The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe, 1 Thou art not, through the grace of thy Lord, mad. 2 Most surely, you will have a never ending reward. 3 surely thou art upon a mighty morality. 4 and [one day] thou shalt see, and they [who now deride thee] shall see, 5 which of you was bereft of reason. 6 Surely your Lord best knows him who errs from His way, and He best knows the followers of the right course. 7 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 They would like you to relent to them so that they could also relent towards you. 9 Do not heed a contemptible swearer, 10 the backbiter who goes about slandering, 11 (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin, 12 the crude of low character 13 Because he possesses wealth and sons. 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 [For this] We shall brand him with indelible disgrace! 16 [As for such sinners,] behold, We [but] try them as We tried the owners of a certain garden who vowed that they would surely harvest its fruit on the morrow, 17 and they added not the saving words. 18 Thereupon a calamity from your Lord passed over it while they were asleep, 19 so that by the morrow it became barren and bleak. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 'Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck!' 22 So off they went, whispering to one another: 23 Saying: No poor man shall enter it today upon you. 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "Indeed, we are lost; 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 Then they turned to each other reproaching. 30 They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.” 31 Belike our Lord may exchange for us better garden than this; verily we are unto our Lord beseechers. 32 Such is the torment. And the torment of the Hereafter is far greater; if they but knew. 33