The Pen (Al-Qalam)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 You will see and they will also see 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily your Lord knows those who have gone astray from His path, and He knows those who are guided on the way. 7 Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth: 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 Do not heed a contemptible swearer, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 Who hinders men from (doing) good, the transgressor, the iniquitous, 12 ill-mannered, and moraly corrupt 13 just because he has wealth and sons, 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples." 15 We shall brand him over the nose! 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 But did not add: "If God may please." 18 Wherefore an encircling visitation visited it even as they slept on. 19 So by the morning it seemed as though picked clean. 20 And they called out to each other in the morning, 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones (saying), 23 "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." 24 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 Indeed, we are utterly ruined!" 27 The best among them said: “Did I not say to you: why do you not give glory to (your Lord)?” 28 They said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!" 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 30 They said, 'Woe, alas for us! Truly, we were insolent. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than this in place thereof. Lo! we beseech our Lord. 32 Such is the punishment; and indeed the punishment of the Hereafter is the greatest, if only they knew! 33