The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, most benevolent, ever-merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith), 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 and surely yours shall be a never-ending reward, 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 You will see and they will also see 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily thy Lord! He is the best Knower of him who strayeth from His path, and He is the best Knower of the guided one. 7 Therefore do not listen to the deniers. 8 They wish that thou shouldst compromise, then they would compromise. 9 And do not yield to any contemptible swearer, 10 Detracter, spreader abroad of slanders, 11 One who excessively forbids the good, transgressor, sinner. 12 ill-mannered, and moraly corrupt 13 Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 15 We shall brand him on the nose. 16 We have tried them as we tried the owners of a certain orchard, who vowed to harvest all its fruits the next morning, 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 So by the morning it seemed as though picked clean. 20 And they called one another at morning, 21 "Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits." 22 So they set out, while lowering their voices, 23 No needy man shall enter it to-day against you. 24 And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose. 25 Then when they beheld it, they said: verily we have strayed. 26 No, rather, we have been prevented' 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 Then they approached one another, blaming each other. 30 They said: “Woe to us! We had indeed transgressed. 31 Perhaps our Lord will replace it with a better garden. We turn in repentance to our Lord". 32 Such is Our chastisement; and the punishment of the Hereafter will be greater, if only they knew! 33