The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe, 1 By the grace of your Lord, you are not a mad man. 2 There is surely reward unending for you, 3 and you are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence. 4 So thou shalt see, and they will see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily it is thy Lord that knoweth best, which (among men) hath strayed from His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (true) Guidance. 7 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 they would wish you to be pliant so that they too may be pliant. 9 Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths, 10 Detracter, spreader abroad of slanders, 11 those who hinder good, the guilty aggressor, 12 the crude of low character 13 Because he is a possessor of wealth and children, 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 We shall brand him upon the muzzle! 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 did not say, “If Allah wills”. 18 Then there encompassed it a visitation from your Lord while they were sleeping. 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 Saying: "Go to your tilth in the morning, if you would pluck the fruits." 22 So they departed, talking in low voices: 23 No Miskin (poor man) shall enter upon you into it today. 24 And in the morning they went, having the power to prevent. 25 But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!" 26 Nay! we are made to suffer privation. 27 The best among them said, “Did I not tell you, ‘Why do you not proclaim His purity?’” 28 They answered: "Limitless in His glory is our Sustainer! Verily, we were doing wrong!" 29 Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching. 30 They said: “Woe to us! We had indeed transgressed. 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 is the punishment [of this world]. And the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew. 33