The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- 1 thou art not, by the blessing of thy Lord, a man possessed. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; 4 So you will soon see, and they too will see, 5 which of you has been afflicted by insanity. 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 Therefor obey not thou the rejecters 8 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. 9 Furthermore, defer not to the contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 [And] scorner, going about with malicious gossip - 11 Forbidder of good, outstepping the limits, sinful, 12 Ignoble, besides all that, base-born; 13 Because he is owner of riches and children. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “These are stories of earlier people.” 15 We shall brand him over the 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 and made no allowance [for the will of God]: 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 So it became as black, barren land. 20 (Then) in the morning they called out to one another, saying: 21 "Go early to your farms, if you want to pluck the fruits". 22 So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones: 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 And in the morning they went, having the power to prevent. 25 When they saw the garden, they said, "Surely we have lost our way. 26 (Then they said): "Nay! Indeed we are deprived of (the fruits)!" 27 The best among them said: "Did I not tell you: why do you not say: Insha' Allah (If Allah will)." 28 They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers. 29 Then they began to heap reproaches on each other. 30 They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.” 31 Maybe our Lord will give us better than this. We turn to our Lord in supplication." 32 Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the Hereafter is assuredly even greater, if only they knew. 33