The Pen (Al-Qalam)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ NUN. I CALL to witness the pen and what they inscribe, 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 and surely yours shall be a never-ending reward, 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 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 Therefore do not listen to the deniers. 8 they wish you would compromise, then, they would compromise. 9 Do not yield to one persistent in swearing, 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin, 12 Ignoble, besides all that, base-born; 13 or that because he may possess wealth and children. 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 16 Indeed, We have tried them as We tried the companions of the garden, when they swore to cut its fruit in the [early] morning 17 But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will"). 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 And in the morning it was as if plucked. 20 At daybreak they called out to one another: 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 So off they went, whispering to one another: 23 No needy man shall enter it to-day against you. 24 They were resolved to repel the beggars. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way: 26 rather, we are utterly ruined.” 27 The best among them said: Said I not unto you: Why glorify ye not (Allah)? 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 [In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously! 31 [But] it may be that our Sustainer will grant us something better instead: for, verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn with hope!" 32 Such is the punishment; and indeed the punishment of the Hereafter is the greatest, if only they knew! 33