The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed. 2 Most surely, you will have a never ending reward. 3 And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality. 4 So you will soon see, and they too will see, 5 Which of you is the demented. 6 Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided. 7 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. 9 And yield not to any mean swearer 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin, 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 16 Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. 17 without saying, "If it be God's will." 18 So there came upon the garden an affliction from your Lord while they were asleep. 19 and in the morning it was if the garden had been reaped. 20 At daybreak they called out to one another: 21 "Go early to your farms, if you want to pluck the fruits". 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 "Be sure to stop any poor person from entering the orchard today." 24 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. 25 But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!" 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 And they came blaming one another. 30 Saying: "Alas the woe, we were iniquitous. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than this in place thereof. Lo! we beseech our Lord. 32 Such was their punishment, [in this life]. But the punishment of the life to come is much more severe, if only they knew it! 33