The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what the scribes write. 1 Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed. 2 Indeed, there is an unfailing wage for you. 3 surely thou art upon a mighty morality. 4 And thou wilt see and they will see 5 Who is distracted. 6 Indeed your Lord well knows those who have strayed from His path, and He well knows those who are upon guidance. 7 So obey thou not those who cry lies. 8 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. 9 Furthermore, defer not to the contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, 11 A preventer of good, transgressing and sinful, 12 Gross, and therewithal ignoble. 13 Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 15 We shall brand him on his nose. 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 Without making exception. 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 “Hurry to your orchard if you would gather its fruit.” 22 So they departed, talking in low voices: 23 No Miskin (poor man) shall enter upon you into it today. 24 – and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose. 25 But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!" 26 Indeed, we are utterly ruined!" 27 (Whereupon) the best among them said: 'Did I not say to you to exalt (Allah)' 28 They said: Glory be to our Lord, surely we were 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 better than this. We turn to our Lord in supplication." 32 Such is the punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew. 33