The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing: 3 surely thou art upon a mighty morality. 4 You will see and they will also see 5 Who is distracted. 6 Verily, thy Sustainer alone is fully aware as to who has strayed from His path, Just as He alone is fully aware of those who have found the right way. 7 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 Fain would they that thou shouldst be pliant, so that they will be pliant. 9 And yield not to any mean swearer 10 back-biting, gossiping, 11 hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained, 12 Greedy therewithal, intrusive. 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 [For this] We shall brand him with indelible disgrace! 16 We have tested them in the same way as we tested the dwellers of the garden (in Yemen) when they swore to pluck all the fruits of the garden in the morning, 17 But did not add: "If God may please." 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it, while they were sleeping, 19 And in the morning it was as if plucked. 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 No needy man shall enter it to-day against you. 24 And they went in the morning with strong intention, thinking that they have power (to prevent the poor taking anything of the fruits therefrom). 25 Then when they beheld it, they said: verily we have strayed. 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 The most moderate of them said, "Did I not say to you, 'Why do you not exalt [Allah]?' " 28 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 and then they turned upon one another with mutual reproaches. 30 They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.” 31 We hope that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this. Truly, we turn to our Lord (wishing for good that He may forgive our sins, and reward us in the Hereafter)." 32 Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the Hereafter is assuredly even greater, if only they knew. 33