The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 Thou art not, by thy Sustainer's grace, a madman! 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 and you are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence. 4 So you will soon see, and they too will see, 5 Which of you is the demented. 6 Surely your Lord knows well those who have strayed from His Way just as He knows well those who are on the Right Way. 7 So obey thou not those who cry lies. 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 defamer, spreader abroad of slander. 11 [or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor, 12 Greedy therewithal, intrusive. 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 when Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are just ancient fables." 15 We shall mark him upon his nose! 16 [As for such sinners,] behold, We [but] try them as We tried the owners of a certain garden who vowed that they would surely harvest its fruit on the morrow, 17 without adding to their swearing, (Allah willing, InshaAllah). 18 Wherefore an encircling visitation visited it even as they slept on. 19 So in the morning it became as if harvested. 20 Then they called out one to another as soon as the morning broke, 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 'No needy man shall enter it today against your will.' 24 And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose. 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 Indeed, we are utterly ruined!" 27 Said the most right-minded among them: "Did I not tell you, 'Will you not extol God's limitless glory?'" 28 They said, "Glory be to God, our Lord. We have surely done wrong." 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 Saying: "Alas the woe, we were iniquitous. 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33