The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by that which they inscribe. 1 thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 Indeed, there is an unfailing wage for you. 3 surely thou art upon a mighty morality. 4 You will see and they will also see 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily, your Lord knows better, who (among men) has gone astray from His Path, and He knows better those who are guided. 7 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 they would wish you to be pliant so that they too may be pliant. 9 Nor ever listen to any excessive oath maker, ignoble person. 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 A preventer of good, transgressing and sinful, 12 Crude, and above all, mean and infamous, 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 Soon We will brand him on the 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 saying, "If it be God's will." 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it, while they were sleeping, 19 and the garden was turned into a barren desert. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 [Saying], "Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit." 22 So they went, while they consulted together secretly, 23 "Be sure to stop any poor person from entering the orchard today." 24 They went forth early, believing that they had the power (to gather the fruit). 25 But when they saw it they said: 'We have surely gone astray. 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 27 One who was temperate among them, said: "Did I not say: 'Why don't you priase God?'" 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 Then they turned, one against another, in reproach. 30 [In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously! 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than this in place thereof. Lo! we beseech our Lord. 32 Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! 33