Surah The Pen [Al-Qalam] in English

Nun. By the pen and by what you write,

(Muhammad), you are not insane, thanks to the bounty of your Lord.

You will certainly receive a never-ending reward.

You have attained a high moral standard.

You will see and they will also see

which of you has been afflicted by insanity.

Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His path and who is rightly guided.

Do not yield to those who reject the Truth.

They would like you to relent to them so that they could also relent towards you.

Do not yield to one persistent in swearing,

back-biting, gossiping,

obstructing virtues, a sinful transgressor,

ill-mannered, and moraly corrupt or that because he may possess wealth and children.

When Our revelations are recited to him,

he says, \"These are ancient legends\".

We shall brand him on his nose.

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,

without adding (\"if God wills\").

A visitor from your Lord circled around the garden during the night while they were asleep

and the garden was turned into a barren desert.

In the morning they called out to one another,

\"Go early to your farms, if you want to pluck the fruits\".

They all left, whispering to one another,

\"Let no beggar come to the garden\".

They were resolved to repel the beggars.

When they saw the garden, they said, \"Surely we have lost our way.

(No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything\".

A reasonable one among them said, \"Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?\"

They said, \"All glory belongs to God. We have certainly been unjust\".

Some of them started to blame others.

They said, \"Woe to us. We have been arrogant.

Perhaps our Lord will replace it with a better garden. We turn in repentance to our Lord\".

Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater.

The pious ones will receive a beautiful Paradise from their Lord.

Shall We treat the Muslims like criminals?

What is the matter with you? How could you judge this to be so?

Do you have a book from which you study

that tells you to do whatever you want?

Do you have a covenant with Us which allows you to do whatever you want until the Day of Judgment?

(Muhammad), ask which of them can guarantee that on the Day of Judgment.

they will receive the same thing that the Muslims will? Do they have any witness to such an agreement? Let them bring out such witness, if they are truthful.

On the day when the terrible torment approaches, they will be told (in a mocking way) to prostrate themselves, but they will not be able to do it.

Their eyes will be lowered and disgrace will cover them. They had certainly been told to prostrate themselves before God when they were safe and sound.

Leave those who reject the Quran to Me and I shall lead them step by step to destruction, without their being aware of it.

I shall give them respite, however, My plan is so strong that they will never be able to escape from it.

(Muhammad), do you ask for your preaching any recompense which is too heavy a price for them to pay?

Do they possess the knowledge of the unseen which confirms the truthfulness of their belief?

Exercise patience until the promise of your Lord (to punish the unbelievers) comes true. Do not be like Jonah (who left his people without the permission of God; he wanted them to be punished immediately),

and who cried (for help) to his Lord, while imprisoned and helpless inside the fish. Had it not been for a favor from his Lord, he would have been left out in the open, deserving blame for his shortcomings.

But his Lord chose him as His Prophet and made him one of the righteous ones.

When the disbelievers listen to you reciting the Quran they almost try to destroy you with their piercing eyes. Then they say, \"He is certainly insane\".