The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen, and what they inscribe, 1 Thou art not, by thy Sustainer's grace, a madman! 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 and you are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence. 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 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 Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth: 8 They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate. 9 Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths, 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained, 12 the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble; 13 Simply because he possesses wealth and children. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples." 15 We shall mark him upon his nose! 16 Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. 17 Without saying: Insha' Allah (If Allah will). 18 So there came upon the garden an affliction from your Lord while they were asleep. 19 So it became as black, barren land. 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 [Saying], "Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit." 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 No needy man shall enter it to-day against you. 24 And they went in the morning with strong intention, thinking that they have power (to prevent the poor taking anything of the fruits therefrom). 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "Verily, we have gone astray," 26 Indeed, we are utterly ruined!" 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 Saying: "Alas the woe, we were iniquitous. 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