The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen, and what they inscribe, 1 Thou art not, by thy Sustainer's grace, a madman! 2 There is surely reward unending for you, 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 You shall 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 Therefore do not listen to the deniers. 8 Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise. 9 And yield not to any mean swearer 10 Detracter, spreader abroad of slanders, 11 those who hinder good, the guilty aggressor, 12 Cruel, after all that base-born (of illegitimate birth), 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 Anon We shall brand him on snout. 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 Without making exception. 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 So off they went, whispering to one another: 23 [Saying], "There will surely not enter it today upon you [any] poor person." 24 They were resolved to repel the beggars. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Lo! we are in error! 26 No. In fact we have been deprived of it." 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 They said, "Glory be to God, our Lord. We have surely done wrong." 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 Said they: O woe to us! surely we were inordinate: 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than it in exchange. To our Lord we humbly turn' 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33