The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed. 2 Most surely, you will have a never ending reward. 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 Soon you will see, as will they, 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Verily, thy Sustainer alone is fully aware as to who has strayed from His path, Just as He alone is fully aware of those who have found the right way. 7 So obey thou not those who cry lies. 8 They only want that you should relent, so that they may come to terms. 9 Do not yield to one persistent in swearing, 10 Or backbiter, calumniator, slanderer, 11 Who hinders men from (doing) good, the transgressor, the iniquitous, 12 Ignoble, besides all that, base-born; 13 or that because he may possess wealth and children. 14 When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries! 15 We shall brand him on his nose. 16 Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. 17 And made no exception (for the Will of Allah); 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 So it became as black, barren land. 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 Let there not enter upon you today any needy man. 24 And they went in the morning with strong intention, thinking that they have power (to prevent the poor taking anything of the fruits therefrom). 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way: 26 "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" 27 The more upright of the two said, "Did I not bid you to glorify God?" 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 They said: "Woe to us! Verily, we were Taghun (transgressors and disobedient, etc.) 31 [But] it may be that our Sustainer will grant us something better instead: for, verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn with hope!" 32 Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! 33