The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by that which they inscribe. 1 Thou art not, by thy Sustainer's grace, a madman! 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 surely thou art upon a mighty morality. 4 So you will see and they will see 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Surely your Lord best knows him who errs from His way, and He best knows the followers of the right course. 7 Do not yield to those who reject the Truth. 8 They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. 9 And yield not to any mean swearer 10 [And] scorner, going about with malicious gossip - 11 Hinderer of the good, trespasser; sinner. 12 ill-mannered, and moraly corrupt 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 When Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are ancient legends". 15 [For this] We shall brand him with indelible disgrace! 16 We have tested them in the same way as we tested the dwellers of the garden (in Yemen) when they swore to pluck all the fruits of the garden in the morning, 17 But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will"). 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 So by the morning it seemed as though picked clean. 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 'No needy person shall set foot in it today' 24 And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Lo! we are in error! 26 No. In fact we have been deprived of it." 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 They cried out: “Glory be to our Lord! Certainly we were sinners.” 29 Then they turned to each other reproaching. 30 They said, 'Woe, alas for us! Truly, we were insolent. 31 May be our Lord will give us a better orchard in its stead; we turn to Him." 32 Such is the punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew. 33