The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, most benevolent, ever-merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what the scribes write. 1 thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 And verily thou art of a high and noble disposition. 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily thy Lord! He is the best Knower of him who strayeth from His path, and He is the best Knower of the guided one. 7 So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth). 8 They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate. 9 And do not yield to any contemptible swearer, 10 [or to] the slanderer that goes about with defaming tales, 11 hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained, 12 Crude, and above all, mean and infamous, 13 Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 15 [For this] We shall brand him with indelible disgrace! 16 We have tried you as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed to gather the fruits in the morning 17 But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will"). 18 whereupon a visitation for thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep, 19 So it became as black, barren land. 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 [Saying], "Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit." 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones (saying), 23 'No needy man shall enter it today against your will.' 24 And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "We must have lost our way. 26 Nay, but we are desolate! 27 Said the most right-minded among them: "Did I not tell you, 'Will you not extol God's limitless glory?'" 28 They said: "Glory to Our Lord! Verily, we have been Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)." 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 They said, "Woe to us. We have been arrogant. 31 Perhaps our Lord will replace it with a better garden. We turn in repentance to our Lord". 32 Such is Our chastisement; and the punishment of the Hereafter will be greater, if only they knew! 33