The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe, 1 You are not, [O Muhammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman. 2 And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted. 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 Soon you will see, as will they, 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 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 So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth). 8 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. 9 Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 obstructing virtues, a sinful transgressor, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 Because he is owner of riches and children. 14 That, when Our revelations are recited unto him, he saith: Mere fables of the men of old. 15 Soon shall We brand him on his snout. 16 We have tested them in the same way as we tested the dwellers of the garden (in Yemen) when they swore to pluck all the fruits of the garden in the morning, 17 But did not add: "If God may please." 18 Wherefore an encircling visitation visited it even as they slept on. 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 At daybreak they called out to one another: 21 "Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits." 22 So they went off speaking to each other in a low voice. 23 'No needy person shall set foot in it today' 24 They went forth early, believing that they had the power (to gather the fruit). 25 But when they saw it, they said: Most surely we have gone astray 26 "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" 27 The best of them said: Did I not say to you, Why do you not glorify (Allah)? 28 They said, "All glory belongs to God. We have certainly been unjust". 29 and then they turned upon one another with mutual reproaches. 30 They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.” 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than it in exchange. To our Lord we humbly turn' 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33