The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 You are not insane, by the munificence of your Lord. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 You shall see and they will see 5 which of you is a prey to madness. 6 Verily, your Lord knows better, who (among men) has gone astray from His Path, and He knows better those who are guided. 7 Then do not obey the deniers. 8 They wish that thou shouldst compromise, then they would compromise. 9 Do not yield to any contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 [or to] the slanderer that goes about with defaming tales, 11 Forbidder of good, outstepping the limits, sinful, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 When Our revelations are rehearsed unto him, he saith: fables of the ancients. 15 Soon We will brand him on the nose. 16 We have put them [i.e., the Makkans] to test even as We put to test the owners of the orchard when they vowed that they would gather the fruit of their orchard in the morning, 17 And made no exception (for the Will of Allah); 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept 19 and in the morning it was if the garden had been reaped. 20 At daybreak they called out to one another: 21 That, “Go to your fields at early morn, if you want to harvest.” 22 So they went off, while whispering to one another. 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 And they went early in determination, [assuming themselves] able. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "We must have lost our way. 26 Aye! it is we who are deprived! 27 The best among them said: Said I not unto you: Why glorify ye not (Allah)? 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 Then they turned, one against another, in reproach. 30 They said: Alas for us! In truth we were outrageous. 31 [But] it may be that our Sustainer will grant us something better instead: for, verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn with hope!" 32 Such is the punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew. 33