The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen, and all that they write! 1 thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 And indeed for you is an unlimited reward. 3 You have attained a high moral standard. 4 And thou wilt see and they will 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 So do not yield to the rejecters. 8 They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you. 9 Furthermore, defer not to the contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 [or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor, 12 Crude, and above all, mean and infamous, 13 It is because he is possessed of 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 muzzle. 16 We have put them [i.e., the Makkans] to test even as We put to test the owners of the orchard when they vowed that they would gather the fruit of their orchard in the morning, 17 But did not add: "If God may please." 18 A visitor from your Lord circled around the garden during the night while they were asleep 19 so that by the morrow it became barren and bleak. 20 Then they called out one to another as soon as the morning broke, 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 So they departed, talking in low voices: 23 Let there not enter upon you today any needy man. 24 And they went in the morning with strong intention, thinking that they have power (to prevent the poor taking anything of the fruits therefrom). 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way: 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 One who was temperate among them, said: "Did I not say: 'Why don't you priase God?'" 28 They said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!" 29 Then they turned, one against another, in reproach. 30 Saying: "Alas the woe, we were iniquitous. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us a better orchard in its place; to our Lord do we penitently turn.” 32 Such was their punishment, [in this life]. But the punishment of the life to come is much more severe, if only they knew it! 33