The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith), 1 you are not, because of the favor of your Lord, mad. 2 Indeed, there is an unfailing wage for you. 3 And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality. 4 So thou shalt see, and they will see, 5 which of you is a prey to madness. 6 Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided. 7 So do not yield to the rejecters. 8 They wish that you should be pliant so they (too) would be pliant. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples." 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 16 We have put them [i.e., the Makkans] to test even as We put to test the owners of the orchard when they vowed that they would gather the fruit of their orchard in the morning, 17 Without saying: Insha' Allah (If Allah will). 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 So by the morning it seemed as though picked clean. 20 Then they cried out unto each other in the morning. 21 [Saying], "Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit." 22 They all left, whispering to one another, 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "We must have lost our way. 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 27 The best among them said: “Did I not say to you: why do you not give glory to (your Lord)?” 28 They said, "Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers." 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 They said, "Woe to us. We have been arrogant. 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 punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew. 33