The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, most benevolent, ever-merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 You (O Muhammad SAW) are not, by the Grace of your Lord, a madman. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 For you are truly of a sublime character. 4 So very soon, you will see and they too will realise – 5 Which of you is the afflicted [by a devil]. 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 wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. 9 And yield not to any mean swearer 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, malefactor 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 Because he is owner of riches and children. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 15 We shall brand him on his nose. 16 We have tried you as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed to gather the fruits in the morning 17 and they added not the saving words. 18 whereupon a visitation for thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep, 19 and the garden was turned into a barren desert. 20 And they called one another at morning, 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 When they saw the garden, they said, "Surely we have lost our way. 26 Indeed, we are utterly ruined!" 27 The most moderate of them said, "Did I not say to you, 'Why do you not exalt [Allah]?' " 28 They said, "Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers." 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 [In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously! 31 [But] it may be that our Sustainer will grant us something better instead: for, verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn with hope!" 32 Such is Our chastisement; and the punishment of the Hereafter will be greater, if only they knew! 33