The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith), 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 Most surely, you will have a never ending reward. 3 for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; 4 Soon wilt thou see, and they will see, 5 which of you was bereft of reason. 6 Surely your Lord knows well those who have strayed from His Way just as He knows well those who are on the Right Way. 7 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 they wish you would compromise, then, they would compromise. 9 And do not obey every mean swearer, 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 those who hinder good, the guilty aggressor, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries! 15 We shall brand him on the nose. 16 Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden, when they swore that they would certainly cut off the produce in the morning, 17 And they made not the exception. 18 whereupon a visitation for thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep, 19 So in the morning it became as if harvested. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 "Go early to your farms, if you want to pluck the fruits". 22 So they set out, while lowering their voices, 23 'No needy man shall enter it today against your will.' 24 They set out early in the morning, thinking they had the power to prevent. 25 Then when they saw it, they said, “We have indeed strayed.” 26 (Then they said): "Nay! Indeed we are deprived of (the fruits)!" 27 (Whereupon) the best among them said: 'Did I not say to you to exalt (Allah)' 28 They answered: "Limitless in His glory is our Sustainer! Verily, we were doing wrong!" 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us better than this. We turn to our Lord in supplication." 32 Such is the chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know! 33