The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Nun. By the pen and by that which they inscribe. 1 Thou art not, through the grace of thy Lord, mad. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 5 which of you was bereft of reason. 6 Surely thy Lord knows very well those who have gone astray from His way, and He knows very well those who are guided. 7 Therefore, do not obey those who belie, 8 They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. 9 Furthermore, defer not to the contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin, 12 Gross, and therewithal ignoble. 13 Because he* has some wealth and sons. (Walid bin Mugaira, who cursed the Holy Prophet.) 14 When Our Verses (of the Quran) are recited to him, he says: "Tales of the men of old!" 15 We shall brand him over 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 allowance [for the will of God]: 18 Wherefore an encircling visitation visited it even as they slept on. 19 and in the morning it was if the garden had been reaped. 20 (Then) in the morning they called out to one another, saying: 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 'No needy man shall enter it today against your will.' 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But when they saw it they said: 'We have surely gone astray. 26 Indeed, we are utterly ruined!" 27 The best among them said: Said I not unto you: Why glorify ye not (Allah)? 28 They cried out: “Glory be to our Lord! Certainly we were sinners.” 29 Then they turned, one against another, in reproach. 30 They said 'Woe to us, truly we were insolent' 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 chastisement; and the chastisement of the Hereafter is assuredly even greater, if only they knew. 33