The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 (Muhammad), you are not insane, thanks to the bounty of your Lord. 2 Indeed, there is an unfailing wage for you. 3 and you are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence. 4 You shall see and they will see 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 6 Surely thy Lord knows very well those who have gone astray from His way, and He knows very well those who are guided. 7 So do not yield to the rejecters. 8 They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate. 9 And yield not to any mean swearer 10 or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, 11 [or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor, 12 the crude of low character 13 (who so acts) simply because he has wealth and sons, 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 15 We shall brand him on his nose. 16 Indeed, We have tried them as We tried the companions of the garden, when they swore to cut its fruit in the [early] morning 17 But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will"). 18 Then there encompassed it a visitation from your Lord while they were sleeping. 19 and in the morning it was if the garden had been reaped. 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 So they went, while they consulted together secretly, 23 'No needy person shall set foot in it today' 24 And they left at early morn, assuming they were in control of their purpose. 25 Then when they saw it, they said, “We have indeed strayed.” 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 They said, 'Glory be to God, our Lord; truly, we were evildoers.' 29 Then they approached one another, blaming each other. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 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 was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33