The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by that which they inscribe. 1 you are not, because of the favor of your Lord, mad. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 For you are verily born of sublime nature. 4 So you will soon see, and they too will see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Surely thy Lord knows very well those who have gone astray from His way, and He knows very well those who are guided. 7 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 They wish that in some way you may yield, so they too might soften their stand. 9 Nor ever listen to any excessive oath maker, ignoble person. 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 those who hinder good, the guilty aggressor, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 It is because he is possessed of wealth and children 14 When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' 15 We will soon singe his pig-nose. 16 Lo! We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed that they would pluck its fruit next morning, 17 And they did not say, “If Allah wills”. 18 So there came upon the garden an affliction from your Lord while they were asleep. 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 Then they cried out unto each other in the morning. 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. 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 Said the most moderate of them, 'Did I not say to you, "Why do you not give glory?"' 28 They said, "All glory belongs to God. We have certainly been unjust". 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 They said: Alas for us! In truth we were outrageous. 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 chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know! 33