The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace
۞ 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 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 Most surely, you will have a never ending reward. 3 And verily thou art of a high and noble disposition. 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Lo! thy Lord is Best Aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is Best Aware of those who walk aright. 7 So do not yield to the rejecters. 8 Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise. 9 Do not heed a contemptible swearer, 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, malefactor 12 the crude of low character 13 Because he is a possessor of wealth and children, 14 that, whenever Our messages are conveyed to him, such a one says, "Fables of ancient times"? 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 16 Lo! We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed that they would pluck its fruit next morning, 17 and made no allowance [for the will of God]: 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 And it became as though reaped. 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 Saying: "Go to your tilth in the morning, if you would pluck the fruits." 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 "Indeed, no needy person shall enter it today [and come] upon you [unawares,]" 24 And they left at early morn, assuming they were in control of their purpose. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "Verily, we have gone astray," 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 The best among them said, “Did I not tell you, ‘Why do you not proclaim His purity?’” 28 They said, "Glory be to God, our Lord. We have surely done wrong." 29 Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 We hope that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this. Truly, we turn to our Lord (wishing for good that He may forgive our sins, and reward us in the Hereafter)." 32 SUCH is the suffering [with which We try some people in this world]; but greater by far will be the suffering [which sinners shall have to bear] in the life to come - if they but knew it! 33