The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith), 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing: 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 5 Which of you is the demented. 6 Lo! thy Lord is Best Aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is Best Aware of those who walk aright. 7 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. 9 Do not heed a contemptible swearer, 10 A defamer, spreader abroad of slander. 11 A preventer of good, transgressing and sinful, 12 Gross, and therewithal ignoble. 13 Simply because he possesses wealth and children. 14 When Our Verses (of the Quran) are recited to him, he says: "Tales of the men of old!" 15 Soon shall We brand him on his snout. 16 We have tested them in the same way as we tested the dwellers of the garden (in Yemen) when they swore to pluck all the fruits of the garden in the morning, 17 And were not willing to set aside a portion (for the poor). 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept 19 And in the morning it was as if plucked. 20 (Then) in the morning they called out to one another, saying: 21 Saying: Run unto your field if ye would pluck (the fruit). 22 So they went off speaking to each other in a low voice. 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. 25 Then when they saw it, they said, “We have indeed strayed.” 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 The best among them said, “Did I not tell you, ‘Why do you not proclaim His purity?’” 28 They said, "Glory be to God, our Lord. We have surely done wrong." 29 and then they turned upon one another with mutual reproaches. 30 Saying: "Alas the woe, we were iniquitous. 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33