The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by that which they inscribe. 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 and surely yours shall be a never-ending reward, 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 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 Therefore do not listen to the deniers. 8 They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate. 9 Neither obey thou each feeble oath-monger, 10 [or to] the slanderer that goes about with defaming tales, 11 obstructing virtues, a sinful transgressor, 12 Ignoble, besides all that, base-born; 13 Because he* has some wealth and sons. (Walid bin Mugaira, who cursed the Holy Prophet.) 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients' 15 We will brand him on the nose. 16 We have tried them as we tried the owners of a certain orchard, who vowed to harvest all its fruits the next morning, 17 But did not add: "If God may please." 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 and in the morning it was if the garden had been reaped. 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 They left early in the morning bent on this purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "Indeed, we are lost; 26 nay, rather we have been robbed!' 27 The best among them said: "Did I not tell you: why do you not say: Insha' Allah (If Allah will)." 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.” 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than it in exchange. 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