The Pen (Al-Qalam)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 By your Lord's Grace, you are not afflicted with madness, 2 You will certainly receive a never-ending reward. 3 And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality. 4 You will see and they will also see 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided. 7 Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth: 8 Fain would they that thou shouldst be pliant, so that they will be pliant. 9 And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, 10 Or backbiter, calumniator, slanderer, 11 A preventer of good, transgressing and sinful, 12 the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble; 13 Because he is a possessor of wealth and children, 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples." 15 We shall brand him on the muzzle. 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 Without saying: Insha' Allah (If Allah will). 18 A calamity from your Lord befell the orchard as they slept. 19 And it became as though reaped. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 'Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck!' 22 So they departed, talking in low voices: 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray; 26 Indeed, we are utterly ruined!" 27 One who was temperate among them, said: "Did I not say: 'Why don't you priase God?'" 28 They said: "Glory to Our Lord! Verily, we have been Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)." 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such is the punishment; and indeed the punishment of the Hereafter is the greatest, if only they knew! 33