The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ NUN. I CALL to witness the pen and what they inscribe, 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 Indeed, there is an unfailing wage for you. 3 You have attained a high moral standard. 4 So thou shalt see, and they will see, 5 Which of you is the demented. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 So obey thou not those who cry lies. 8 They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate. 9 And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, 10 or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, 11 or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, 12 Crude, and above all, mean and infamous, 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries! 15 We shall mark him upon his nose! 16 Now We have tried them, even as We tried the owners of the garden when they swore they would pluck in the morning 17 And they did not say, “If Allah wills”. 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept 19 So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). 20 (Then) in the morning they called out to one another, saying: 21 “Hurry to your orchard if you would gather its fruit.” 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 No needy man shall enter it to-day against you. 24 They went betimes, strong in (this) purpose. 25 When they saw the garden, they said, "Surely we have lost our way. 26 Aye! it is we who are deprived! 27 (Whereupon) the best among them said: 'Did I not say to you to exalt (Allah)' 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching. 30 Said they: O woe to us! surely we were inordinate: 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