The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed. 2 and surely yours shall be a never-ending reward, 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 So you will see, and they will realise, 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 would like you to relent to them so that they could also relent towards you. 9 Do not heed a contemptible swearer, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 [or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor, 12 the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble; 13 because he has wealth and sons. 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 Lo! We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed that they would pluck its fruit next morning, 17 But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will"). 18 So there came upon the garden an affliction from your Lord while they were asleep. 19 So the (garden) became black by the morning, like a pitch dark night (in complete ruins). 20 In the morning they called to one another, 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 So they departed, talking in low voices: 23 "Be sure to stop any poor person from entering the orchard today." 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "Verily, we have 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 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 They said: woe unto us! verily we! we have been arrogant. 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 was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33