The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 Indeed, there is an unfailing wage for you. 3 And verily thou art of a high and noble disposition. 4 So you will soon see, and they too will see, 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Verily thy Lord! He is the best Knower of him who strayeth from His path, and He is the best Knower of the guided one. 7 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 They only want that you should relent, so that they may come to terms. 9 And do not obey every mean swearer, 10 The excessively insulting one, spreader of spite. 11 Hinderer of the good, trespasser; sinner. 12 Foul mouthed, and in addition to all this, of improper lineage. 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods 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 (the beast) on the snout! 16 Verily We! We have proved them even as We proved the fellows of a garden when they sware that they would surely reap it in the morning. 17 without adding ("if God wills"). 18 A calamity from your Lord befell the orchard as they slept. 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 At daybreak they called to each other: 21 [Saying], "Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit." 22 And so they departed, whispering to one another: 23 [Saying], "There will surely not enter it today upon you [any] poor person." 24 And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Lo! we are in error! 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 They said, "All glory belongs to God. We have certainly been unjust". 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 May be our Lord will give us a better orchard in its stead; we turn to Him." 32 Such was their punishment, [in this life]. But the punishment of the life to come is much more severe, if only they knew it! 33