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, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 And verily, thine shall be a reward neverending 3 Surely, you (Prophet Muhammad) are of a great morality. 4 So you will see and they will see 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided. 7 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 They wish that thou shouldst compromise, then they would compromise. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 back-biting, gossiping, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, malefactor 12 ill-mannered, and moraly corrupt 13 Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons. 14 that, whenever Our messages are conveyed to him, such a one says, "Fables of ancient times"? 15 Anon We shall brand him on 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 and made no allowance [for the will of God]: 18 A visitor from your Lord circled around the garden during the night 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 early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 No needy man shall enter it to-day against you. 24 They set out early in the morning, thinking they had the power to prevent. 25 But when they saw it they said: 'We have surely gone astray. 26 Nay! we are made to suffer privation. 27 Said the most right-minded among them: "Did I not tell you, 'Will you not extol God's limitless glory?'" 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 [In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously! 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