The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen, and what they inscribe, 1 thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 And verily, for you (O Muhammad SAW) will be an endless reward. 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 So you will see, and they will realise, 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Surely your Lord best knows him who errs from His way, and He best knows the followers of the right course. 7 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. 9 And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, 10 back-biting, gossiping, 11 obstructing virtues, a sinful transgressor, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples." 15 We shall brand him on his nose. 16 Verily, We have tried them as We tried the people of the garden, when they swore to pluck the fruits of the (garden) in the morning, 17 And they did not say, “If Allah wills”. 18 Then there passed by on the (garden) something (fire) from your Lord at night and burnt it while they were asleep. 19 and so by morning the orchard lay as though it had been fully harvested. 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 Saying: "Go to your tilth in the morning, if you would pluck the fruits." 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "Indeed, we are lost; 26 No, rather, we have been prevented' 27 The most moderate of them said, "Did I not say to you, 'Why do you not exalt [Allah]?' " 28 They answered: "Limitless in His glory is our Sustainer! Verily, we were doing wrong!" 29 And they came blaming one another. 30 They said, "Woe to us. We have been arrogant. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better than it; to our Lord we humbly turn.' 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33