The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Nun. By the pen and by that which they inscribe. 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 Indeed, there is an unfailing wage for you. 3 And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are on an exalted standard of character. 4 You shall see and they will see 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Surely thy Lord knows very well those who have gone astray from His way, and He knows very well 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 you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you. 9 Nor ever listen to any excessive oath maker, ignoble person. 10 The excessively insulting one, spreader of spite. 11 the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful; 12 Greedy therewithal, intrusive. 13 It is because he is possessed of wealth and children 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples." 15 We shall brand him on 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 and they added not the saving words. 18 Then there encompassed it a visitation from your Lord while they were sleeping. 19 So in the morning it became as if harvested. 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 Saying: "Go to your tilth in the morning, if you would pluck the fruits." 22 So they departed, whispering together, 23 [Saying], "There will surely not enter it today upon you [any] poor person." 24 And in the morning they went, having the power to prevent. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Lo! we are in error! 26 "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" 27 The best among them said: “Did I not say to you: why do you not give glory to (your Lord)?” 28 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching. 30 They said: woe unto us! verily we! we have been arrogant. 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 chastisement; and the chastisement of the Hereafter is assuredly even greater, if only they knew. 33