The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith), 1 By the grace of your Lord, you are not a mad man. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 So you will soon see, and they too will see, 5 Which of you is the demented. 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 wish you would compromise, then, they would compromise. 9 Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths, 10 [And] scorner, going about with malicious gossip - 11 hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained, 12 the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble; 13 Because he* has some wealth and sons. (Walid bin Mugaira, who cursed the Holy Prophet.) 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 We will brand him upon the 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 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep. 19 and so by morning the orchard lay as though it had been fully harvested. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 Saying: Go early to your tilth if you would cut (the produce). 22 They all left, whispering to one another, 23 No Miskin (poor man) shall enter upon you into it today. 24 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Lo! we are in error! 26 (Then they said): "Nay! Indeed we are deprived of (the fruits)!" 27 One who was temperate among them, said: "Did I not say: 'Why don't you priase God?'" 28 They said, "Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers." 29 Then they began to heap reproaches on each other. 30 They said: Alas for us! In truth we were outrageous. 31 Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us [one] better than it. Indeed, we are toward our Lord desirous." 32 Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! 33