The Pen (Al-Qalam)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen, and all that they write! 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing: 3 You have attained a high moral standard. 4 So you will soon see, and they too will see, 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided. 7 So obey thou not those who cry lies. 8 They wish that thou shouldst compromise, then they would compromise. 9 And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, 10 A defamer, spreader abroad of slander. 11 [or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor, 12 moreover ignoble, 13 Because he* has some wealth and sons. (Walid bin Mugaira, who cursed the Holy Prophet.) 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 16 We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden who had sworn that in the morning they would reap it, 17 But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will"). 18 Thereupon a calamity from your Lord passed over it while they were asleep, 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 Now when they rose at early morn, they called unto one another, 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 So off they went, whispering to one another: 23 Saying: No poor man shall enter it today upon you. 24 And they went in the morning with strong intention, thinking that they have power (to prevent the poor taking anything of the fruits therefrom). 25 But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!" 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 The best of them said: Did I not say to you, Why do you not glorify (Allah)? 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 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 punishment; and indeed the punishment of the Hereafter is the greatest, if only they knew! 33