The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what the scribes write. 1 (Muhammad), you are not insane, thanks to the bounty of your Lord. 2 And verily thine shall be a hire unending. 3 And verily thou art of a high and noble disposition. 4 Soon wilt thou see, and they will see, 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily thy Lord! He is the best Knower of him who strayeth from His path, and He is the best Knower of the guided one. 7 So do not yield to the rejecters. 8 they would wish you to be pliant so that they too may be pliant. 9 Do not heed a contemptible swearer, 10 back-biting, gossiping, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, malefactor 12 Cruel, after all that base-born (of illegitimate birth), 13 Because he is owner of riches and children. 14 When Our revelations are rehearsed unto him, he saith: fables of the ancients. 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 16 We have tried them as we tried the owners of a certain orchard, who vowed to harvest all its fruits the next morning, 17 But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will"). 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 Then in the morning it became as though it had been reaped. 20 Then they called out one to another as soon as the morning broke, 21 "Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones (saying), 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 – and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose. 25 When they saw the garden, they said, "Surely we have lost our way. 26 rather, we are utterly ruined.” 27 Said the most right-minded among them: "Did I not tell you, 'Will you not extol God's limitless glory?'" 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 and then they turned upon one another with mutual reproaches. 30 They said 'Woe to us, truly we were insolent' 31 It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better than it; to our Lord we humbly turn.' 32 Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! 33