The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what the scribes write. 1 You are not, [O Muhammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 You will see, and they will see, 5 which of you was bereft of reason. 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 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 They wish that you should be pliant so they (too) would be pliant. 9 And do not yield to any contemptible swearer, 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 (who so acts) simply because he has wealth and sons, 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on 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 But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will"). 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). 20 And they called out to each other in the morning, 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 So off they went, whispering to one another: 23 "Be sure to stop any poor person from entering the orchard today." 24 They set out early in the morning, thinking they had the power to prevent. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way: 26 "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" 27 The more upright of the two said, "Did I not bid you to glorify God?" 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 Perhaps our Lord will replace it with a better garden. We turn in repentance to our Lord". 32 Such was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33