Al-Qalam القلم
The Pen
Al-Qalam opens by swearing an oath on the pen and what is written, immediately defending the Prophet ﷺ against a specific Meccan accusation — that he was majnun, possessed or mad — insisting instead that he is of great moral character (verse 4, khuluqin 'azim, among the most-cited descriptions of his character in the entire Quran). The surah then tells the parable of the owners of a garden who swore to harvest it early in the morning, deliberately excluding the poor, only to wake and find it destroyed overnight — the wealthiest among them recognizing, too late, that they had transgressed, and turning back to God in regret, a story used to illustrate how withholding charity out of calculation invites ruin rather than gain. It closes by addressing the Prophet ﷺ directly, telling him not to be like Yunus (Jonah), who called out in distress after his own moment of impatience, and instructing patience until God's judgement, since the disbelievers' hostile stares nearly "trip him up" with their intensity — the surah reads as personal reassurance layered over its parable and polemic.
نٓ ۚ وَٱلْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ
Nun By the pen! By all they write!
مَآ أَنتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ بِمَجْنُونٍ
Your Lord’s grace does not make you [Prophet] a madman:
وَإِنَّ لَكَ لَأَجْرًا غَيْرَ مَمْنُونٍ
you will have a never-ending reward––
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ
truly you have a strong character––
فَسَتُبْصِرُ وَيُبْصِرُونَ
and soon you will see, as will they,
بِأَييِّكُمُ ٱلْمَفْتُونُ
which of you is afflicted with madness.
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن ضَلَّ عَن سَبِيلِهِۦ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِٱلْمُهْتَدِينَ
Your Lord knows best who strays from His path and who is rightly guided.
فَلَا تُطِعِ ٱلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
So do not yield to those who deny the truth––
وَدُّوا۟ لَوْ تُدْهِنُ فَيُدْهِنُونَ
they want you to compromise with them and then they will compromise with you––
وَلَا تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلَّافٍ مَّهِينٍ
do not yield to any contemptible swearer,
هَمَّازٍ مَّشَّآءٍۭ بِنَمِيمٍ
to any backbiter, slander-monger,
مَّنَّاعٍ لِّلْخَيْرِ مُعْتَدٍ أَثِيمٍ
or hinderer of good, to anyone who is sinful, aggressive,
عُتُلٍّۭ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ زَنِيمٍ
coarse, and on top of all that, an imposter.
أَن كَانَ ذَا مَالٍ وَبَنِينَ
Just because he has wealth and sons,
إِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِ ءَايَـٰتُنَا قَالَ أَسَـٰطِيرُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ
when our revelations are recited to him, he says, ‘These are just ancient fables.’
سَنَسِمُهُۥ عَلَى ٱلْخُرْطُومِ
We shall brand him on the snout!
إِنَّا بَلَوْنَـٰهُمْ كَمَا بَلَوْنَآ أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْجَنَّةِ إِذْ أَقْسَمُوا۟ لَيَصْرِمُنَّهَا مُصْبِحِينَ
We have tried them as We tried the owners of a certain garden, who swore that they would harvest its fruits in the morning
وَلَا يَسْتَثْنُونَ
and made no allowance [for the Will of God]:
فَطَافَ عَلَيْهَا طَآئِفٌ مِّن رَّبِّكَ وَهُمْ نَآئِمُونَ
a disaster from your Lord struck the garden as they slept
فَأَصْبَحَتْ كَٱلصَّرِيمِ
and by morning it was stripped bare, a desolate land.
فَتَنَادَوْا۟ مُصْبِحِينَ
Still they called each other at daybreak,
أَنِ ٱغْدُوا۟ عَلَىٰ حَرْثِكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـٰرِمِينَ
‘Go early to your field if you wish to gather all its fruits,’
فَٱنطَلَقُوا۟ وَهُمْ يَتَخَـٰفَتُونَ
and went off, whispering,
أَن لَّا يَدْخُلَنَّهَا ٱلْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكُم مِّسْكِينٌ
‘Make sure no poor person enters the garden today!’––
وَغَدَوْا۟ عَلَىٰ حَرْدٍ قَـٰدِرِينَ
they left early, bent on their purpose-
فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهَا قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا لَضَآلُّونَ
but when they saw the garden, they said, ‘We must have lost our way!
بَلْ نَحْنُ مَحْرُومُونَ
No- we are ruined!’
قَالَ أَوْسَطُهُمْ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ لَوْلَا تُسَبِّحُونَ
The wisest of them said, ‘Did I not say to you, “Will you not glorify God?”’-
قَالُوا۟ سُبْحَـٰنَ رَبِّنَآ إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَـٰلِمِينَ
they said, ‘Glory be to God, Our Lord! Truly, we were doing wrong!’-
فَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ يَتَلَـٰوَمُونَ
and then they turned to each other in mutual reproach.
