| 1 | Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- | ||
| 2 | Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed. | ||
| 3 | Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing: | ||
| 4 | And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character. | ||
| 5 | Soon wilt thou see, and they will see, | ||
| 6 | Which of you is afflicted with madness. | ||
| 7 | 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. | ||
| 8 | So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth). | ||
| 9 | Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. | ||
| 10 | Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths, | ||
| 11 | A slanderer, going about with calumnies, | ||
| 12 | (Habitually) hindering (all) good, transgressing beyond bounds, deep in sin, | ||
| 13 | Violent (and cruel),- with all that, base-born,- | ||
| 14 | Because he possesses wealth and (numerous) sons. | ||
| 15 | When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries! | ||
| 16 | Soon shall We brand (the beast) on the snout! | ||
| 17 | Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. | ||
| 18 | But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will"). | ||
| 19 | Then there came on the (garden) a visitation from thy Lord, (which swept away) all around, while they were asleep. | ||
| 20 | So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). | ||
| 21 | As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- | ||
| 22 | "Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits." | ||
| 23 | So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- | ||
| 24 | "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." | ||
| 25 | And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. | ||
| 26 | But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way: | ||
| 27 | "Indeed we are shut out (of the fruits of our labour)!" | ||
| 28 | Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" | ||
| 29 | They said: "Glory to our Lord! Verily we have been doing wrong!" | ||
| 30 | Then they turned, one against another, in reproach. | ||
| 31 | They said: "Alas for us! We have indeed transgressed! | ||
| 32 | "It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this: for we do turn to Him (in repentance)!" | ||
| 33 | Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! | ||
| 34 | Verily, for the Righteous, are Gardens of Delight, in the Presence of their Lord. | ||
| 35 | Shall We then treat the People of Faith like the People of Sin? | ||
| 36 | What is the matter with you? How judge ye? | ||
| 37 | Or have ye a book through which ye learn- | ||
| 38 | That ye shall have, through it whatever ye choose? | ||
| 39 | Or have ye Covenants with Us to oath, reaching to the Day of Judgment, (providing) that ye shall have whatever ye shall demand? | ||
| 40 | Ask thou of them, which of them will stand surety for that! | ||
| 41 | Or have they some "Partners" (in Allahhead)? Then let them produce their "partners", if they are truthful! | ||
| 42 | The Day that the shin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned to bow in adoration, but they shall not be able,- | ||
| 43 | Their eyes will be cast down,- ignominy will cover them; seeing that they had been summoned aforetime to bow in adoration, while they were whole, (and had refused). | ||
| 44 | Then leave Me alone with such as reject this Message: by degrees shall We punish them from directions they perceive not. | ||
| 45 | A (long) respite will I grant them: truly powerful is My Plan. | ||
| 46 | Or is it that thou dost ask them for a reward, so that they are burdened with a load of debt?- | ||
| 47 | Or that the Unseen is in their hands, so that they can write it down? | ||
| 48 | So wait with patience for the Command of thy Lord, and be not like the Companion of the Fish,- when he cried out in agony. | ||
| 49 | Had not Grace from his Lord reached him, he would indeed have been cast off on the naked shore, in disgrace. | ||
| 50 | Thus did his Lord choose him and make him of the Company of the Righteous. | ||
| 51 | And the Unbelievers would almost trip thee up with their eyes when they hear the Message; and they say: "Surely he is possessed!" | ||
| 52 | But it is nothing less than a Message to all the worlds. |