The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 And verily thine shall be a hire unending. 3 And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are on an exalted standard of character. 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily it is thy Lord that knoweth best, which (among men) hath strayed from His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (true) Guidance. 7 Therefor obey not thou the rejecters 8 They only want that you should relent, so that they may come to terms. 9 And do not yield to any contemptible swearer, 10 the backbiter who goes about slandering, 11 One who excessively forbids the good, transgressor, sinner. 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 It is because he is possessed of wealth and children 14 that, whenever Our messages are conveyed to him, such a one says, "Fables of ancient times"? 15 We will brand him on the nose. 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 without adding ("if God wills"). 18 Then a calamity from your Lord fell upon it, but they remained fast asleep. 19 So in the morning it became as if harvested. 20 Now when they rose at early morn, they called unto one another, 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 They all left, whispering to one another, 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. 25 But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!" 26 "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" 27 The best among them said: Said I not unto you: Why glorify ye not (Allah)? 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 Then they began to heap reproaches on each other. 30 They said, "Woe to us. We have been arrogant. 31 Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us [one] better than it. Indeed, we are toward our Lord desirous." 32 Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33