Al-Qalam — The Pen
سُورَةُ القَلَمِ
Verses
52
Revealed
2nd
Period
Makkan
Juz
29
Al-Qalam belongs to the earliest days of the mission, when the Makkans were calling the Prophet ﷺ a madman to turn people away from him. The surah answers that slander head-on. It opens with the disjointed letter Nun and a solemn oath — by the pen and what they inscribe — and then delivers its verdict directly: you are not, by the favour of your Lord, a madman. Far from it: for him is an unending reward, and he stands upon a khuluqin 'azim, a magnificent character. The disbelievers wish he would soften so they could soften, but he is told not to yield to the deniers — and a portrait is drawn of the vile schemer working against him: a habitual swearer, a scorner, a spreader of slander, cruel, and base, whose only credentials are wealth and sons and whose only answer to revelation is “legends of the ancients.” He will be branded on the snout.
The surah then tells the parable of the owners of the garden, who swore to harvest at dawn and shut the poor out of their due — and woke to find their garden reaped bare by a visitation in the night, a warning that arrogance and stinginess invite ruin. From there it turns to the Hereafter: the righteous have the Gardens of Pleasure, and Allah will never treat those who submit like the criminals. A cascade of challenges silences the disbelievers' claims, and then comes the terrifying scene of the Day the shin is uncovered, when they are called to prostrate and cannot. It closes with counsel to the Prophet ﷺ: be patient for your Lord's decree, and do not be like the companion of the fish — Yunus — who called out in distress; had a favour from his Lord not reached him, he would have been cast onto the barren shore, blamed. The final verses return to where it began: they nearly strike him down with their glaring eyes and call him mad — but it is nothing less than a reminder to all the worlds.
The pen and the wordDefence of the Prophet ﷺThe noblest characterThe garden that was lostPatience like the Prophets
0/4 sections learned
Core message
The surah opens with the letter Nun and an oath by the pen and what is written with it (v.1) — then answers the Makkan slander directly: by the favour of his Lord, the Prophet ﷺ is not a madman (v.2); for him is a reward without end (v.3); and he stands upon a magnificent character (v.4). Soon both sides will see which of them is the truly deranged one (vv.5–6), for Allah alone knows who has strayed and who is guided (v.7). So do not yield to the deniers (v.8): they wish he would compromise so they could compromise in return (v.9). Then a scathing portrait of the schemer against him — an oath-swearing, scorning, slander-carrying, good-withholding, sinful, cruel, and base man (vv.10–13) — whose arrogance rests only on wealth and sons (v.14), who dismisses revelation as “legends of the ancients” (v.15). He will be branded on the snout (v.16).
1–4
نٓ ۚ وَٱلْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ•مَآ أَنتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ بِمَجْنُونٍ•وَإِنَّ لَكَ لَأَجْرًا غَيْرَ مَمْنُونٍ•وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ
Nūn wal-qalami wamā yasṭurūn•Mā anta biniʿmati rabbika bimajnūn•Waʾinna laka laʾajran ghayra mamnūn•Waʾinnaka laʿalā khuluqin ʿaẓīm
Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe, You are not, [O Muhammad], by the favor of your Lord, a madman. And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted. And indeed, you are of a great moral character.
5–7
فَسَتُبْصِرُ وَيُبْصِرُونَ•بِأَييِّكُمُ ٱلْمَفْتُونُ•إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن ضَلَّ عَن سَبِيلِهِۦ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِٱلْمُهْتَدِينَ
Fasatubṣiru wayubṣirūn•Biʾayyikumu-l-maftūn•Inna rabbaka huwa aʿlamu biman ḍalla ʿan sabīlihi wahuwa aʿlamu bil-muhtadīn
So you will see and they will see Which of you is the afflicted [by a devil]. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has gone astray from His way, and He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.
