The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe, 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 And verily, thine shall be a reward neverending 3 surely thou art upon a mighty morality. 4 Soon wilt thou see, and they will see, 5 which of you is a prey to madness. 6 Indeed, your Lord knows very well those who strayed from His Path, and those who are guided. 7 Therefor obey not thou the rejecters 8 They wish that you should be pliant so they (too) would be pliant. 9 Furthermore, defer not to the contemptible swearer of oaths, 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 Gross, and therewithal ignoble. 13 (who so acts) simply because he has wealth and sons, 14 When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' 15 Soon shall We brand him on his snout. 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 they made not the exception. 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 So it became as black, barren land. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 “Hurry to your orchard if you would gather its fruit.” 22 So they went off speaking to each other in a low voice. 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "We must have lost our way. 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 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 They said: woe unto us! verily we! we have been arrogant. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than this in place thereof. Lo! we beseech our Lord. 32 Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! 33