The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by what you write, 1 You are not, [O Muhammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman. 2 You will certainly receive a never-ending reward. 3 For you are truly of a sublime character. 4 So you will see, and they will realise, 5 which of you was bereft of reason. 6 Verily, your Lord knows better, who (among men) has gone astray from His Path, and He knows better those who are guided. 7 Therefore, do not obey those who belie, 8 They only want that you should relent, so that they may come to terms. 9 And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, 10 [And] scorner, going about with malicious gossip - 11 hinderer of good, guilty aggressor, coarse-grained, 12 Cruel, moreover, and an illegitimate pretender. 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!' 15 We shall brand him on his nose. 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 But did not add: "If God may please." 18 So there came upon the garden an affliction from your Lord while they were asleep. 19 So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 So they went off, while whispering to one another. 23 Saying: No poor man shall enter it today upon you. 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 the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way: 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 They said: hallowed be Our Lord! verily we have been wrong-doers. 29 So they came towards each other, blaming. 30 They said: woe unto us! verily we! we have been arrogant. 31 Perhaps our Lord will replace it with a better garden. We turn in repentance to our Lord". 32 Such is the punishment [of this world]. And the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew. 33