The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 You (O Muhammad SAW) are not, by the Grace of your Lord, a madman. 2 Most surely, you will have a never ending reward. 3 For you are verily born of sublime nature. 4 So thou shalt see, and they will see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily your Lord knows those who have gone astray from His path, and He knows those who are guided on the way. 7 Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth: 8 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. 9 Do not yield to one persistent in swearing, 10 the backbiter who goes about slandering, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful, 12 the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble; 13 or that because he may possess wealth and children. 14 When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' 15 Soon shall We brand him on his snout. 16 We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden who had sworn that in the morning they would reap it, 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it, while they were sleeping, 19 So the (garden) became black by the morning, like a pitch dark night (in complete ruins). 20 In the morning they called to one another, 21 “Hurry to your orchard if you would gather its fruit.” 22 So they went, while they consulted together secretly, 23 No Miskin (poor man) shall enter upon you into it today. 24 They set out early in the morning, thinking they had the power to prevent. 25 But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray; 26 nay, rather we have been robbed!' 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 Then they turned to each other reproaching. 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 better than it in exchange. To our Lord we humbly turn' 32 Such is the torment. And the torment of the Hereafter is far greater; if they but knew. 33