The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen, and all that they write! 1 By the grace of your Lord, you are not a mad man. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 So you will see, and they will realise, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Surely your Lord knows well those who have strayed from His Way just as He knows well those who are on the Right Way. 7 Therefore, do not obey those who belie, 8 Fain would they that thou shouldst be pliant, so that they will be pliant. 9 And do not yield to any contemptible swearer, 10 A defamer, spreader abroad of slander. 11 [or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor, 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 Because he is a possessor of wealth and children, 14 When Our revelations are rehearsed unto him, he saith: fables of the ancients. 15 We will brand him upon the snout. 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 made no allowance [for the will of God]: 18 Then a calamity from your Lord fell upon it, but they remained fast asleep. 19 and the garden was turned into a barren desert. 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 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 "Indeed, no needy person shall enter it today [and come] upon you [unawares,]" 24 And they left at early morn, assuming they were in control of their purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "Indeed, we are lost; 26 Nay, but we are desolate! 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 They said: hallowed be Our Lord! verily we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 They said, 'Woe, alas for us! Truly, we were insolent. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than it in exchange. To our Lord we humbly turn' 32 Such is the punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew. 33