The Pen (Al-Qalam)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what the scribes write. 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 You will see, and they will see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Indeed, your Lord knows very well those who strayed from His Path, and those who are guided. 7 Therefore, do not obey those who belie, 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 Do not yield to one persistent in swearing, 10 [And] scorner, going about with malicious gossip - 11 obstructing virtues, a sinful transgressor, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 just because he has wealth and sons, 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 We shall mark him upon his nose! 16 We have tried them as we tried the owners of a certain orchard, who vowed to harvest all its fruits the next morning, 17 And made no exception (for the Will of Allah); 18 Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep. 19 So by the morning it seemed as though picked clean. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 'Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck!' 22 So they went off speaking to each other in a low voice. 23 "Let no beggar come to the garden". 24 And they went in the morning with strong intention, thinking that they have power (to prevent the poor taking anything of the fruits therefrom). 25 Then when they beheld it, they said: verily we have strayed. 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 27 (Whereupon) the best among them said: 'Did I not say to you to exalt (Allah)' 28 They said: "Glory to Our Lord! Verily, we have been Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)." 29 Then they turned to each other reproaching. 30 They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.” 31 May be our Lord will give us a better orchard in its stead; we turn to Him." 32 Such is the punishment; and indeed the punishment of the Hereafter is the greatest, if only they knew! 33