ن وَالْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ

Nūn. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]! (1)

مَا أَنْتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ بِمَجْنُونٍ

Thou art not, by thy Sustainer's grace, a madman! (2)

وَإِنَّ لَكَ لَأَجْرًا غَيْرَ مَمْنُونٍ

And, verily, thine shall be a reward never-ending (3)

وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ

for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; (4)

فَسَتُبْصِرُ وَيُبْصِرُونَ

and [one day] thou shalt see, and they [who now deride thee] shall see, (5)

بِأَيْيِكُمُ الْمَفْتُونُ

which of you was bereft of reason. (6)

إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ ضَلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ

Verily, thy Sustainer alone is fully aware as to who has strayed from His path, just as He alone is fully aware of those who have found the right way. (7)

فَلَا تُطِعِ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ

Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth: (8)

وَدُّوا لَوْ تُدْهِنُ فَيُدْهِنُونَ

they would like thee to be soft [with them], so that they might be soft [with thee]. (9)

وَلَا تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلَّافٍ مَهِينٍ

Furthermore, defer not to the contemptible swearer of oaths, (10)

هَمَّازٍ مَشَّاءٍ بِنَمِيمٍ

[or to] the slanderer that goes about with defaming tales, (11)

مَنَّاعٍ لِلْخَيْرِ مُعْتَدٍ أَثِيمٍ

[or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor, (12)

عُتُلٍّ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ زَنِيمٍ

[or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and, in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. (13)

إِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِ آيَاتُنَا قَالَ أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ

that, whenever Our messages are conveyed to him, such a one says, "Fables of ancient times"? (15)

سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ

[For this] We shall brand him with indelible disgrace! (16)

إِنَّا بَلَوْنَاهُمْ كَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ إِذْ أَقْسَمُوا لَيَصْرِمُنَّهَا مُصْبِحِينَ

[As for such sinners,] behold, We [but] try them as We tried the owners of a certain garden who vowed that they would surely harvest its fruit on the morrow, (17)

وَلَا يَسْتَثْنُونَ

and made no allowance [for the will of God]: (18)

فَطَافَ عَلَيْهَا طَائِفٌ مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَهُمْ نَائِمُونَ

whereupon a visitation from thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep, (19)

فَأَصْبَحَتْ كَالصَّرِيمِ

so that by the morrow it became barren and bleak. (20)

فَتَنَادَوْا مُصْبِحِينَ

Now when they rose at early morn, they called unto one another, (21)

أَنِ اغْدُوا عَلَىٰ حَرْثِكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَارِمِينَ

"Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" (22)

فَانْطَلَقُوا وَهُمْ يَتَخَافَتُونَ

Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, (23)

أَنْ لَا يَدْخُلَنَّهَا الْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِسْكِينٌ

"Indeed, no needy person shall enter it today [and come] upon you [unawares]!" (24)

وَغَدَوْا عَلَىٰ حَرْدٍ قَادِرِينَ

and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose. (25)

فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهَا قَالُوا إِنَّا لَضَالُّونَ

But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!" (26)

بَلْ نَحْنُ مَحْرُومُونَ

[and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" (27)

قَالَ أَوْسَطُهُمْ أَلَمْ أَقُلْ لَكُمْ لَوْلَا تُسَبِّحُونَ

Said the most right-minded among them: "Did I not tell you, `Will you not extol God's limitless glory?'" (28)

قَالُوا سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَالِمِينَ

They answered: "Limitless in His glory is our Sustainer! Verily, we were doing wrong!" (29)

فَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ يَتَلَاوَمُونَ

and then they turned upon one another with mutual reproaches. (30)

قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا طَاغِينَ

[In the end] they said: "Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we did behave outrageously! (31)

عَسَىٰ رَبُّنَا أَنْ يُبْدِلَنَا خَيْرًا مِنْهَا إِنَّا إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا رَاغِبُونَ

[But] it may be that our Sustainer will grant us something better instead: for, verily, unto our Sustainer do we turn with hope!" (32)

كَذَٰلِكَ الْعَذَابُ وَلَعَذَابُ الْآخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ

SUCH is the suffering [with which We try some people in this world]; but greater by far will be the suffering [which sinners shall have to bear] in the life to come – if they but knew it! (33)