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, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 and surely yours shall be a never-ending reward, 3 for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Lo! thy Lord is Best Aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is Best Aware of those who walk aright. 7 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 They wish that thou shouldst compromise, then they would compromise. 9 And obey thou not every mean swearer, 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 A preventer of good, transgressing and sinful, 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 will brand him upon the snout. 16 [As for such sinners,] behold, We [but] try them as We tried the owners of a certain garden who vowed that they would surely harvest its fruit on the morrow, 17 And they did not say, “If Allah wills”. 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 and in the morning it was if the garden had been reaped. 20 They then called out to each other at daybreak. 21 "Go early to your farms, if you want to pluck the fruits". 22 So off they went, whispering to one another: 23 “Make sure that no needy person enters your garden this day.” 24 They went forth early, believing that they had the power (to gather the fruit). 25 But when they saw it, they said, "Indeed, we are lost; 26 Aye! it is we who are deprived! 27 The best among them said, “Did I not tell you, ‘Why do you not proclaim His purity?’” 28 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 and then they turned upon one another with mutual reproaches. 30 They said, "Woe to us. We have been arrogant. 31 Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us [one] better than it. Indeed, we are toward our Lord desirous." 32 Such was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33