The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, most benevolent, ever-merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen, and all that they write! 1 you are not, because of the favor of your Lord, mad. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character. 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 which of you is a prey to madness. 6 Verily, your Lord knows better, who (among men) has gone astray from His Path, and He knows better those who are guided. 7 Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth: 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 And do not obey every mean swearer, 10 the backbiter who goes about slandering, 11 hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained, 12 moreover ignoble, 13 Because he possesses wealth and sons. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “These are stories of earlier people.” 15 We shall brand him upon 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 and they added not the saving words. 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 and so by morning the orchard lay as though it had been fully harvested. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 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 Saying: No poor man shall enter it today upon you. 24 – and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Most surely we have gone astray 26 No, rather, we have been prevented' 27 The most moderate of them said, "Did I not say to you, 'Why do you not exalt [Allah]?' " 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 They said: "Alas for us! We have indeed transgressed! 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than this in place thereof. Lo! we beseech our Lord. 32 Such is Our chastisement; and the punishment of the Hereafter will be greater, if only they knew! 33