The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what the scribes write. 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 Indeed, there is an unfailing wage for you. 3 surely thou art upon a mighty morality. 4 So you will soon see, and they too will see, 5 which of you is a prey to madness. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 they wish you would compromise, then, they would compromise. 9 Do not yield to one persistent in swearing, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 Hinderer of the good, trespasser; sinner. 12 the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble; 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries! 15 We shall brand him over the nose! 16 Verily We! We have proved them even as We proved the fellows of a garden when they sware that they would surely reap it in the morning. 17 And they made not the exception. 18 Then there passed by on the (garden) something (fire) from your Lord at night and burnt it while they were asleep. 19 So by the morning it seemed as though picked clean. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 [Saying], "Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit." 22 So they departed, whispering together, 23 "Indeed, no needy person shall enter it today [and come] upon you [unawares,]" 24 They went betimes, strong in (this) purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray; 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 27 The best of them said: Did I not say to you, Why do you not glorify (Allah)? 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 [In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously! 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such is the torment. And the torment of the Hereafter is far greater; if they but knew. 33