The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith), 1 You are not insane, by the munificence of your Lord. 2 And indeed for you is an unlimited reward. 3 surely thou art upon a mighty morality. 4 So you will see and they will see 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 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 Do not yield to those who reject the Truth. 8 They only want that you should relent, so that they may come to terms. 9 And do not obey every mean swearer, 10 Defamer, going about with slander 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, malefactor 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 It is because he is possessed of wealth and children 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 We shall brand him upon the muzzle! 16 Indeed, We have tried them as We tried the companions of the garden, when they swore to cut its fruit in the [early] morning 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 A visitor from your Lord circled around the garden during the night while they were asleep 19 And it became as though reaped. 20 At daybreak they called to each other: 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 They all left, whispering to one another, 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 They went forth early, believing that they had the power (to gather the fruit). 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way: 26 No. In fact we have been deprived of it." 27 The best among them said, “Did I not tell you, ‘Why do you not proclaim His purity?’” 28 They said: "Glory to Our Lord! Verily, we have been Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)." 29 Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us a better orchard in its place; to our Lord do we penitently turn.” 32 Such is the chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know! 33