The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, most benevolent, ever-merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 And indeed for you is an unlimited reward. 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 So you will see and they will see 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 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, 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 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 One who excessively forbids the good, transgressor, sinner. 12 ill-mannered, and moraly corrupt 13 Because he is owner of riches and children. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 15 Soon shall We brand him on his 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 And they did not say, “If Allah wills”. 18 Thereupon a calamity from your Lord passed over it while they were asleep, 19 so that by the morrow it became barren and bleak. 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 No Miskin (poor man) shall enter upon you into it today. 24 And they went in the morning with strong intention, thinking that they have power (to prevent the poor taking anything of the fruits therefrom). 25 Then when they beheld it, they said: verily we have strayed. 26 No, rather, we have been prevented' 27 Said the most moderate of them, 'Did I not say to you, "Why do you not give glory?"' 28 They said: hallowed be Our Lord! verily we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 They said, "Woe to us. We have been arrogant. 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such is Our chastisement; and the punishment of the Hereafter will be greater, if only they knew! 33