The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen, and what they inscribe, 1 You are not, [O Muhammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 For you are verily born of sublime nature. 4 Anon thou wilt 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 Therefor obey not thou the rejecters 8 They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you. 9 Do not yield to one persistent in swearing, 10 Detracter, spreader abroad of slanders, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful, 12 Cruel, moreover, and an illegitimate pretender. 13 just because he has wealth and sons, 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 We shall brand him upon the muzzle! 16 Verily We! We have proved them even as We proved the fellows of a garden when they sware that they would surely reap it in the morning. 17 And made no exception (for the Will of Allah); 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 And it became as though reaped. 20 Then they cried out unto each other in the morning. 21 Saying: "Go to your tilth in the morning, if you would pluck the fruits." 22 They all left, whispering to one another, 23 'No needy person shall set foot in 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 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 The more upright of the two said, "Did I not bid you to glorify God?" 28 They said: Glory be to our Lord, surely we were unjust. 29 Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching. 30 They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.” 31 Belike our Lord may exchange for us better garden than this; verily we are unto our Lord beseechers. 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33