The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen, and what they inscribe, 1 You are not, [O Muhammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 and you are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence. 4 Soon you will see, as will they, 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Surely your Lord best knows him who errs from His way, and He best knows the followers of the right course. 7 So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth). 8 They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you. 9 Nor ever listen to any excessive oath maker, ignoble person. 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 [or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor, 12 Cruel, moreover, and an illegitimate pretender. 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 When Our revelations are rehearsed unto him, he saith: fables of the ancients. 15 We will brand him upon the snout. 16 We have put them [i.e., the Makkans] to test even as We put to test the owners of the orchard when they vowed that they would gather the fruit of their orchard in the morning, 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it, while they were sleeping, 19 And it became as though reaped. 20 At daybreak they called out to one another: 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 And in the morning they went, having the power to prevent. 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 Indeed, we are utterly ruined!" 27 The more upright of the two said, "Did I not bid you to glorify God?" 28 They said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!" 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 They said, 'Woe, alas for us! Truly, we were insolent. 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such is the torment. And the torment of the Hereafter is far greater; if they but knew. 33