The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen, and what they inscribe, 1 You (O Muhammad SAW) are not, by the Grace of your Lord, a madman. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 And verily thou art of a high and noble disposition. 4 Soon wilt thou see, and they will see, 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Surely your Lord best knows him who errs from His way, and He best knows the followers of the right course. 7 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 Or backbiter, calumniator, slanderer, 11 the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful; 12 ill-mannered, and moraly corrupt 13 (who so acts) simply because he has wealth and sons, 14 When Our Verses (of the Quran) are recited to him, he says: "Tales of the men of old!" 15 We shall brand him on the muzzle. 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 Without making exception. 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it, while they were sleeping, 19 Then in the morning it became as though it had been reaped. 20 And they called one another at morning, 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 Let there not enter upon you today any needy man. 24 And they went in the morning with strong intention, thinking that they have power (to prevent the poor taking anything of the fruits therefrom). 25 But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray; 26 Nay! we are made to suffer privation. 27 One who was temperate among them, said: "Did I not say: 'Why don't you priase God?'" 28 They said, "Glory be to God, our Lord. We have surely done wrong." 29 And they came blaming one another. 30 They said 'Woe to us, truly we were insolent' 31 Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us [one] better than it. Indeed, we are toward our Lord desirous." 32 Such is the chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know! 33