The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, 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 You have attained a high moral standard. 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Verily thy Lord! He is the best Knower of him who strayeth from His path, and He is the best Knower of the guided one. 7 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 they wish you would compromise, then, they would compromise. 9 Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained, 12 Cruel, moreover, and an illegitimate pretender. 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 when Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are just ancient fables." 15 Soon We will brand him on the nose. 16 We have tried them as we tried the owners of a certain orchard, who vowed to harvest all its fruits the next morning, 17 Without making exception. 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 and in the morning it was if the garden had been reaped. 20 In the morning they called to one another, 21 [Saying], "Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit." 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 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 When they saw the garden, they said, "Surely we have lost our way. 26 Nay, but we are desolate! 27 The more upright of the two said, "Did I not bid you to glorify God?" 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 [But] it may be that our Sustainer will grant us something better instead: for, verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn with hope!" 32 Such is the punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew. 33