The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what the scribes write. 1 Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed. 2 And verily thine shall be a hire unending. 3 For you are truly of a sublime character. 4 You will see and they will also see 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 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 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. 9 Furthermore, defer not to the contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, 12 Ignoble, besides all that, base-born; 13 It is because he is possessed of wealth and children 14 that, whenever Our messages are conveyed to him, such a one says, "Fables of ancient times"? 15 We shall brand him upon the muzzle! 16 Verily, We have tried them as We tried the people of the garden, when they swore to pluck the fruits of the (garden) in the morning, 17 and they added not the saving words. 18 A visitor from your Lord circled around the garden during the night while they were asleep 19 Then in the morning it became as though it had been reaped. 20 At daybreak they called to each other: 21 "Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" 22 And so they departed, whispering to one another: 23 "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." 24 And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose. 25 Then when they saw it, they said, “We have indeed strayed.” 26 No, rather, we have been prevented' 27 The best among them said, “Did I not tell you, ‘Why do you not proclaim His purity?’” 28 They cried out: “Glory be to our Lord! Certainly we were sinners.” 29 Then some of them advanced against others, blaming each other. 30 They said, 'Woe, alas for us! Truly, we were insolent. 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such is the torment. And the torment of the Hereafter is far greater; if they but knew. 33