The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, most benevolent, ever-merciful
۞ Nuun* – by oath of the pen and by oath of what is written by it. (Alphabet of the Arabic language; Allah and to whomever He reveals, know their precise meanings.) 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 verily thou art of a high and noble disposition. 4 And thou wilt see and they will see 5 which of you was bereft of reason. 6 Surely thy Lord knows very well those who have gone astray from His way, and He knows very well those who are guided. 7 So do not yield to the rejecters. 8 They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. 9 Do not heed a contemptible swearer, 10 or to any defamer or one who spreads slander, 11 One who excessively forbids the good, transgressor, sinner. 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 When Our Verses (of the Quran) are recited to him, he says: "Tales of the men of old!" 15 Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! 16 We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden who had sworn that in the morning they would reap it, 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 whereupon a visitation for thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep, 19 So in the morning it became as if harvested. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 That, “Go to your fields at early morn, if you want to harvest.” 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 “Make sure that no needy person enters your garden this day.” 24 They left early in the morning bent on this purpose. 25 But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!" 26 Nay! we are made to suffer privation. 27 Said the most right-minded among them: "Did I not tell you, 'Will you not extol God's limitless glory?'" 28 They said: hallowed be Our Lord! verily we have been wrong-doers. 29 And they came blaming one another. 30 They said: "Alas for us! We have indeed transgressed! 31 Maybe, our Lord will give us instead one better than it; surely to our Lord do we make our humble petition. 32 Such is Our chastisement; and the punishment of the Hereafter will be greater, if only they knew! 33