The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 You have attained a high moral standard. 4 Soon wilt thou see, and they will see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Surely your Lord knows well those who have strayed from His Way just as He knows well those who are on the Right Way. 7 Then do not obey the deniers. 8 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 A preventer of good, transgressing and sinful, 12 the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble; 13 Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons. 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 We will brand him upon the snout. 16 We have indeed tested them the way We had tested the owners of the garden when they swore that they would reap its harvest the next morning. 17 Without making exception. 18 whereupon a visitation for thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep, 19 So it became as black, barren land. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 'Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck!' 22 So they went off speaking to each other in a low voice. 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 They went betimes, strong in (this) purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "Indeed, we are lost; 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 The best among them said: "Did I not tell you: why do you not say: Insha' Allah (If Allah will)." 28 They said, "Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers." 29 Some of them started to blame others. 30 [In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously! 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 chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know! 33