The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what the scribes write. 1 You are not insane, by the munificence of your Lord. 2 Most surely, you will have a never ending reward. 3 And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are on an exalted standard of character. 4 and [one day] thou shalt see, and they [who now deride thee] shall see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Surely your Lord best knows him who errs from His way, and He best knows the followers of the right course. 7 Do not yield to those who reject the Truth. 8 Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise. 9 And yield not to any mean swearer 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 Forbidder of good, outstepping the limits, sinful, 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 Because he possesses wealth and sons. 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 We shall brand him over the nose! 16 We have tested them in the same way as we tested the dwellers of the garden (in Yemen) when they swore to pluck all the fruits of the garden in the morning, 17 But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will"). 18 A visitor from your Lord circled around the garden during the night while they were asleep 19 So the (garden) became black by the morning, like a pitch dark night (in complete ruins). 20 At daybreak they called out to one another: 21 "Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits." 22 They all left, whispering to one another, 23 “Make sure that no needy person enters your garden this day.” 24 And in the morning they went, having the power to prevent. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Most surely we have gone astray 26 "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 Then they approached one another, blaming each other. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such is the punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew. 33