قَالُوا۟ يَـٰوَيْلَنَآ إِنَّا كُنَّا طَـٰغِينَ
They said, ‘Alas for us! We have done terrible wrong,
عَسَىٰ رَبُّنَآ أَن يُبْدِلَنَا خَيْرًا مِّنْهَآ إِنَّآ إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا رَٰغِبُونَ
but maybe our Lord will give us something better in its place: we truly turn to Him in hope.’
كَذَٰلِكَ ٱلْعَذَابُ ۖ وَلَعَذَابُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْلَمُونَ
Such is the punishment [in this life], but greater still is the punishment in the Hereafter, if only they knew.
إِنَّ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّـٰتِ ٱلنَّعِيمِ
There will be Gardens of bliss for those who are mindful of God.
أَفَنَجْعَلُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ كَٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
Should We treat those who submit to Us as We treat those who do evil?
مَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ
What is the matter with you? On what basis do you judge?
أَمْ لَكُمْ كِتَـٰبٌ فِيهِ تَدْرُسُونَ
Do you have a Scripture that tells you
إِنَّ لَكُمْ فِيهِ لَمَا تَخَيَّرُونَ
that you will be granted whatever you choose?
أَمْ لَكُمْ أَيْمَـٰنٌ عَلَيْنَا بَـٰلِغَةٌ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ ۙ إِنَّ لَكُمْ لَمَا تَحْكُمُونَ
Have you received from Us solemn oaths, binding to the Day of Resurrection, that you will get whatever you yourselves decide?
سَلْهُمْ أَيُّهُم بِذَٰلِكَ زَعِيمٌ
Ask them [Prophet] which of them will guarantee this.
أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَآءُ فَلْيَأْتُوا۟ بِشُرَكَآئِهِمْ إِن كَانُوا۟ صَـٰدِقِينَ
Do they have ‘partners’ [besides God]? Let them produce their ‘partners’, if what they say is true.
يَوْمَ يُكْشَفُ عَن سَاقٍ وَيُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى ٱلسُّجُودِ فَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ
On the Day when matters become dire, they will be invited to prostrate themselves but will be prevented from doing so,
خَـٰشِعَةً أَبْصَـٰرُهُمْ تَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌ ۖ وَقَدْ كَانُوا۟ يُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى ٱلسُّجُودِ وَهُمْ سَـٰلِمُونَ
and their eyes will be downcast and they will be overwhelmed with shame: they were invited to prostrate themselves when they were safe [but refused].
فَذَرْنِى وَمَن يُكَذِّبُ بِهَـٰذَا ٱلْحَدِيثِ ۖ سَنَسْتَدْرِجُهُم مِّنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
So [Prophet] leave those who reject this revelation to Me: We shall lead them on, step by step, in ways beyond their knowledge;
وَأُمْلِى لَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ كَيْدِى مَتِينٌ
I will allow them more time, for My plan is powerful.
أَمْ تَسْـَٔلُهُمْ أَجْرًا فَهُم مِّن مَّغْرَمٍ مُّثْقَلُونَ
Do you demand some reward from them that would burden them with debt?
أَمْ عِندَهُمُ ٱلْغَيْبُ فَهُمْ يَكْتُبُونَ
Do they have knowledge of the unseen that enables them to write it down?
فَٱصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ وَلَا تَكُن كَصَاحِبِ ٱلْحُوتِ إِذْ نَادَىٰ وَهُوَ مَكْظُومٌ
Wait patiently [Prophet] for your Lord’s judgement: do not be like the man in the whale who called out in distress:
لَّوْلَآ أَن تَدَٰرَكَهُۥ نِعْمَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِۦ لَنُبِذَ بِٱلْعَرَآءِ وَهُوَ مَذْمُومٌ
if his Lord’s grace had not reached him, he would have been left, abandoned and blameworthy, on the barren shore,
فَٱجْتَبَـٰهُ رَبُّهُۥ فَجَعَلَهُۥ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ
but his Lord chose him and made him one of the Righteous.
وَإِن يَكَادُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَيُزْلِقُونَكَ بِأَبْصَـٰرِهِمْ لَمَّا سَمِعُوا۟ ٱلذِّكْرَ وَيَقُولُونَ إِنَّهُۥ لَمَجْنُونٌ
The disbelievers almost strike you down with their looks when they hear the Quran. They say, ‘He must be mad!’
وَمَا هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
but truly it is nothing other than a Reminder for all peoples.
Arabic text and translation (M.A.S. Abdel Haleem) via the Quran.Foundation API.
Frequently asked
Fifty-two verses.
Meccan, revealed in Makkah — traditionally counted among the earliest revealed surahs.
That he was majnun (possessed or mad) — the surah responds by affirming he is of great moral character.
A group who planned to harvest their garden early specifically to exclude the poor woke to find it destroyed overnight — read as a warning against withholding charity out of calculation.