The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 Thou art not, through the grace of thy Lord, mad. 2 and surely yours shall be a never-ending reward, 3 And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are on an exalted standard of character. 4 So very soon, you will see and they too will realise – 5 Who is distracted. 6 Verily, thy Sustainer alone is fully aware as to who has strayed from His path, Just as He alone is fully aware of those who have found the right way. 7 So (O Muhammad SAW) obey not the deniers [(of Islamic Monotheism those who belie the Verses of Allah), the Oneness of Allah, and the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad SAW), etc.] 8 they wish you would compromise, then, they would compromise. 9 And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, 10 Defamer, going about with slander 11 hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 just because he has wealth and sons, 14 When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' 15 We will brand him upon 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 Then a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept 19 Then in the morning it became as though it had been reaped. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 [Saying], "There will surely not enter it today upon you [any] poor person." 24 And they left at early morn, assuming they were in control of their purpose. 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 No, rather, we have been prevented' 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 They said: Glory be to our Lord, surely we were unjust. 29 Then they turned, one against another, in reproach. 30 Saying: "Alas the woe, we were iniquitous. 31 Maybe, our Lord will give us instead one better than it; surely to our Lord do we make our humble petition. 32 Such was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33