The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Nun. By the pen, and all that they write! 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 And verily, thine shall be a reward neverending 3 And verily thou art of a high and noble disposition. 4 You will see, and they will see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided. 7 So obey thou not those who cry lies. 8 They only want that you should relent, so that they may come to terms. 9 And obey thou not every mean swearer, 10 or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, 11 or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 or that because he may possess wealth and children. 14 When Our Verses (of the Quran) are recited to him, he says: "Tales of the men of old!" 15 We shall brand him on the nose. 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 But did not add: "If God may please." 18 Thereupon a calamity from your Lord passed over it while they were asleep, 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 22 So they went off speaking to each other in a low voice. 23 [Saying], "There will surely not enter it today upon you [any] poor person." 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 Indeed, we are utterly ruined!" 27 Said the most right-minded among them: "Did I not tell you, 'Will you not extol God's limitless glory?'" 28 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then they began to heap reproaches on each other. 30 Said they: O woe to us! surely we were inordinate: 31 Maybe our Lord will give us a better orchard in its place; to our Lord do we penitently turn.” 32 Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the Hereafter is assuredly even greater, if only they knew. 33