The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, most benevolent, ever-merciful
۞ Nun. [These letters (Nun, etc.) are one of the miracles of the Quran, and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings]. By the pen and what the (angels) write (in the Records of men). 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 and you are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence. 4 You will see, and they will see, 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 Then do not obey the deniers. 8 they wish you would compromise, then, they would compromise. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful; 12 Violent (and cruel),- with 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: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 15 Soon shall We brand him on his snout. 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 But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will"). 18 A visitor from your Lord circled around the garden during the night while they were asleep 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 Then they cried out unto each other in the morning. 21 "Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits." 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 Then when they beheld it, they said: verily we have strayed. 26 nay, rather we have been robbed!' 27 The more upright of the two said, "Did I not bid you to glorify God?" 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 [In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously! 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 Our chastisement; and the punishment of the Hereafter will be greater, if only they knew! 33