The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ NUN. I CALL to witness the pen and what they inscribe, 1 thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 You will certainly receive a never-ending reward. 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 So you will see and they will see 5 which of you was bereft of reason. 6 Verily thy Lord! He is the best Knower of him who strayeth from His path, and He is the best Knower of the guided one. 7 So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth). 8 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. 9 Do not yield to one persistent in swearing, 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 One who excessively forbids the good, transgressor, sinner. 12 Cruel, after all that base-born (of illegitimate birth), 13 Because he is owner of riches and children. 14 When Our Verses (of the Quran) are recited to him, he says: "Tales of the men of old!" 15 Soon shall We brand him on his snout. 16 Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. 17 and made no allowance [for the will of God]: 18 Then a calamity from your Lord fell upon it, but they remained fast asleep. 19 So the (garden) became black by the morning, like a pitch dark night (in complete ruins). 20 (Then) in the morning they called out to one another, saying: 21 That, “Go to your fields at early morn, if you want to harvest.” 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. 25 But when they saw it they said: 'We have surely gone astray. 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 The most moderate of them said, "Did I not say to you, 'Why do you not exalt [Allah]?' " 28 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching. 30 They said: “Woe to us! We had indeed transgressed. 31 May be our Lord will give us a better orchard in its stead; we turn to Him." 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33