The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace
۞ Nun. By the Pen, and what they inscribe, 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; 4 So you will see, and they will realise, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Indeed your Lord well knows those who have strayed from His path, and He well knows those who are upon guidance. 7 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise. 9 Do not yield to any contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 [or to] the slanderer that goes about with defaming tales, 11 or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 It is because he is possessed of wealth and children 14 That, when Our revelations are recited unto him, he saith: Mere fables of the men of old. 15 We shall mark him upon his nose! 16 Indeed, We have tried them as We tried the companions of the garden, when they swore to cut its fruit in the [early] morning 17 And they did not say, “If Allah wills”. 18 A calamity from your Lord befell the orchard as they slept. 19 So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 "Indeed, no needy person shall enter it today [and come] upon you [unawares,]" 24 And in the morning they went, having the power to prevent. 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" 27 (Whereupon) the best among them said: 'Did I not say to you to exalt (Allah)' 28 They answered: "Limitless in His glory is our Sustainer! Verily, we were doing wrong!" 29 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 They said, "Woe to us. We have been arrogant. 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 SUCH is the suffering [with which We try some people in this world]; but greater by far will be the suffering [which sinners shall have to bear] in the life to come - if they but knew it! 33