The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what the scribes write. 1 you are not, because of the favor of your Lord, mad. 2 And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted. 3 For you are truly of a sublime character. 4 So you will see, and they will realise, 5 which of you is the demented. 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 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 they would wish you to be pliant so that they too may be pliant. 9 Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths, 10 Defamer, going about with slander 11 Hinderer of the good, trespasser; sinner. 12 the crude of low character 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 That, when Our revelations are recited unto him, he saith: Mere fables of the men of old. 15 [For this] We shall brand him with indelible disgrace! 16 We have tested them in the same way as we tested the dwellers of the garden (in Yemen) when they swore to pluck all the fruits of the garden in the morning, 17 And they made not the exception. 18 Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep. 19 And in the morning it was as if plucked. 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 So they went off, while whispering to one another. 23 "Indeed, no needy person shall enter it today [and come] upon you [unawares,]" 24 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. 25 When they saw the garden, they said, "Surely we have lost our way. 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 They said: hallowed be Our Lord! verily we have been wrong-doers. 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.” 31 Maybe, our Lord will give us instead one better than it; surely to our Lord do we make our humble petition. 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33