The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 By the grace of your Lord, you are not a mad man. 2 There is surely reward unending for you, 3 You have attained a high moral standard. 4 You will see and they will also see 5 Who is distracted. 6 Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has gone astray from His way, and He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided. 7 Then do not obey the deniers. 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 And obey not thou any swearer ignominous. 10 the backbiter who goes about slandering, 11 Forbidder of good, outstepping the limits, sinful, 12 the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble; 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 15 We shall brand him on the muzzle. 16 Now We have tried them, even as We tried the owners of the garden when they swore they would pluck in the morning 17 Without saying: Insha' Allah (If Allah will). 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 They then called out to each other at daybreak. 21 Saying: Run unto your field if ye would pluck (the fruit). 22 So off they went, whispering to one another: 23 "Let no beggar come to the garden". 24 They left early in the morning bent on this purpose. 25 Then when they saw it, they said, “We have indeed strayed.” 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 (Whereupon) the best among them said: 'Did I not say to you to exalt (Allah)' 28 They cried out: “Glory be to our Lord! Certainly we were sinners.” 29 And they came blaming one another. 30 They said, 'Woe, alas for us! Truly, we were insolent. 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 chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know! 33