The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith), 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character. 4 Soon wilt thou see, and they will see, 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 6 Verily your Lord knows those who have gone astray from His path, and He knows those who are guided on the way. 7 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. 9 And obey thou not every mean swearer, 10 A defamer, spreader abroad of slander. 11 the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful; 12 Crude, and above all, mean and infamous, 13 Simply because he possesses wealth and children. 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 We shall brand him on the muzzle. 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 And they made not the exception. 18 Then there encompassed it a visitation from your Lord while they were sleeping. 19 So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 'Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck!' 22 So they went off speaking to each other in a low voice. 23 Saying: No poor man shall enter it today upon you. 24 They set out early in the morning, thinking they had the power to prevent. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Lo! we are in error! 26 No. In fact we have been deprived of it." 27 The best among them said: Said I not unto you: Why glorify ye not (Allah)? 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 And they came blaming one another. 30 They said: "Woe to us! Verily, we were Taghun (transgressors and disobedient, etc.) 31 We hope that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this. Truly, we turn to our Lord (wishing for good that He may forgive our sins, and reward us in the Hereafter)." 32 Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the world to come, is assuredly greater, did they but know. 33