The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing: 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 You shall see and they will see 5 which of you is a prey to madness. 6 Verily, your Lord knows better, who (among men) has gone astray from His Path, and He knows better those who are guided. 7 Then do not obey the deniers. 8 Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise. 9 Do not yield to one persistent in swearing, 10 Detracter, spreader abroad of slanders, 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, malefactor 12 Violent (and cruel),- with all that, base-born,- 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 when Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are just ancient fables." 15 We will soon singe his pig-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 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, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). 20 They then called out to each other at daybreak. 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 "Indeed, no needy person shall enter it today [and come] upon you [unawares,]" 24 And they went in the morning with strong intention, thinking that they have power (to prevent the poor taking anything of the fruits therefrom). 25 But when they saw it, they said: Most surely we have gone astray 26 Nay! we are made to suffer privation. 27 The most moderate of them said, "Did I not say to you, 'Why do you not exalt [Allah]?' " 28 They said, "All glory belongs to God. We have certainly been unjust". 29 and then they turned upon one another with mutual reproaches. 30 They said: "Woe to us! Verily, we were Taghun (transgressors and disobedient, etc.) 31 Maybe, our Lord will give us instead one better than it; surely to our Lord do we make our humble petition. 32 Such is the punishment [of this world]. And the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew. 33