The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace
۞ Nun. By the pen and by that which they inscribe. 1 Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed. 2 Indeed, there is an unfailing wage for you. 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 and [one day] thou shalt see, and they [who now deride thee] shall see, 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 6 Indeed, your Lord knows very well those who strayed from His Path, and those who are guided. 7 Therefore do not listen to the deniers. 8 They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate. 9 And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, 10 Detracter, spreader abroad of slanders, 11 [or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor, 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples." 15 We shall mark him upon his nose! 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 But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will"). 18 So there came upon the garden an affliction from your Lord while they were asleep. 19 and the garden was turned into a barren desert. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 "Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits." 22 So they went off, while whispering to one another. 23 Let there not enter upon you today any needy man. 24 They left early in the morning bent on this purpose. 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 They said: hallowed be Our Lord! verily we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 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 suffering [with which We try some people in this world]; but greater by far will be the suffering [which sinners shall have to bear] in the life to come - if they but knew it! 33