The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what the scribes write. 1 Thou art not, by thy Sustainer's grace, a madman! 2 Most surely, you will have a never ending reward. 3 You have attained a high moral standard. 4 So thou shalt see, and they will see, 5 which of you is a prey to madness. 6 Lo! thy Lord is Best Aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is Best Aware of those who walk aright. 7 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 They would like you to relent to them so that they could also relent towards you. 9 Nor ever listen to any excessive oath maker, ignoble person. 10 Defamer, going about with slander 11 the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful; 12 Crude, and above all, mean and infamous, 13 It is because he is possessed of wealth and children 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 We shall mark him upon 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 added not the saving words. 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 "Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits." 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 Saying: No poor man shall enter it today upon you. 24 And they went out betimes determined in purpose. 25 When they saw (and did not recognise it) they said: "Surely we have lost the way. 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 The more upright of the two said, "Did I not bid you to glorify God?" 28 They said, 'Glory be to God, our Lord; truly, we were evildoers.' 29 So they came towards each other, blaming. 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 was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33