The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace
۞ Nuun* – by oath of the pen and by oath of what is written by it. (Alphabet of the Arabic language; Allah and to whomever He reveals, know their precise meanings.) 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 Indeed, there is an unfailing wage for you. 3 For you are verily born of sublime nature. 4 You will see and they will also see 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided. 7 Therefore do not listen to the deniers. 8 Fain would they that thou shouldst be pliant, so that they will be pliant. 9 Do not yield to one persistent in swearing, 10 or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, 11 those who hinder good, the guilty aggressor, 12 Greedy therewithal, intrusive. 13 Because he is a possessor of wealth and children, 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 We shall brand him on the nose. 16 [As for such sinners,] behold, We [but] try them as We tried the owners of a certain garden who vowed that they would surely harvest its fruit on the morrow, 17 and they added not the saving words. 18 Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep. 19 so that by the morrow it became barren and bleak. 20 Then they cried out unto each other in the morning. 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 So they departed, whispering together, 23 [Saying], "There will surely not enter it today upon you [any] poor person." 24 They set out early in the morning, thinking they had the power to prevent. 25 But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!" 26 Nay! we are made to suffer privation. 27 The more upright of the two said, "Did I not bid you to glorify God?" 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching. 30 They said: Alas for us! In truth we were outrageous. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us a better orchard in its place; to our Lord do we penitently turn.” 32 SUCH is the suffering [with which We try some people in this world]; but greater by far will be the suffering [which sinners shall have to bear] in the life to come - if they but knew it! 33