The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith), 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 And verily thine shall be a hire unending. 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 So you will soon see, and they too will see, 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Surely thy Lord knows very well those who have gone astray from His way, and He knows very well those who are guided. 7 So do not comply with those who deny: 8 Fain would they that thou shouldst be pliant, so that they will be pliant. 9 Do not heed a contemptible swearer, 10 Defamer, going about with slander 11 Hinderer of the good, trespasser; sinner. 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 when Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are just ancient fables." 15 We will soon singe his pig-nose. 16 [As for such sinners,] behold, We [but] try them as We tried the owners of a certain garden who vowed that they would surely harvest its fruit on the morrow, 17 and made no allowance [for the will of God]: 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 And it became as though reaped. 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 “Make sure that no needy person enters your garden this day.” 24 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. 25 But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!" 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 (Whereupon) the best among them said: 'Did I not say to you to exalt (Allah)' 28 They said: "Glory to Our Lord! Verily, we have been Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)." 29 Then some of them advanced against others, blaming each other. 30 They said 'Woe to us, truly we were insolent' 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than it in exchange. To our Lord we humbly turn' 32 Such is the punishment [of this world]. And the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew. 33