The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ Nun. By the pen and what the scribes write. 1 Thou art not, through the grace of thy Lord, mad. 2 Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing: 3 and you are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence. 4 So you will see, and they will realise, 5 Which of you is the demented. 6 Verily it is thy Lord that knoweth best, which (among men) hath strayed from His Path: and He knoweth best those who receive (true) Guidance. 7 Therefor obey not thou the rejecters 8 Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise. 9 And do not obey every mean swearer, 10 The excessively insulting one, spreader of spite. 11 Forbidder of good, outstepping the limits, sinful, 12 the crude of low character 13 Simply because he possesses wealth and children. 14 that, whenever Our messages are conveyed to him, such a one says, "Fables of ancient times"? 15 We shall brand him upon the muzzle! 16 We have indeed tested them the way We had tested the owners of the garden when they swore that they would reap its harvest the next morning. 17 And they made not the exception. 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 And it became as though reaped. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 “Make sure that no needy person enters your garden this day.” 24 – and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose. 25 When they saw the garden, they said, "Surely we have lost our way. 26 No. In fact we have been deprived of it." 27 The best among them said: "Did I not tell you: why do you not say: Insha' Allah (If Allah will)." 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than it in exchange. To our Lord we humbly turn' 32 Such is the punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew. 33