The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe, 1 By your Lord's Grace, you are not afflicted with madness, 2 You will certainly receive a never-ending reward. 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 You will see, and they will see, 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Surely your Lord knows well those who have strayed from His Way just as He knows well those who are on the Right Way. 7 So do not yield to the rejecters. 8 They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you. 9 And do not yield to any contemptible swearer, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin, 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 just because he has wealth and sons, 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 We shall brand him on his nose. 16 [As for such sinners,] behold, We [but] try them as We tried the owners of a certain garden who vowed that they would surely harvest its fruit on the morrow, 17 And they did not say, “If Allah wills”. 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it, while they were sleeping, 19 So the (garden) became black by the morning, like a pitch dark night (in complete ruins). 20 In the morning they called to one another, 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 And so they departed, whispering to one another: 23 Let there not enter upon you today any needy man. 24 They set out early in the morning, thinking they had the power to prevent. 25 But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray; 26 No, rather, we have been prevented' 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 They said: Alas for us! In truth we were outrageous. 31 "It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this: for we do turn to Him (in repentance)!" 32 Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the Hereafter is assuredly even greater, if only they knew. 33