The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith), 1 thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 And verily, for you (O Muhammad SAW) will be an endless reward. 3 Surely, you (Prophet Muhammad) are of a great morality. 4 and [one day] thou shalt see, and they [who now deride thee] shall see, 5 Which of you is the afflicted [by a devil]. 6 Verily it is thy Lord that knoweth best, which (among men) hath strayed from His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (true) Guidance. 7 So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth). 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful; 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 Simply because he possesses wealth and children. 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 We shall brand him on the muzzle. 16 Now We have tried them, even as We tried the owners of the garden when they swore they would pluck in the morning 17 and made no allowance [for the will of God]: 18 whereupon a visitation for thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep, 19 so that by the morrow it became barren and bleak. 20 Then they called out one to another as soon as the morning broke, 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." 24 They went betimes, strong in (this) purpose. 25 But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!" 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 27 Said the most right-minded among them: "Did I not tell you, 'Will you not extol God's limitless glory?'" 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 Then some of them advanced against others, blaming each other. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 [But] it may be that our Sustainer will grant us something better instead: for, verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn with hope!" 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33