The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen, and what they inscribe, 1 (Muhammad), you are not insane, thanks to the bounty of your Lord. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; 4 And thou wilt see and they will see 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has gone astray from His way, and He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided. 7 So do not yield to the rejecters. 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 Nor ever listen to any excessive oath maker, ignoble person. 10 [or to] the slanderer that goes about with defaming tales, 11 A preventer of good, transgressing and sinful, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 Because he* has some wealth and sons. (Walid bin Mugaira, who cursed the Holy Prophet.) 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 15 We will brand him upon the snout. 16 Lo! We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed that they would pluck its fruit next morning, 17 Without saying: Insha' Allah (If Allah will). 18 Then there passed by on the (garden) something (fire) from your Lord at night and burnt it while they were asleep. 19 So the (garden) became black by the morning, like a pitch dark night (in complete ruins). 20 At daybreak they called out to one another: 21 That, “Go to your fields at early morn, if you want to harvest.” 22 They all left, whispering to one another, 23 Saying: No poor man shall enter it today upon you. 24 – and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "Verily, we have gone astray," 26 nay, rather we have been robbed!' 27 One who was temperate among them, said: "Did I not say: 'Why don't you priase God?'" 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 They said: "Woe to us! Verily, we were Taghun (transgressors and disobedient, etc.) 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33