The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; 4 So thou shalt see, and they will see, 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily, thy Sustainer alone is fully aware as to who has strayed from His path, Just as He alone is fully aware of those who have found the right way. 7 So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth). 8 They wish that in some way you may yield, so they too might soften their stand. 9 Neither obey thou each feeble oath-monger, 10 Detracter, spreader abroad of slanders, 11 hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained, 12 Foul mouthed, and in addition to all this, of improper lineage. 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 That, when Our revelations are recited unto him, he saith: Mere fables of the men of old. 15 We will brand him upon the snout. 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 were not willing to set aside a portion (for the poor). 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 And it became as though reaped. 20 At daybreak they called out to one another: 21 "Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" 22 So they departed, whispering together, 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 And they went in the morning with strong intention, thinking that they have power (to prevent the poor taking anything of the fruits therefrom). 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" 27 The most moderate of them said, "Did I not say to you, 'Why do you not exalt [Allah]?' " 28 They said, "Glory be to God, our Lord. We have surely done wrong." 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 They said: Alas for us! In truth we were outrageous. 31 Maybe, our Lord will give us instead one better than it; surely to our Lord do we make our humble petition. 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33