The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 You will certainly receive a never-ending reward. 3 Surely, you (Prophet Muhammad) are of a great morality. 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily thy Lord! He is the best Knower of him who strayeth from His path, and He is the best Knower of the guided one. 7 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. 9 Do not heed a contemptible swearer, 10 back-biting, gossiping, 11 One who excessively forbids the good, transgressor, sinner. 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 Because he is a possessor of wealth and children, 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 15 We shall brand him on the nose. 16 Indeed, We have tried them as We tried the companions of the garden, when they swore to cut its fruit in the [early] morning 17 But did not add: "If God may please." 18 A visitor from your Lord circled around the garden during the night while they were asleep 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 Now when they rose at early morn, they called unto one another, 21 "Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" 22 So they went off, while whispering to one another. 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 And in the morning they went, having the power to prevent. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way: 26 Rather, we have been deprived." 27 The best of them said: Did I not say to you, Why do you not glorify (Allah)? 28 They said: Glory be to our Lord, surely we were unjust. 29 So they came towards each other, blaming. 30 They said: “Woe to us! We had indeed transgressed. 31 We hope that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this. Truly, we turn to our Lord (wishing for good that He may forgive our sins, and reward us in the Hereafter)." 32 Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! 33