The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by that which they inscribe. 1 You are not, [O Muhammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman. 2 Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing: 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 So thou shalt see, and they will see, 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 6 Indeed, your Lord knows very well those who strayed from His Path, and those who are guided. 7 Therefore, do not obey those who belie, 8 They wish that in some way you may yield, so they too might soften their stand. 9 Neither obey thou each feeble oath-monger, 10 or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, 11 Hinderer of the good, trespasser; sinner. 12 Greedy therewithal, intrusive. 13 Simply because he possesses wealth and children. 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 We shall mark him upon his nose! 16 We have indeed tested them the way We had tested the owners of the garden when they swore that they would reap its harvest the next morning. 17 without adding ("if God wills"). 18 Thereupon a calamity from your Lord passed over it while they were asleep, 19 So by the morning it seemed as though picked clean. 20 They then called out to each other at daybreak. 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 “Make sure that no needy person enters your garden this day.” 24 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. 25 Then when they saw it, they said, “We have indeed strayed.” 26 Aye! it is we who are deprived! 27 The best among them said, “Did I not tell you, ‘Why do you not proclaim His purity?’” 28 They said: "Glory to Our Lord! Verily, we have been Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)." 29 Then they turned to each other reproaching. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 Perhaps our Lord will replace it with a better garden. We turn in repentance to our Lord". 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33