The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what the scribes write. 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; 4 Soon you will see, as will they, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 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 So do not comply with those who deny: 8 They would like you to relent to them so that they could also relent towards you. 9 Nor ever listen to any excessive oath maker, ignoble person. 10 [And] scorner, going about with malicious gossip - 11 the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful; 12 Ignoble, besides all that, base-born; 13 Because he is owner of riches and children. 14 that, whenever Our messages are conveyed to him, such a one says, "Fables of ancient times"? 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 16 We have indeed tested them the way We had tested the owners of the garden when they swore that they would reap its harvest the next morning. 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 A calamity from your Lord befell the orchard as they slept. 19 so that by the morrow it became barren and bleak. 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 And so they departed, whispering to one another: 23 'No needy person shall set foot in it today' 24 They left early in the morning bent on this purpose. 25 When they saw (and did not recognise it) they said: "Surely we have lost the way. 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 They said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been 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 Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! 33