The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, most benevolent, ever-merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality. 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 5 Who is distracted. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth). 8 they would wish you to be pliant so that they too may be pliant. 9 Nor ever listen to any excessive oath maker, ignoble person. 10 [And] scorner, going about with malicious gossip - 11 those who hinder good, the guilty aggressor, 12 Cruel, moreover, and an illegitimate pretender. 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 when Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are just ancient fables." 15 We shall brand him upon the muzzle! 16 We have tried them as we tried the owners of a certain orchard, who vowed to harvest all its fruits the next morning, 17 Without making exception. 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 And it became as though reaped. 20 Now when they rose at early morn, they called unto one another, 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 22 And so they departed, whispering to one another: 23 'No needy person shall set foot in it today' 24 And they went out betimes determined in purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Most surely we have gone astray 26 Nay, but we are desolate! 27 One who was temperate among them, said: "Did I not say: 'Why don't you priase God?'" 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 Some of them started to blame others. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than it in exchange. To our Lord we humbly turn' 32 Such is Our chastisement; and the punishment of the Hereafter will be greater, if only they knew! 33