The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen, and all that they write! 1 By the grace of your Lord, you are not a mad man. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are on an exalted standard of character. 4 So you will see and they will see 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Verily your Lord knows those who have gone astray from His path, and He knows those who are guided on the way. 7 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 They wish that you should be pliant so they (too) would be pliant. 9 Do not heed a contemptible swearer, 10 Detracter, spreader abroad of slanders, 11 the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful; 12 Greedy therewithal, intrusive. 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “These are stories of earlier people.” 15 Soon shall We brand him on his snout. 16 Now We have tried them, even as We tried the owners of the garden when they swore they would pluck in the morning 17 But did not add: "If God may please." 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 and in the morning it was if the garden had been reaped. 20 Now when they rose at early morn, they called unto one another, 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 'No needy person shall set foot in it today' 24 And they left at early morn, assuming they were in control of their purpose. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "Verily, we have gone astray," 26 No. In fact we have been deprived of it." 27 The best among them said: “Did I not say to you: why do you not give glory to (your Lord)?” 28 They cried out: “Glory be to our Lord! Certainly we were sinners.” 29 So they came towards each other, blaming. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 May be our Lord will give us a better orchard in its stead; we turn to Him." 32 Such was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33