The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe, 1 Thou art not, through the grace of thy Lord, mad. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 which of you is a prey to madness. 6 Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided. 7 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 They only want that you should relent, so that they may come to terms. 9 And obey not thou any swearer ignominous. 10 or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful, 12 Cruel, after all that base-born (of illegitimate birth), 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 When Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are ancient legends". 15 We shall mark him upon his nose! 16 We have tried you as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed to gather the fruits in the morning 17 without adding ("if God wills"). 18 A calamity from your Lord befell the orchard as they slept. 19 So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). 20 (Then) in the morning they called out to one another, saying: 21 "Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" 22 So they went, while they consulted together secretly, 23 [Saying], "There will surely not enter it today upon you [any] poor person." 24 And they went in the morning with strong intention, thinking that they have power (to prevent the poor taking anything of the fruits therefrom). 25 When they saw (and did not recognise it) they said: "Surely we have lost the way. 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 Said the most moderate of them, 'Did I not say to you, "Why do you not give glory?"' 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 They said, "Woe to us. We have been arrogant. 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the Hereafter is assuredly even greater, if only they knew. 33