The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen, and all that they write! 1 Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed. 2 And indeed for you is an unlimited reward. 3 And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are on an exalted standard of character. 4 You will see, and they will see, 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Verily, your Lord knows better, who (among men) has gone astray from His Path, and He knows better those who are guided. 7 Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth: 8 They wish that thou shouldst compromise, then they would compromise. 9 Neither obey thou each feeble oath-monger, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 A preventer of good, transgressing and sinful, 12 Greedy therewithal, intrusive. 13 Because he is a possessor of wealth and children, 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 15 Soon We will brand him on the nose. 16 Surely We will try them as We tried the owners of the garden, when they swore that they would certainly cut off the produce in the morning, 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 Then there encompassed it a visitation from your Lord while they were sleeping. 19 and the garden was turned into a barren desert. 20 At daybreak they called out to one another: 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 22 And so they departed, whispering to one another: 23 "Let no beggar come to the garden". 24 And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "Verily, we have gone astray," 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 27 The best among them said: Said I not unto you: Why glorify ye not (Allah)? 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 They said: “Woe to us! We had indeed transgressed. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us a better orchard in its place; to our Lord do we penitently turn.” 32 Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! 33