The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 and surely yours shall be a never-ending reward, 3 For you are verily born of sublime nature. 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily it is thy Lord that knoweth best, which (among men) hath strayed from His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (true) Guidance. 7 So (O Muhammad SAW) obey not the deniers [(of Islamic Monotheism those who belie the Verses of Allah), the Oneness of Allah, and the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad SAW), etc.] 8 They wish that thou shouldst compromise, then they would compromise. 9 And obey thou not every mean swearer, 10 Or backbiter, calumniator, slanderer, 11 or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, 12 Foul mouthed, and in addition to all this, of improper lineage. 13 Because he possesses wealth and sons. 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 Soon We will brand him on the nose. 16 Verily We! We have proved them even as We proved the fellows of a garden when they sware that they would surely reap it in the morning. 17 Without saying: Insha' Allah (If Allah will). 18 Then there encompassed it a visitation from your Lord while they were sleeping. 19 and the garden was turned into a barren desert. 20 And they called out to each other in the morning, 21 That, “Go to your fields at early morn, if you want to harvest.” 22 So they departed, whispering together, 23 'No needy person shall set foot in it today' 24 They went forth early, believing that they had the power (to gather the fruit). 25 But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!" 26 “In fact, we are unfortunate.” 27 Said the most moderate of them, 'Did I not say to you, "Why do you not give glory?"' 28 They said, 'Glory be to God, our Lord; truly, we were evildoers.' 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 They said: "Woe to us! Verily, we were Taghun (transgressors and disobedient, etc.) 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than it in exchange. To our Lord we humbly turn' 32 Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33