The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 By the grace of your Lord, you are not a mad man. 2 Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing: 3 Surely, you (Prophet Muhammad) are of a great morality. 4 You shall see and they will see 5 Which of you is the afflicted [by a devil]. 6 Surely your Lord best knows him who errs from His way, and He best knows the followers of the right course. 7 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. 9 Nor ever listen to any excessive oath maker, ignoble person. 10 The excessively insulting one, spreader of spite. 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful, 12 ill-mannered, and moraly corrupt 13 Because he is owner of riches and children. 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 [For this] We shall brand him with indelible disgrace! 16 Now We have tried them, even as We tried the owners of the garden when they swore they would pluck in the morning 17 without adding ("if God wills"). 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept 19 Then in the morning it became as though it had been reaped. 20 They then called out to each other at daybreak. 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 “Make sure that no needy person enters your garden this day.” 24 And they went early in determination, [assuming themselves] able. 25 When they saw the garden, they said, "Surely we have lost our way. 26 nay, rather we have been robbed!' 27 The best among them said: "Did I not tell you: why do you not say: Insha' Allah (If Allah will)." 28 They said, "Glory be to God, our Lord. We have surely done wrong." 29 Some of them started to blame others. 30 They said 'Woe to us, truly we were insolent' 31 Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us [one] better than it. Indeed, we are toward our Lord desirous." 32 SUCH is the suffering [with which We try some people in this world]; but greater by far will be the suffering [which sinners shall have to bear] in the life to come - if they but knew it! 33