The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nuun* – by oath of the pen and by oath of what is written by it. (Alphabet of the Arabic language; Allah and to whomever He reveals, know their precise meanings.) 1 Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 You shall see and they will see 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 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 they wish you would compromise, then, they would compromise. 9 And do not yield to any contemptible swearer, 10 back-biting, gossiping, 11 One who excessively forbids the good, transgressor, sinner. 12 moreover ignoble, 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 when Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are just ancient fables." 15 We shall brand him on his nose. 16 Verily, We have tried them as We tried the people of the garden, when they swore to pluck the fruits of the (garden) in the morning, 17 And they made not the exception. 18 Then there encompassed it a visitation from your Lord while they were sleeping. 19 Then in the morning it became as though it had been reaped. 20 And they called out to each other in the morning, 21 Saying: Go early to your tilth if you would cut (the produce). 22 So they went off, while whispering to one another. 23 'No needy person shall set foot in it today' 24 And they went out betimes determined in purpose. 25 Then when they beheld it, they said: verily we have strayed. 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 Said the most moderate of them, 'Did I not say to you, "Why do you not give glory?"' 28 They said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!" 29 Then they began to heap reproaches on each other. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such is the chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know! 33