The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 You are not, [O Muhammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman. 2 There is surely reward unending for you, 3 And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality. 4 You shall see and they will see 5 Which of you is the afflicted [by a devil]. 6 Verily it is thy Lord that knoweth best, which (among men) hath strayed from His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (true) Guidance. 7 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 They only want that you should relent, so that they may come to terms. 9 Furthermore, defer not to the contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 the backbiter who goes about slandering, 11 Who hinders men from (doing) good, the transgressor, the iniquitous, 12 Crude, and above all, mean and infamous, 13 Simply because he possesses wealth and children. 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 We shall brand him over the nose! 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 they made not the exception. 18 Then there encompassed it a visitation from your Lord while they were sleeping. 19 and the garden was turned into a barren desert. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." 24 – and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose. 25 When they saw (and did not recognise it) they said: "Surely we have lost the way. 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 They answered: "Limitless in His glory is our Sustainer! Verily, we were doing wrong!" 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 They said: “Woe to us! We had indeed transgressed. 31 Perhaps our Lord will replace it with a better garden. We turn in repentance to our Lord". 32 Such was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33