The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what the scribes write. 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 For you are verily born of sublime nature. 4 So very soon, you will see and they too will realise – 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 6 Indeed, your Lord knows very well those who strayed from His Path, and those who are guided. 7 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 They wish that thou shouldst compromise, then they would compromise. 9 And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, 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 the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble; 13 (who so acts) simply because he has wealth and sons, 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 We shall brand him upon the muzzle! 16 We have tried you as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed to gather the fruits in the morning 17 And were not willing to set aside a portion (for the poor). 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). 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, while whispering to one another. 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 – and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose. 25 When they saw (and did not recognise it) they said: "Surely we have lost the way. 26 Nay! we are made to suffer privation. 27 The best among them said, “Did I not tell you, ‘Why do you not proclaim His purity?’” 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 Then they began to heap reproaches on each other. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than it in exchange. To our Lord we humbly turn' 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33