The Pen (Al-Qalam)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 You are not insane, by the munificence of your Lord. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 and you are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence. 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided. 7 So do not comply with those who deny: 8 They wish that you should be pliant so they (too) would be pliant. 9 And obey not thou any swearer ignominous. 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 A preventer of good, transgressing and sinful, 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 Because he* has some wealth and sons. (Walid bin Mugaira, who cursed the Holy Prophet.) 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 15 We shall mark him upon his nose! 16 Now We have tried them, even as We tried the owners of the garden when they swore they would pluck in the morning 17 And they did not say, “If Allah wills”. 18 Thereupon a calamity from your Lord passed over it while they were asleep, 19 So it became as black, barren land. 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 set out, while lowering their voices, 23 "Indeed, no needy person shall enter it today [and come] upon you [unawares,]" 24 They were resolved to repel the beggars. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Lo! we are in error! 26 "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 They cried out: “Glory be to our Lord! Certainly we were sinners.” 29 So they came towards each other, blaming. 30 They said: "Woe to us! Verily, we were Taghun (transgressors and disobedient, etc.) 31 Perhaps our Lord will replace it with a better garden. We turn in repentance to our Lord". 32 Such is the punishment; and indeed the punishment of the Hereafter is the greatest, if only they knew! 33