The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, most benevolent, ever-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 Thou art not, through the grace of thy Lord, mad. 2 You will certainly receive a never-ending reward. 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 You will see and they will also 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 give in to the deniers of truth. 8 They wish that thou shouldst compromise, then they would compromise. 9 And obey thou not every mean swearer, 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 Hinderer of the good, trespasser; sinner. 12 Foul mouthed, and in addition to all this, of improper lineage. 13 (who so acts) simply because he has wealth and sons, 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 Soon We will brand him on the nose. 16 We have tried them as we tried the owners of a certain orchard, who vowed to harvest all its fruits the next 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 the garden was turned into a barren desert. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 'Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck!' 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 Saying: No poor man shall enter it today upon you. 24 They went forth early, believing that they had the power (to gather the fruit). 25 Then when they saw it, they said, “We have indeed strayed.” 26 Nay, but we are desolate! 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 They said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!" 29 Then they approached one another, blaming each other. 30 They said: woe unto us! verily we! we have been arrogant. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us a better orchard in its place; to our Lord do we penitently turn.” 32 Such is Our chastisement; and the punishment of the Hereafter will be greater, if only they knew! 33