (Al-Qalam)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen, and what they inscribe, 1 By the grace of your Lord, you are not a mad man. 2 There is surely reward unending for you, 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 So you will see and they will see 5 Who is distracted. 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 Therefore, do not obey those who belie, 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 back-biting, gossiping, 11 Forbidder of good, outstepping the limits, sinful, 12 the crude of low character 13 Because he is owner of riches and children. 14 When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries! 15 Soon We will brand him on the nose. 16 We have tried you as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed to gather the fruits in the morning 17 Without making exception. 18 Wherefore an encircling visitation visited it even as they slept on. 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 "Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 "Be sure to stop any poor person from entering the orchard today." 24 They went forth early, believing that they had the power (to gather the fruit). 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 Aye! it is we who are deprived! 27 (Whereupon) the best among them said: 'Did I not say to you to exalt (Allah)' 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 Then they turned, one against another, in reproach. 30 They said, "Woe to us. We have been arrogant. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us better than this. We turn to our Lord in supplication." 32 Such is the punishment; and indeed the punishment of the Hereafter is the greatest, if only they knew! 33