The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen, and what they inscribe, 1 Thou art not, through the grace of thy Lord, mad. 2 And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted. 3 And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are on an exalted standard of character. 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 5 which of you is the demented. 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 do not yield to the rejecters. 8 They would like you to relent to them so that they could also relent towards you. 9 Furthermore, defer not to the contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful, 12 Greedy therewithal, intrusive. 13 or that because he may possess wealth and children. 14 When Our revelations are rehearsed unto him, he saith: fables of the ancients. 15 We shall brand him on the nose. 16 Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. 17 And they made not the exception. 18 A calamity from your Lord befell the orchard as they slept. 19 and in the morning it was if the garden had been reaped. 20 Then they called out one to another as soon as the morning broke, 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 And so they departed, whispering to one another: 23 "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." 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 rather, we are utterly ruined.” 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 They said, 'Glory be to God, our Lord; truly, we were evildoers.' 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better than it; to our Lord we humbly turn.' 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33