The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed. 2 And verily thine shall be a hire unending. 3 For you are truly of a sublime character. 4 and [one day] thou shalt see, and they [who now deride thee] shall see, 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Verily, your Lord knows better, who (among men) has gone astray from His Path, and He knows better those who are guided. 7 So (O Muhammad SAW) obey not the deniers [(of Islamic Monotheism those who belie the Verses of Allah), the Oneness of Allah, and the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad SAW), etc.] 8 They wish that in some way you may yield, so they too might soften their stand. 9 Do not yield to one persistent in swearing, 10 or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, 11 or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, 12 Violent (and cruel),- with all that, base-born,- 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' 15 [For this] We shall brand him with indelible disgrace! 16 Now We have tried them, even as We tried the owners of the garden when they swore they would pluck in the morning 17 And were not willing to set aside a portion (for the poor). 18 Wherefore an encircling visitation visited it even as they slept on. 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 At daybreak they called to each other: 21 [Saying], "Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit." 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose. 25 When they saw (and did not recognise it) they said: "Surely we have lost the way. 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 The best among them said: Said I not unto you: Why glorify ye not (Allah)? 28 They said, "Glory be to God, our Lord. We have surely done wrong." 29 Then they began to heap reproaches on each other. 30 Saying: "Alas the woe, we were iniquitous. 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 chastisement; and the chastisement of the world to come, is assuredly greater, did they but know. 33