The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, most benevolent, ever-merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe, 1 You are not insane, by the munificence of your Lord. 2 And verily thine shall be a hire unending. 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 So very soon, you will see and they too will realise – 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided. 7 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 They would like you to relent to them so that they could also relent towards you. 9 Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths, 10 Defamer, going about with slander 11 the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful; 12 ill-mannered, and moraly corrupt 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 [For this] We shall brand him with indelible disgrace! 16 Indeed, We have tried them as We tried the companions of the garden, when they swore to cut its fruit in the [early] morning 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 So there came upon the garden an affliction from your Lord while they were asleep. 19 So the (garden) became black by the morning, like a pitch dark night (in complete ruins). 20 Then they cried out unto each other in the morning. 21 “Hurry to your orchard if you would gather its fruit.” 22 So they departed, whispering together, 23 "Be sure to stop any poor person from entering the orchard today." 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, "Indeed, we are lost; 26 No. In fact we have been deprived of it." 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 They said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!" 29 Then they turned, one against another, in blaming. 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 it in exchange. To our Lord we humbly turn' 32 Such is Our chastisement; and the punishment of the Hereafter will be greater, if only they knew! 33