The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 By your Lord's Grace, you are not afflicted with madness, 2 There is surely reward unending for you, 3 surely thou art upon a mighty morality. 4 So you will soon see, and they too will see, 5 which of you was bereft of reason. 6 Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided. 7 Do not yield to those who reject the Truth. 8 Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise. 9 And do not yield to any contemptible swearer, 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, malefactor 12 Greedy therewithal, intrusive. 13 Because he possesses wealth and sons. 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 We shall brand him on his nose. 16 Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden, when they swore that they would certainly cut off the produce in the morning, 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 Thereupon a calamity from your Lord passed over it while they were asleep, 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 "Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" 22 They all left, whispering to one another, 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 And they left at early morn, assuming they were in control of their purpose. 25 Then when they saw it, they said, “We have indeed strayed.” 26 Indeed, we are utterly ruined!" 27 The best among them said: “Did I not say to you: why do you not give glory to (your Lord)?” 28 They cried out: “Glory be to our Lord! Certainly we were sinners.” 29 Then some of them advanced against others, blaming each other. 30 [In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously! 31 It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better than it; to our Lord we humbly turn.' 32 Such was their punishment, [in this life]. But the punishment of the life to come is much more severe, if only they knew it! 33