The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ NUN. I CALL to witness the pen and what they inscribe, 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted. 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 is the demented. 6 Indeed, your Lord knows very well those who strayed from His Path, and those who are guided. 7 So obey thou not those who cry lies. 8 They wish that you should be pliant so they (too) would be pliant. 9 Do not yield to one persistent in swearing, 10 the backbiter who goes about slandering, 11 [or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor, 12 Gross, and therewithal ignoble. 13 (who so acts) simply because he has wealth and sons, 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 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 made no exception (for the Will of Allah); 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord visited it, while they were sleeping, 19 So by the morning it seemed as though picked clean. 20 And they called one another at morning, 21 [Saying], "Go early to your crop if you would cut the fruit." 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." 24 They went betimes, strong in (this) purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "Indeed, we are lost; 26 “In fact, we are unfortunate.” 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better than it; to our Lord we humbly turn.' 32 Such was their punishment, [in this life]. But the punishment of the life to come is much more severe, if only they knew it! 33