The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by that which they inscribe. 1 Thou art not, by thy Sustainer's grace, a madman! 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 For you are verily born of sublime nature. 4 Soon wilt thou see, and they will see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 So obey thou not those who cry lies. 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 And obey thou not every mean swearer, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 Hinderer of the good, trespasser; sinner. 12 moreover ignoble, 13 It is because he is possessed of wealth and children 14 When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries! 15 Soon shall We brand him on his snout. 16 Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. 17 And they did not say, “If Allah wills”. 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 and the garden was turned into a barren desert. 20 They then called out to each other at daybreak. 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 They all left, whispering to one another, 23 No needy man shall enter it to-day against you. 24 They were resolved to repel the beggars. 25 But when they saw it they said: 'We have surely gone astray. 26 No, rather, we have been prevented' 27 The more upright of the two said, "Did I not bid you to glorify God?" 28 They said: hallowed be Our Lord! verily we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better than it; to our Lord we humbly turn.' 32 Such was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33