The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith), 1 thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing: 3 surely thou art upon a mighty morality. 4 So you will see and they will see 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Surely thy Lord knows very well those who have gone astray from His way, and He knows very well those who are guided. 7 So do not comply with those who deny: 8 They would like you to relent to them so that they could also relent towards you. 9 And obey thou not every mean swearer, 10 Defamer, going about with slander 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful, 12 Crude, and above all, mean and infamous, 13 Because he* has some wealth and sons. (Walid bin Mugaira, who cursed the Holy Prophet.) 14 that, whenever Our messages are conveyed to him, such a one says, "Fables of ancient times"? 15 We shall brand him over the nose! 16 We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden who had sworn that in the morning they would reap it, 17 Without making exception. 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 'No needy man shall enter it today against your will.' 24 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. 25 Then when they beheld it, they said: verily we have strayed. 26 “In fact, we are unfortunate.” 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 Then they turned to each other reproaching. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 "It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this: for we do turn to Him (in repentance)!" 32 Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! 33