The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nuun* – by oath of the pen and by oath of what is written by it. (Alphabet of the Arabic language; Allah and to whomever He reveals, know their precise meanings.) 1 By your Lord's Grace, you are not afflicted with madness, 2 And indeed for you is an unlimited reward. 3 And verily thou art of a high and noble disposition. 4 So you will soon see, and they too will see, 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Indeed your Lord well knows those who have strayed from His path, and He well knows those who are upon guidance. 7 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 they wish you would compromise, then, they would compromise. 9 Do not yield to any contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful; 12 Ignoble, besides all that, base-born; 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 We shall brand him over the nose! 16 We have indeed tested them the way We had tested the owners of the garden when they swore that they would reap its harvest the next morning. 17 and made no allowance [for the will of God]: 18 Then a calamity from your Lord fell upon it, but they remained fast asleep. 19 So by the morning it seemed as though picked clean. 20 (Then) in the morning they called out to one another, saying: 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 "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." 24 And they left at early morn, assuming they were in control of their purpose. 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 Aye! it is we who are deprived! 27 One who was temperate among them, said: "Did I not say: 'Why don't you priase God?'" 28 They cried out: “Glory be to our Lord! Certainly we were sinners.” 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 "It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this: for we do turn to Him (in repentance)!" 32 Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33