The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace
۞ NUN. I CALL to witness the pen and what they inscribe, 1 You are not insane, by the munificence of your Lord. 2 And verily thine shall be a hire unending. 3 And verily thou art of a high and noble disposition. 4 and [one day] thou shalt see, and they [who now deride thee] shall see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily, thy Sustainer alone is fully aware as to who has strayed from His path, Just as He alone is fully aware of those who have found the right way. 7 Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth: 8 they would wish you to be pliant so that they too may be pliant. 9 Do not yield to any contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 Hinderer of the good, trespasser; sinner. 12 ill-mannered, and moraly corrupt 13 (who so acts) simply because he has wealth and sons, 14 when Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are just ancient fables." 15 We shall mark him upon his nose! 16 We have tried them as we tried the owners of a certain orchard, who vowed to harvest all its fruits the next morning, 17 without adding to their swearing, (Allah willing, InshaAllah). 18 whereupon a visitation for thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep, 19 and the garden was turned into a barren desert. 20 (Then) in the morning they called out to one another, saying: 21 [Saying], "Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit." 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray; 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 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 they started blaming one another, 30 They said 'Woe to us, truly we were insolent' 31 It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better than it; to our Lord we humbly turn.' 32 SUCH is the suffering [with which We try some people in this world]; but greater by far will be the suffering [which sinners shall have to bear] in the life to come - if they but knew it! 33