The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted. 3 And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are on an exalted standard of character. 4 You will see and they will also see 5 Which of you is the demented. 6 Verily it is thy Lord that knoweth best, which (among men) hath strayed from His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (true) Guidance. 7 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 Fain would they that thou shouldst be pliant, so that they will be pliant. 9 Nor ever listen to any excessive oath maker, ignoble person. 10 The excessively insulting one, spreader of spite. 11 Who hinders men from (doing) good, the transgressor, the iniquitous, 12 moreover ignoble, 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 brand him on his nose. 16 Lo! We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed that they would pluck its fruit next morning, 17 without adding ("if God wills"). 18 Then a calamity from your Lord fell upon it, but they remained fast asleep. 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 Then they cried out unto each other in the morning. 21 Saying: Run unto your field if ye would pluck (the fruit). 22 So they departed, talking in low voices: 23 "Be sure to stop any poor person from entering the orchard today." 24 – and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Most surely we have gone astray 26 Aye! it is we who are deprived! 27 The best among them said, “Did I not tell you, ‘Why do you not proclaim His purity?’” 28 They said, "All glory belongs to God. We have certainly been unjust". 29 Then they began to heap reproaches on each other. 30 [In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously! 31 Maybe, our Lord will give us instead one better than it; surely to our Lord do we make our humble petition. 32 Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the Hereafter is assuredly even greater, if only they knew. 33