The Pen (Al-Qalam)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen, and what they inscribe, 1 You are not, [O Muhammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman. 2 And verily, thine shall be a reward neverending 3 And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character. 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 Which of you is the afflicted [by a devil]. 6 Verily thy Lord! He is the best Knower of him who strayeth from His path, and He is the best Knower of the guided one. 7 Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth: 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 And obey thou not every mean swearer, 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful, 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “These are stories of earlier people.” 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 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 without saying, "If it be God's will." 18 Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep. 19 So the (garden) became black by the morning, like a pitch dark night (in complete ruins). 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 That, “Go to your fields at early morn, if you want to harvest.” 22 And so they departed, whispering to one another: 23 No Miskin (poor man) shall enter upon you into it today. 24 – and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose. 25 When they saw the garden, they said, "Surely we have lost our way. 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 Said the most right-minded among them: "Did I not tell you, 'Will you not extol God's limitless glory?'" 28 They said: "Glory to Our Lord! Verily, we have been Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)." 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.” 31 May be our Lord will give us a better orchard in its stead; we turn to Him." 32 Such is the punishment; and indeed the punishment of the Hereafter is the greatest, if only they knew! 33