— 52 verses
Nun. By the pen and that which they write (therewith)
Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman
And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing
And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature
And thou wilt see and they will se
Which of you is the demented
Lo! thy Lord is Best Aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is Best Aware of those who walk aright
Therefor obey not thou the rejecter
Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise
Neither obey thou each feeble oath-monger
Detracter, spreader abroad of slanders
Hinderer of the good, transgressor, malefacto
Greedy therewithal, intrusive
It is because he is possessed of wealth and childre
That, when Our revelations are recited unto him, he saith: Mere fables of the men of old
We shall brand him on the nose
Lo! We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed that they would pluck its fruit next morning
And made no exception (for the Will of Allah)
Then a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept
And in the morning it was as if plucked
And they cried out one unto another in the morning
Saying: Run unto your field if ye would pluck (the fruit)
So they went off, saying one unto another in low tones
No needy man shall enter it to-day against you
They went betimes, strong in (this) purpose
But when they saw it, they said: Lo! we are in error
Nay, but we are desolate
The best among them said: Said I not unto you: Why glorify ye not (Allah)
They said: Glorified be our Lord! Lo! we have been wrong-doers
Then some of them drew near unto others, self-reproaching
They said: Alas for us! In truth we were outrageous
It may be that our Lord will give us better than this in place thereof. Lo! we beseech our Lord
Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know
Lo! for those who keep from evil are gardens of bliss with their Lord
Shall We then treat those who have surrendered as We treat the guilty
What aileth you? How foolishly ye judge
Or have ye a scripture wherein ye lear
That ye shall indeed have all that ye choose
Or have ye a covenant on oath from Us that reacheth to the Day of Judgment, that yours shall be all that ye ordain
Ask them (O Muhammad) which of them will vouch for that
Or have they other gods? Then let them bring their other gods if they are truthfu
On the day when it befalleth in earnest, and they are ordered to prostrate themselves but are not able
With eyes downcast, abasement stupefying them. And they had been summoned to prostrate themselves while they were yet unhurt
Leave Me (to deal) with those who give the lie to this pronouncement. We shall lead them on by steps from whence they know not
Yet I bear with them, for lo! My scheme is firm
Or dost thou (Muhammad) ask a fee from them so that they are heavily taxed
Or is the Unseen theirs that they can write (thereof)
But wait thou for thy Lord's decree, and be not like him of the fish, who cried out in despair
Had it not been that favour from his Lord had reached him he surely had been cast into the wilderness while he was reprobate
But his Lord chose him and placed him among the righteous
And lo! those who disbelieve would fain disconcert thee with their eyes when they hear the Reminder, and they say: Lo! he is indeed mad
When it is naught else than a Reminder to creation