The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and by that which they inscribe. 1 You are not, [O Muhammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman. 2 You will certainly receive a never-ending reward. 3 You have attained a high moral standard. 4 Soon you will see, as will they, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily thy Lord! He is the best Knower of him who strayeth from His path, and He is the best Knower of the guided one. 7 So obey thou not those who cry lies. 8 They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you. 9 And obey thou not every mean swearer, 10 Detracter, spreader abroad of slanders, 11 Hinderer of the good, trespasser; sinner. 12 Crude, and above all, mean and infamous, 13 Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 We shall mark him upon his nose! 16 We have tested them in the same way as we tested the dwellers of the garden (in Yemen) when they swore to pluck all the fruits of the garden in the morning, 17 And made no exception (for the Will of Allah); 18 Then there passed by on the (garden) something (fire) from your Lord at night and burnt it while they were asleep. 19 And it became as though reaped. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 'Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck!' 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 No Miskin (poor man) shall enter upon you into it today. 24 And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Lo! we are in error! 26 Nay, but we are desolate! 27 Said the most moderate of them, 'Did I not say to you, "Why do you not give glory?"' 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 And they came blaming one another. 30 They said: "Alas for us! We have indeed transgressed! 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such is the punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew. 33