The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 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 indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 which of you is a prey to 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 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 only want that you should relent, so that they may come to terms. 9 Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths, 10 [or to] the slanderer that goes about with defaming tales, 11 One who excessively forbids the good, transgressor, sinner. 12 Violent (and cruel),- with all that, base-born,- 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 When Our revelations are rehearsed unto him, he saith: fables 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 Without making exception. 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 Then in the morning it became as though it had been reaped. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 “Hurry to your orchard if you would gather its fruit.” 22 So they departed, whispering together, 23 “Make sure that no needy person enters your garden this day.” 24 They set out early in the morning, thinking they had the power to prevent. 25 But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!" 26 rather, we are utterly ruined.” 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 doing wrong!" 29 Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching. 30 They said 'Woe to us, truly we were insolent' 31 Maybe our Lord will give us better than this. We turn to our Lord in supplication." 32 Such was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33