The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ 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, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; 4 And thou wilt see and they will see 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Surely your Lord knows well those who have strayed from His Way just as He knows well those who are on the Right Way. 7 Then do not obey the deniers. 8 they wish you would compromise, then, they would compromise. 9 And yield not to any mean swearer 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful, 12 Foul mouthed, and in addition to all this, of improper lineage. 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 We shall brand him upon the muzzle! 16 Verily, We have tried them as We tried the people of the garden, when they swore to pluck the fruits of the (garden) in the morning, 17 and they added not the saving words. 18 Then there passed by on the (garden) something (fire) from your Lord at night and burnt it while they were asleep. 19 and in the morning it was if the garden had been reaped. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 Saying: "Go to your tilth in the morning, if you would pluck the fruits." 22 They all left, whispering to one another, 23 "Let no beggar come to the garden". 24 And they went in the morning with strong intention, thinking that they have power (to prevent the poor taking anything of the fruits therefrom). 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 Said the most moderate of them, 'Did I not say to you, "Why do you not give glory?"' 28 They said: hallowed be Our Lord! verily we have been wrong-doers. 29 So they came towards each other, blaming. 30 They said: woe unto us! verily we! we have been arrogant. 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