The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
۞ Nuun* – by oath of the pen and by oath of what is written by it. (Alphabet of the Arabic language; Allah and to whomever He reveals, know their precise meanings.) 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted. 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily thy Lord! He is the best Knower of him who strayeth from His path, and He is the best Knower of the guided one. 7 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 Or backbiter, calumniator, slanderer, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful, 12 Cruel, after all that base-born (of illegitimate birth), 13 Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons. 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 We shall brand him on the muzzle. 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 and they added not the saving words. 18 Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep. 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 And they called one another at morning, 21 That, “Go to your fields at early morn, if you want to harvest.” 22 So they set out, while lowering their voices, 23 No Miskin (poor man) shall enter upon you into it today. 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 The most moderate of them said, "Did I not say to you, 'Why do you not exalt [Allah]?' " 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 So they came towards each other, blaming. 30 They said 'Woe to us, truly we were insolent' 31 [But] it may be that our Sustainer will grant us something better instead: for, verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn with hope!" 32 Such is the torment. And the torment of the Hereafter is far greater; if they but knew. 33