The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by that which they inscribe. 1 Thou art not, through the grace of thy Lord, mad. 2 And indeed for you is an unlimited reward. 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 So very soon, you will see and they too will realise – 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has gone astray from His way, and He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided. 7 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 Fain would they that thou shouldst be pliant, so that they will be pliant. 9 Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths, 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 A preventer of good, transgressing and sinful, 12 Ignoble, besides all that, base-born; 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 when Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are just ancient fables." 15 We shall mark him upon his nose! 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 without saying, "If it be God's will." 18 Wherefore an encircling visitation visited it even as they slept on. 19 So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). 20 And they called out to each other in the morning, 21 'Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck!' 22 So they departed, talking in low voices: 23 'No needy person shall set foot in it today' 24 And in the morning they went, having the power to prevent. 25 Then when they beheld it, they said: verily we have strayed. 26 Indeed, we are utterly ruined!" 27 (Whereupon) the best among them said: 'Did I not say to you to exalt (Allah)' 28 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then they turned, one against another, in reproach. 30 [In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously! 31 Maybe our Lord will give us better than this. We turn to our Lord in supplication." 32 Such is the punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew. 33