The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 By the grace of your Lord, you are not a mad man. 2 Indeed, there is an unfailing wage for you. 3 for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 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 wish that in some way you may yield, so they too might soften their stand. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful; 12 Cruel, after all that base-born (of illegitimate birth), 13 (He was so) because he had wealth and children. 14 When Our Verses (of the Quran) are recited to him, he says: "Tales of the men of old!" 15 We will soon singe his pig-nose. 16 We have tried them as we tried the owners of a certain orchard, who vowed to harvest all its fruits the next morning, 17 Without making exception. 18 So there came upon the garden an affliction from your Lord while they were asleep. 19 So it became as black, barren land. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 "Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits." 22 And so they departed, whispering to one another: 23 “No destitute person shall enter it today.” 24 They set out early in the morning, thinking they had the power to prevent. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way: 26 No, rather, we have been prevented' 27 The best among them said: Said I not unto you: Why glorify ye not (Allah)? 28 They said: "Glory to Our Lord! Verily, we have been Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)." 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 They said: “Woe to us! We had indeed transgressed. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us better than this. We turn to our Lord in supplication." 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33