An early Meccan sura that deals with the accusation that Muhammad was not God’s Messenger but merely mad (verses 2–6). The arrogance of those who assume that, because they have some of the good things in this life, they can reject the Revelation, is rebutted (verses 10–16). Examples are given of those who came to regret their arrogance (verses 17–33). The Prophet is urged to remain steadfast (verses 48–52).
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1Nun
By the pen! By all they write!a 2Your Lord’s graceb does not make you [Prophet] a madman: 3you will have a never-ending reward— 4truly you have a strong character— 5and soon you will see, as will they, 6which of you is afflicted with madness. 7Your Lord knows best who strays from His path and who is rightly guided. 8So do not yield to those who deny the truth— 9they want you to compromise with them and then they will compromise with you— 10do not yield to any contemptible swearer, 11to any backbiter, slander-monger, 12or hinderer of good, to anyone who is sinful, aggressive, 13coarse, and on top of all that, an imposter.c 14Just because he has wealth and sons, 15when our revelations are recited to him, he says, ‘These are just ancient fables.’ 16We shall brand him on the snout!
17We have tried them as We tried the owners of a certain garden, who swore that they would harvest its fruits in the morning 18and made no allowance [for the Will of God]:d 19a disaster from your Lord struck the garden as they slept 20and by morning it was stripped bare, a desolate land. 21Still they called each other at daybreak, 22‘Go early to your field if you wish to gather all its fruits,’ 23and went off, whispering, 24‘Make sure no poor person enters the garden today!’— 25they left early, bent on their purpose— 26but when they saw the garden, they said, ‘We must have lost our way! 27No—we are ruined!’ 28The wisest of them said, ‘Did I not say to you, “Will you not glorify God?”’— 29they said, ‘Glory be to God, Our Lord! Truly, we were doing wrong!’— 30and then they turned to each other in mutual reproach. 31They said, ‘Alas for us! We have done terrible wrong, 32but maybe our Lord will give us something better in its place: we truly turn to Him in hope.’ 33Such is the punishment [in this life], but greater still is the punishment in the Hereafter, if only they knew.
34There will be Gardens of bliss for those who are mindful of God. 35Should We treat those who submit to Us as We treat those who do evil? 36What is the matter with you? On what basis do you judge? 37Do you have a Scripture that tells you 38that you will be granted whatever you choose?39Have you received from Us solemn oaths, binding to the Day of Resurrection, that you will get whatever you yourselves decide? 40Ask them [Prophet] which of them will guarantee this. 41Do they have ‘partners’ [besides God]? Let them produce their ‘partners’, if what they say is true. 42On the Day when matters become dire,a they will be invited to prostrate themselves but will be preventedb from doing so, 43and their eyes will be downcast and they will be overwhelmed with shame: they were invited to prostrate themselves when they were safe [but refused].
44So [Prophet] leave those who reject this revelation to Me: We shall lead them on, step by step, in ways beyond their knowledge; 45I will allow them more time, for My plan is powerful. 46Do you demand some reward from them that would burden them with debt? 47Do they have knowledge of the unseen that enables them to write it down? 48Wait patiently [Prophet] for your Lord’s judgement: do not be like the man in the whale who called out in distress: 49if his Lord’s grace had not reached him, he would have been left, abandoned and blameworthy, on the barren shore, 50but his Lord chose him and made him one of the Righteous. 51The disbelievers almost strike you down with their looks when they hear the Qur’an. They say, ‘He must be mad!’ 52but truly it is nothing other than a Reminder for all peoples.