The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 For you are verily born of sublime nature. 4 So you will see and they will see 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 So obey thou not those who cry lies. 8 They wish that thou shouldst compromise, then they would compromise. 9 Do not heed a contemptible swearer, 10 Or backbiter, calumniator, slanderer, 11 One who excessively forbids the good, transgressor, sinner. 12 moreover ignoble, 13 Because he* has some wealth and sons. (Walid bin Mugaira, who cursed the Holy Prophet.) 14 When Our revelations are rehearsed unto him, he saith: fables of the ancients. 15 Anon We shall brand him on snout. 16 We have tried you as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed to gather the fruits in the morning 17 And they made not the exception. 18 Thereupon a calamity from your Lord passed over it while they were asleep, 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 And they called one another at morning, 21 Saying: Run unto your field if ye would pluck (the fruit). 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 out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But when they saw it they said: 'We have surely gone astray. 26 No. In fact we have been deprived of it." 27 The best among them said: “Did I not say to you: why do you not give glory to (your Lord)?” 28 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 They said: Alas for us! In truth we were outrageous. 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 their punishment, [in this life]. But the punishment of the life to come is much more severe, if only they knew it! 33