The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith), 1 you are not, because of the favor of your Lord, mad. 2 and surely yours shall be a never-ending reward, 3 For you are verily born of sublime nature. 4 Soon you will see, as will they, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily, your Lord knows better, who (among men) has gone astray from His Path, and He knows better those who are guided. 7 Then do not obey the deniers. 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 And yield not to any mean swearer 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful; 12 Foul mouthed, and in addition to all this, of improper lineage. 13 Simply because he possesses wealth and children. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “These are stories of earlier people.” 15 We shall brand him on his nose. 16 We have put them [i.e., the Makkans] to test even as We put to test the owners of the orchard when they vowed that they would gather the fruit of their orchard in the morning, 17 Without making exception. 18 Thereupon a calamity from your Lord passed over it while they were asleep, 19 So in the morning it became as if harvested. 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 "Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" 22 So they set out, while lowering their voices, 23 No needy man shall enter it to-day against you. 24 They went betimes, strong in (this) purpose. 25 When they saw the garden, they said, "Surely we have lost our way. 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 The more upright of the two said, "Did I not bid you to glorify God?" 28 They cried out: “Glory be to our Lord! Certainly we were sinners.” 29 Then they approached one another, blaming each other. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better than it; to our Lord we humbly turn.' 32 Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33