القلم

1Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]!

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

3And, verily, thine shall be a reward neverending –

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

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

6which of you was bereft of reason.

7Verily, 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

14Is it because he is possessed of worldly goods and children

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