The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ NUN. I CALL to witness the pen and what they inscribe, 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 There is surely reward unending for you, 3 and you are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence. 4 You will see and they will also see 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 6 Lo! thy Lord is Best Aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is Best Aware of those who walk aright. 7 Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth: 8 They wish that you should be pliant so they (too) would be pliant. 9 Neither obey thou each feeble oath-monger, 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 Who hinders men from (doing) good, the transgressor, the iniquitous, 12 Ignoble, besides all that, base-born; 13 Because he is owner of riches and children. 14 When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' 15 Anon We shall brand him on 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 without adding to their swearing, (Allah willing, InshaAllah). 18 Then there encompassed it a visitation from your Lord while they were sleeping. 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 "Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" 22 So they departed, whispering together, 23 Let there not enter upon you today any needy man. 24 They were resolved to repel the beggars. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "We must have lost our way. 26 Aye! it is we who are deprived! 27 The most moderate of them said, "Did I not say to you, 'Why do you not exalt [Allah]?' " 28 They said: Glory be to our Lord, surely we were unjust. 29 Then they approached one another, blaming each other. 30 Said they: O woe to us! surely we were inordinate: 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such is the punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew. 33