Setting
Surah The Pen [Al-Qalam] in English
نٓ ۚ وَٱلْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ ﴿١﴾
Nun. By the pen and what the scribes write.
مَآ أَنتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ بِمَجْنُونٍۢ ﴿٢﴾
By your Lord's Grace, you are not afflicted with madness,
وَإِنَّ لَكَ لَأَجْرًا غَيْرَ مَمْنُونٍۢ ﴿٣﴾
and surely yours shall be a never-ending reward,
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍۢ ﴿٤﴾
and you are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence.
فَسَتُبْصِرُ وَيُبْصِرُونَ ﴿٥﴾
So you will soon see, and they too will see,
بِأَييِّكُمُ ٱلْمَفْتُونُ ﴿٦﴾
which of you is afflicted with madness.
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن ضَلَّ عَن سَبِيلِهِۦ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِٱلْمُهْتَدِينَ ﴿٧﴾
Surely your Lord knows well those who have strayed from His Way just as He knows well those who are on the Right Way.
فَلَا تُطِعِ ٱلْمُكَذِّبِينَ ﴿٨﴾
Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false;
وَدُّوا۟ لَوْ تُدْهِنُ فَيُدْهِنُونَ ﴿٩﴾
they would wish you to be pliant so that they too may be pliant.
وَلَا تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلَّافٍۢ مَّهِينٍ ﴿١٠﴾
And do not yield to any contemptible swearer,
هَمَّازٍۢ مَّشَّآءٍۭ بِنَمِيمٍۢ ﴿١١﴾
the fault-finder who goes around slandering,
مَّنَّاعٍۢ لِّلْخَيْرِ مُعْتَدٍ أَثِيمٍ ﴿١٢﴾
the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful;
عُتُلٍّۭ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ زَنِيمٍ ﴿١٣﴾
the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble;
أَن كَانَ ذَا مَالٍۢ وَبَنِينَ ﴿١٤﴾
(who so acts) simply because he has wealth and sons,
إِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِ ءَايَٰتُنَا قَالَ أَسَٰطِيرُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ ﴿١٥﴾
and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.”
سَنَسِمُهُۥ عَلَى ٱلْخُرْطُومِ ﴿١٦﴾
Soon shall We brand him on his snout.
إِنَّا بَلَوْنَٰهُمْ كَمَا بَلَوْنَآ أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلْجَنَّةِ إِذْ أَقْسَمُوا۟ لَيَصْرِمُنَّهَا مُصْبِحِينَ ﴿١٧﴾
We have put them [i.e., the Makkans] to test even as We put to test the owners of the orchard when they vowed that they would gather the fruit of their orchard in the morning,
وَلَا يَسْتَثْنُونَ ﴿١٨﴾
without making any allowance (for the will of Allah).
فَطَافَ عَلَيْهَا طَآئِفٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّكَ وَهُمْ نَآئِمُونَ ﴿١٩﴾
Thereupon a calamity from your Lord passed over it while they were asleep,
فَأَصْبَحَتْ كَٱلصَّرِيمِ ﴿٢٠﴾
and so by morning the orchard lay as though it had been fully harvested.
فَتَنَادَوْا۟ مُصْبِحِينَ ﴿٢١﴾
At daybreak they called out to one another:
أَنِ ٱغْدُوا۟ عَلَىٰ حَرْثِكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَٰرِمِينَ ﴿٢٢﴾
“Hurry to your orchard if you would gather its fruit.”
فَٱنطَلَقُوا۟ وَهُمْ يَتَخَٰفَتُونَ ﴿٢٣﴾
So off they went, whispering to one another:
أَن لَّا يَدْخُلَنَّهَا ٱلْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكُم مِّسْكِينٌۭ ﴿٢٤﴾
“No destitute person shall enter it today.”
وَغَدَوْا۟ عَلَىٰ حَرْدٍۢ قَٰدِرِينَ ﴿٢٥﴾
They went forth early, believing that they had the power (to gather the fruit).
فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهَا قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا لَضَآلُّونَ ﴿٢٦﴾
But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way;
بَلْ نَحْنُ مَحْرُومُونَ ﴿٢٧﴾
rather, we are utterly ruined.”
قَالَ أَوْسَطُهُمْ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ لَوْلَا تُسَبِّحُونَ ﴿٢٨﴾
The best among them said: “Did I not say to you: why do you not give glory to (your Lord)?”
قَالُوا۟ سُبْحَٰنَ رَبِّنَآ إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَٰلِمِينَ ﴿٢٩﴾
They cried out: “Glory be to our Lord! Certainly we were sinners.”
فَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍۢ يَتَلَٰوَمُونَ ﴿٣٠﴾
Then they began to reproach one another.
قَالُوا۟ يَٰوَيْلَنَآ إِنَّا كُنَّا طَٰغِينَ ﴿٣١﴾
They said: “Woe to us! We had indeed transgressed.
عَسَىٰ رَبُّنَآ أَن يُبْدِلَنَا خَيْرًۭا مِّنْهَآ إِنَّآ إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا رَٰغِبُونَ ﴿٣٢﴾
Maybe our Lord will give us a better orchard in its place; to our Lord do we penitently turn.”
