The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 So very soon, you will see and they too will realise – 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Indeed your Lord well knows those who have strayed from His path, and He well knows those who are upon guidance. 7 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 they wish you would compromise, then, they would compromise. 9 And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, 10 back-biting, gossiping, 11 those who hinder good, the guilty aggressor, 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 Because he is a possessor of wealth and children, 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 We will soon singe his pig-nose. 16 We have tested them in the same way as we tested the dwellers of the garden (in Yemen) when they swore to pluck all the fruits of the garden in the morning, 17 Without making exception. 18 Then a calamity from your Lord fell upon it, but they remained fast asleep. 19 So the (garden) became black by the morning, like a pitch dark night (in complete ruins). 20 And they called one another at morning, 21 Saying: Run unto your field if ye would pluck (the fruit). 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 – and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose. 25 But when they saw it they said: 'We have surely gone astray. 26 Nay! we are made to suffer privation. 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 They said, "Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers." 29 Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching. 30 Said they: O woe to us! surely we were inordinate: 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than this in place thereof. Lo! we beseech our Lord. 32 Such was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33