The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing: 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 And thou wilt see and they will see 5 which of you is the demented. 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 Therefor obey not thou the rejecters 8 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. 9 And do not yield to any contemptible swearer, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 One who excessively forbids the good, transgressor, sinner. 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 or that because he may possess wealth and children. 14 That, when Our revelations are recited unto him, he saith: Mere fables of the men of old. 15 Soon shall We brand him on his snout. 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 Without saying: Insha' Allah (If Allah will). 18 Wherefore an encircling visitation visited it even as they slept on. 19 So by the morning it seemed as though picked clean. 20 Then they cried out unto each other in the morning. 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 "Be sure to stop any poor person from entering the orchard today." 24 They went forth early, believing that they had the power (to gather the fruit). 25 But when they saw it, they said: Lo! we are in error! 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 27 The more upright of the two said, "Did I not bid you to glorify God?" 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 Then some of them advanced against others, blaming each other. 30 They said 'Woe to us, truly we were insolent' 31 May be our Lord will give us a better orchard in its stead; we turn to Him." 32 SUCH is the suffering [with which We try some people in this world]; but greater by far will be the suffering [which sinners shall have to bear] in the life to come - if they but knew it! 33