The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing: 3 for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; 4 So thou shalt see, and they will see, 5 Which of you is the afflicted [by a devil]. 6 Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided. 7 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise. 9 Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths, 10 The excessively insulting one, spreader of spite. 11 One who excessively forbids the good, transgressor, sinner. 12 ill-mannered, and moraly corrupt 13 (who so acts) simply because he has wealth and sons, 14 When Our Verses (of the Quran) are recited to him, he says: "Tales of the men of old!" 15 We shall brand him on his nose. 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 So there came upon the garden an affliction from your Lord while they were asleep. 19 and so by morning the orchard lay as though it had been fully harvested. 20 Then they cried out unto each other in the morning. 21 Saying: "Go to your tilth in the morning, if you would pluck the fruits." 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 No Miskin (poor man) shall enter upon you into it today. 24 And they went early in determination, [assuming themselves] able. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Most surely we have gone astray 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 The best among them said, “Did I not tell you, ‘Why do you not proclaim His purity?’” 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: "Woe to us! Verily, we were Taghun (transgressors and disobedient, etc.) 31 It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better than it; to our Lord we humbly turn.' 32 Such was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33