The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ NUN. I CALL to witness the pen and what they inscribe, 1 thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are on an exalted standard of character. 4 and [one day] thou shalt see, and they [who now deride thee] shall see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 And obey not thou any swearer ignominous. 10 [And] scorner, going about with malicious gossip - 11 obstructing virtues, a sinful transgressor, 12 the crude of low character 13 Simply because he possesses wealth and children. 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 16 We have tried you as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed to gather the fruits in the morning 17 And made no exception (for the Will of Allah); 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it, while they were sleeping, 19 And it became as though reaped. 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 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 early in determination, [assuming themselves] able. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "Indeed, we are lost; 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 They said: "Glory to Our Lord! Verily, we have been Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)." 29 Then some of them advanced against others, blaming each other. 30 [In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously! 31 Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us [one] better than it. Indeed, we are toward our Lord desirous." 32 Such is the chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know! 33