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 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 And verily, for you (O Muhammad SAW) will be an endless reward. 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 So you will see, and they will realise, 5 Who is distracted. 6 Lo! thy Lord is Best Aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is Best Aware of those who walk aright. 7 Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth: 8 They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate. 9 Do not yield to one persistent in swearing, 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries! 15 Soon shall We brand him on his snout. 16 We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden who had sworn that in the morning they would reap it, 17 without adding ("if God wills"). 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept 19 So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). 20 And they called one another at morning, 21 "Go early to your farms, if you want to pluck the fruits". 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 "Let no beggar come to the garden". 24 They were resolved to repel the beggars. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "Indeed, we are lost; 26 “In fact, we are unfortunate.” 27 The best among them said, “Did I not tell you, ‘Why do you not proclaim His purity?’” 28 They said, "Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers." 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 They said: Alas for us! In truth we were outrageous. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us better than this. We turn to our Lord in supplication." 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