The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 You are not, [O Muhammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman. 2 Indeed, there is an unfailing wage for you. 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 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 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. 9 Do not yield to any contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, 11 (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin, 12 moreover ignoble, 13 (who so acts) simply because he has wealth and sons, 14 When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries! 15 We will brand him upon the snout. 16 We have tried you as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed to gather the fruits in the morning 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 And they called out to each other in the morning, 21 Saying: Run unto your field if ye would pluck (the fruit). 22 And so they departed, whispering to one another: 23 "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." 24 They were resolved to repel the beggars. 25 Then when they saw it, they said, “We have indeed strayed.” 26 Indeed, we are utterly ruined!" 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 They answered: "Limitless in His glory is our Sustainer! Verily, we were doing wrong!" 29 Then they turned, one against another, in reproach. 30 They said: woe unto us! verily we! we have been arrogant. 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33