The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 You (O Muhammad SAW) are not, by the Grace of your Lord, a madman. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 Surely, you (Prophet Muhammad) are of a great morality. 4 And thou wilt see and they will see 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Indeed, your Lord knows very well those who strayed from His Path, and those who are guided. 7 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 They wish that thou shouldst compromise, then they would compromise. 9 Neither obey thou each feeble oath-monger, 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, 12 moreover ignoble, 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 that, whenever Our messages are conveyed to him, such a one says, "Fables of ancient times"? 15 We will soon singe his pig-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 exception (for the Will of Allah); 18 Then there passed by on the (garden) something (fire) from your Lord at night and burnt it while they were asleep. 19 So in the morning it became as if harvested. 20 And they called one another at morning, 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 So off they went, whispering to one another: 23 "Be sure to stop any poor person from entering the orchard today." 24 They set out early in the morning, thinking they had the power to prevent. 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 rather, we are utterly ruined.” 27 The best among them said, “Did I not tell you, ‘Why do you not proclaim His purity?’” 28 They said, "All glory belongs to God. We have certainly been unjust". 29 Then some of them advanced against others, blaming each other. 30 They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.” 31 May be our Lord will give us a better orchard in its stead; we turn to Him." 32 Such was their punishment, [in this life]. But the punishment of the life to come is much more severe, if only they knew it! 33