The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe, 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 And verily, thine shall be a reward neverending 3 You have attained a high moral standard. 4 You will see, and they will see, 5 which of you was bereft of reason. 6 Verily it is thy Lord that knoweth best, which (among men) hath strayed from His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (true) Guidance. 7 Do not yield to those who reject the Truth. 8 They would like you to relent to them so that they could also relent towards you. 9 Do not yield to any contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 [or to] the slanderer that goes about with defaming tales, 11 those who hinder good, the guilty aggressor, 12 Crude, and above all, mean and infamous, 13 Simply because he possesses wealth and children. 14 When Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are ancient legends". 15 We shall brand him on the muzzle. 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 they made not the exception. 18 Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep. 19 And it became as though reaped. 20 Now when they rose at early morn, they called unto one another, 21 "Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 Then when they beheld it, they said: verily we have strayed. 26 Indeed, we are utterly ruined!" 27 Said the most moderate of them, 'Did I not say to you, "Why do you not give glory?"' 28 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 We hope that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this. Truly, we turn to our Lord (wishing for good that He may forgive our sins, and reward us in the Hereafter)." 32 Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the Hereafter is assuredly even greater, if only they knew. 33