The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ NUN. I CALL to witness the pen and what they inscribe, 1 you are not, because of the favor of your Lord, mad. 2 And verily, thine shall be a reward neverending 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 So you will see and they will see 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily thy Lord! He is the best Knower of him who strayeth from His path, and He is the best Knower of the guided one. 7 Then do not obey the deniers. 8 They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 A defamer, spreader abroad of slander. 11 One who excessively forbids the good, transgressor, sinner. 12 moreover ignoble, 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 When Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are ancient legends". 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 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 And they did not say, “If Allah wills”. 18 whereupon a visitation for thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep, 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 Now when they rose at early morn, they called unto one another, 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 So they went off speaking to each other in a low voice. 23 'No needy person shall set foot in it today' 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray; 26 Nay! we are made to suffer privation. 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 They said, "Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers." 29 Then they turned, one against another, in reproach. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us better than this. We turn to our Lord in supplication." 32 Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33