The Pen (Al-Qalam)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe, 1 Thou art not, through the grace of thy Lord, mad. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 So you will soon see, and they too will see, 5 which of you was bereft of reason. 6 Surely your Lord knows well those who have strayed from His Way just as He knows well those who are on the Right Way. 7 Therefor obey not thou the rejecters 8 Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise. 9 And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, 10 A defamer, spreader abroad of slander. 11 or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, 12 Ignoble, besides all that, base-born; 13 Simply because he possesses wealth and children. 14 When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' 15 We shall brand him on the nose. 16 We have indeed tested them the way We had tested the owners of the garden when they swore that they would reap its harvest the next morning. 17 without adding ("if God wills"). 18 A calamity from your Lord befell the orchard as they slept. 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 Now when they rose at early morn, they called unto one another, 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 So they departed, whispering together, 23 "Let no beggar come to the garden". 24 They went forth early, believing that they had the power (to gather the fruit). 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way: 26 No, rather, we have been prevented' 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 They said, "All glory belongs to God. We have certainly been unjust". 29 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 They said, "Woe to us. We have been arrogant. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us a better orchard in its place; to our Lord do we penitently turn.” 32 Such is the punishment; and indeed the punishment of the Hereafter is the greatest, if only they knew! 33