The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen, and what they inscribe, 1 thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 There is surely reward unending 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 was bereft of reason. 6 Indeed your Lord well knows those who have strayed from His path, and He well knows those who are upon guidance. 7 Therefore do not listen to the deniers. 8 They wish that you should be pliant so they (too) would be pliant. 9 Neither obey thou each feeble oath-monger, 10 The excessively insulting one, spreader of spite. 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful, 12 moreover ignoble, 13 Because he is owner of riches and children. 14 When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' 15 We shall brand him over the nose! 16 Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. 17 But did not add: "If God may please." 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 So by the morning it seemed as though picked clean. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 "Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" 22 They all left, whispering to one another, 23 "Let no beggar come to the garden". 24 And in the morning they went, having the power to prevent. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "We must have lost our way. 26 No, rather, we have been prevented' 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 So they came towards each other, blaming. 30 Said they: O woe to us! surely we were inordinate: 31 We hope that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this. Truly, we turn to our Lord (wishing for good that He may forgive our sins, and reward us in the Hereafter)." 32 Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! 33