The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 You are not, [O Muhammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman. 2 And verily thine shall be a hire unending. 3 for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily, thy Sustainer alone is fully aware as to who has strayed from His path, Just as He alone is fully aware of those who have found the right way. 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 would like you to relent to them so that they could also relent towards you. 9 And obey thou not every mean swearer, 10 [And] scorner, going about with malicious gossip - 11 Forbidder of good, outstepping the limits, sinful, 12 Violent (and cruel),- with all that, base-born,- 13 Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons. 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 Anon We shall brand him on snout. 16 Lo! We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed that they would pluck its fruit next 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 by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 And they called out to each other in the morning, 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 So off they went, whispering to one another: 23 "Indeed, no needy person shall enter it today [and come] upon you [unawares,]" 24 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "We must have lost our way. 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 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. We have surely done wrong." 29 Some of them started to blame others. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 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