The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith), 1 you are not, because of the favor of your Lord, mad. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 So you will see, and they will realise, 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily your Lord knows those who have gone astray from His path, and He knows those who are guided on the way. 7 Do not yield to those who reject the Truth. 8 they would wish you to be pliant so that they too may be pliant. 9 Furthermore, defer not to the contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful; 12 moreover ignoble, 13 Because he is a possessor of wealth and children, 14 When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 16 We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden who had sworn that in the morning they would reap it, 17 without adding to their swearing, (Allah willing, InshaAllah). 18 Then there passed by on the (garden) something (fire) from your Lord at night and burnt it while they were asleep. 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 In the morning they called to one another, 21 Saying: "Go to your tilth in the morning, if you would pluck the fruits." 22 They all left, whispering to one another, 23 "Be sure to stop any poor person from entering the orchard today." 24 And they went out betimes determined in purpose. 25 But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!" 26 Aye! it is we who are deprived! 27 The more upright of the two said, "Did I not bid you to glorify God?" 28 They said, "All glory belongs to God. We have certainly been unjust". 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 May be our Lord will give us a better orchard in its stead; we turn to Him." 32 Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! 33