The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what the scribes write. 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 For you are verily born of sublime nature. 4 Soon you will see, as will they, 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided. 7 So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth). 8 They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. 9 And do not yield to any contemptible swearer, 10 Defamer, going about with slander 11 Who hinders men from (doing) good, the transgressor, the iniquitous, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 It is because he is possessed of wealth and children 14 When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' 15 We shall brand him upon the muzzle! 16 We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden who had sworn that in the morning they would reap it, 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 Thereupon a calamity from your Lord passed over it while they were asleep, 19 and the garden was turned into a barren desert. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 'Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck!' 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 'No needy man shall enter it today against your will.' 24 They set out early in the morning, thinking they had the power to prevent. 25 Then when they saw it, they said, “We have indeed strayed.” 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 The best among them said: "Did I not tell you: why do you not say: Insha' Allah (If Allah will)." 28 They said, "Glory be to God, our Lord. We have surely done wrong." 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 Said they: O woe to us! surely we were inordinate: 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33