كَذَٰلِكَ ٱلْعَذَابُ ۖ وَلَعَذَابُ ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٣٣﴾
Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the Hereafter is assuredly even greater, if only they knew.
إِنَّ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّٰتِ ٱلنَّعِيمِ ﴿٣٤﴾
Surely the God-fearing shall have Gardens of bliss with their Lord.
أَفَنَجْعَلُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ كَٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ ﴿٣٥﴾
What! Shall We treat those who have submitted (to Our command) like those who have acted as criminals?
مَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ ﴿٣٦﴾
What is the matter with you? How ill do you judge!
أَمْ لَكُمْ كِتَٰبٌۭ فِيهِ تَدْرُسُونَ ﴿٣٧﴾
Or do you have a Book wherein you read
إِنَّ لَكُمْ فِيهِ لَمَا تَخَيَّرُونَ ﴿٣٨﴾
that (in the Hereafter) you shall have all that you choose for yourselves?
أَمْ لَكُمْ أَيْمَٰنٌ عَلَيْنَا بَٰلِغَةٌ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ ۙ إِنَّ لَكُمْ لَمَا تَحْكُمُونَ ﴿٣٩﴾
Or have We sworn a covenant with you which We are bound to keep till the Day of Resurrection, (a covenant requiring that whatever you ordain for yourselves shall be yours)?
سَلْهُمْ أَيُّهُم بِذَٰلِكَ زَعِيمٌ ﴿٤٠﴾
Ask them: “Which of them can guarantee that?
أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَآءُ فَلْيَأْتُوا۟ بِشُرَكَآئِهِمْ إِن كَانُوا۟ صَٰدِقِينَ ﴿٤١﴾
Or has something been guaranteed by any of those whom they associate with Allah in His Divinity?” If so, let them bring forth their associates, if they are truthful.
يَوْمَ يُكْشَفُ عَن سَاقٍۢ وَيُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى ٱلسُّجُودِ فَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ ﴿٤٢﴾
On the Day when the dreadful calamity will unfold, when people will be summoned to prostrate themselves, and yet they will not be able to prostrate.
خَٰشِعَةً أَبْصَٰرُهُمْ تَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌۭ ۖ وَقَدْ كَانُوا۟ يُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى ٱلسُّجُودِ وَهُمْ سَٰلِمُونَ ﴿٤٣﴾
Their eyes shall be downcast and ignominy shall overwhelm them. For when they were safe and sound, they were summoned to prostrate themselves, (and they refused).
فَذَرْنِى وَمَن يُكَذِّبُ بِهَٰذَا ٱلْحَدِيثِ ۖ سَنَسْتَدْرِجُهُم مِّنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٤٤﴾
So leave Me, (O Prophet), to deal with him who gives the lie to this Discourse. We shall draw them little by little (to their undoing) in a way that they will not know.
وَأُمْلِى لَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ كَيْدِى مَتِينٌ ﴿٤٥﴾
I am giving them a respite. Great is My scheme!
أَمْ تَسْـَٔلُهُمْ أَجْرًۭا فَهُم مِّن مَّغْرَمٍۢ مُّثْقَلُونَ ﴿٤٦﴾
Or are you asking them for some compensation so that they feel burdened with debt?
أَمْ عِندَهُمُ ٱلْغَيْبُ فَهُمْ يَكْتُبُونَ ﴿٤٧﴾
Or do they have any knowledge of the Unseen which they are now writing down?
فَٱصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ وَلَا تَكُن كَصَاحِبِ ٱلْحُوتِ إِذْ نَادَىٰ وَهُوَ مَكْظُومٌۭ ﴿٤٨﴾
So bear with patience until the Judgement of your Lord comes, and do not belike the man in the fish (i.e., Jonah) who called out, choking with grief:
لَّوْلَآ أَن تَدَٰرَكَهُۥ نِعْمَةٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّهِۦ لَنُبِذَ بِٱلْعَرَآءِ وَهُوَ مَذْمُومٌۭ ﴿٤٩﴾
had his Lord not bestowed His favour upon him, he would have been cast upon that barren shore (and would have remained there) in disgrace.
فَٱجْتَبَٰهُ رَبُّهُۥ فَجَعَلَهُۥ مِنَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ ﴿٥٠﴾
But his Lord exalted him, and included him among His righteous servants.
وَإِن يَكَادُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَيُزْلِقُونَكَ بِأَبْصَٰرِهِمْ لَمَّا سَمِعُوا۟ ٱلذِّكْرَ وَيَقُولُونَ إِنَّهُۥ لَمَجْنُونٌۭ ﴿٥١﴾
When the unbelievers hear this Exhortation, they look at you as though they would knock you off your feet with their (hostile) glances. They say: “Surely he is afflicted with madness”;
وَمَا هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌۭ لِّلْعَٰلَمِينَ ﴿٥٢﴾
although this is nothing but an Exhortation (to goodness) for everyone in the world.