The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 and surely yours shall be a never-ending reward, 3 And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality. 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 So do not yield to the rejecters. 8 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 those who hinder good, the guilty aggressor, 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “These are stories of earlier people.” 15 [For this] We shall brand him with indelible disgrace! 16 Lo! We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed that they would pluck its fruit next morning, 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 Then there encompassed it a visitation from your Lord while they were sleeping. 19 and the garden was turned into a barren desert. 20 In the morning they called to one another, 21 Saying: Go early to your tilth if you would cut (the produce). 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 'No needy man shall enter it today against your will.' 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Most surely we have gone astray 26 Nay, but we are desolate! 27 The best among them said: Said I not unto you: Why glorify ye not (Allah)? 28 They said, 'Glory be to God, our Lord; truly, we were evildoers.' 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 They said: "Alas for us! We have indeed transgressed! 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than this in place thereof. Lo! we beseech our Lord. 32 Such is the chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know! 33