The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; 4 So you will see and they will see 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 6 Surely thy Lord knows very well those who have gone astray from His way, and He knows very well those who are guided. 7 Then do not obey the deniers. 8 Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise. 9 Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths, 10 [And] scorner, going about with malicious gossip - 11 Who hinders men from (doing) good, the transgressor, the iniquitous, 12 ill-mannered, and moraly corrupt 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 16 Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 Wherefore an encircling visitation visited it even as they slept on. 19 And in the morning it was as if plucked. 20 (Then) in the morning they called out to one another, saying: 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 22 So they departed, whispering together, 23 “Make sure that no needy person enters your garden this day.” 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 No, rather, we have been prevented' 27 One who was temperate among them, said: "Did I not say: 'Why don't you priase God?'" 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 Some of them started to blame others. 30 Saying: "Alas the woe, we were iniquitous. 31 We hope that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this. Truly, we turn to our Lord (wishing for good that He may forgive our sins, and reward us in the Hereafter)." 32 Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33