8–13
فَلَا تُطِعِ ٱلْمُكَذِّبِينَ•وَدُّوا۟ لَوْ تُدْهِنُ فَيُدْهِنُونَ•وَلَا تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلَّافٍ مَّهِينٍ•هَمَّازٍ مَّشَّآءٍۭ بِنَمِيمٍ•مَّنَّاعٍ لِّلْخَيْرِ مُعْتَدٍ أَثِيمٍ•عُتُلٍّۭ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ زَنِيمٍ
Falā tuṭiʿi-l-mukadhdhibīn•Waddū law tudhinu fayudhinūn•Walā tuṭiʿ kulla ḥallāfin mahīn•Hammāzin mashshāʾin binamīm•Mannāʿin lil-khayri muʿtadin athīm•ʿUtullin baʿda dhālika zanīm
Then do not obey the deniers. They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer [And] scorner, going about with malicious gossip - A preventer of good, transgressing and sinful, Cruel, moreover, and an illegitimate pretender.
14–16
أَن كَانَ ذَا مَالٍ وَبَنِينَ•إِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِ ءَايَـٰتُنَا قَالَ أَسَـٰطِيرُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ•سَنَسِمُهُۥ عَلَى ٱلْخُرْطُومِ
An kāna dhā mālin wabanīn•Idhā tutlā ʿalayhi āyātunā qāla asāṭīru-l-ʾawwalīn•Sanasimuhu ʿalā-l-khurṭūm
Because he is a possessor of wealth and children, When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples." We will brand him upon the snout.
Memory hook — three gifts, then the vices list
Hold the opening as three gifts to the Prophet ﷺ, one per verse: v.2 — you are not mad (ma anta bi-majnun); v.3 — an unending reward (ajran ghayra mamnun); v.4 — a great character (khuluqin 'azim). Then flip to the opposite: vv.10–13 stack the vices of his enemy like beads on a string — hallaf (swearer), hammaz (scorner), mashsha'in bi-namim (slanderer), manna'in lil-khayr (miser), 'utull (cruel), zanim (base). Gifts on one side, vices on the other.
His character was the Qur'an — v.4
Khuluqin 'azim (a magnificent character) is the highest praise given to any human in the Qur'an. 'A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) summed it up when she said his character was the Qur'an — he embodied its every command and prohibition. In a surah defending him from the charge of madness, the counter-evidence Allah offers is not a miracle but his manners: the man they mocked was the most noble in conduct they had ever known.
Branded on the snout — v.16
Sanasimuhu 'ala l-khurtum — “We will brand him upon the snout.” The word khurtum is used for the trunk or snout of an animal; applying it to a proud human face is a deliberate humiliation, stripping the arrogant of the dignity he claimed. It is a mark of disgrace that will single him out, in this world or the next.
Section 1 — The pen and the defence (vv. 1–16)
ٱلْقَلَمِ
al-qalam
The pen
v.1 — the oath object; the surah's name
يَسْطُرُونَ
yasturun
They inscribe / write in lines
v.1 — by the pen and what they write
بِمَجْنُونٍۢ
bi-majnun
A madman / possessed
v.2 — you are not, by your Lord's favour
خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍۢ
khuluqin 'azim
A great / magnificent character
v.4 — the Qur'an's highest praise of him ﷺ
ٱلْمَفْتُونُ
al-maftun
The afflicted / deranged one
v.6 — which of you is the truly mad
ٱلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
al-mukadhdhibin
The deniers
v.8 — do not obey them
تُدْهِنُ
tudhin
You soften / compromise
v.9 — they wish he would yield
هَمَّازٍۢ
hammaz
A scorner / backbiter
v.11 — one of the schemer's vices
هَمَّازٍۢ مَّشَّآءٍۭ
mashsha'in bi-namim
Going about with slander
v.11 — spreading malicious gossip
زَنِيمٍ
zanim
Base / illegitimate pretender
v.13 — cruel, moreover ignoble
أَسَٰطِيرُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ
asatir al-awwalin
Legends of the ancients
v.15 — his dismissal of revelation
ٱلْخُرْطُومِ
al-khurtum
The snout
v.16 — he will be branded upon it
Section 2 — The owners of the garden (vv. 17–33)
بَلَوْنَٰهُمْ
balawnahum
We tested them
v.17 — as We tested the garden owners
إِنَّا
la-yasrimunnaha
They would surely harvest it
v.17 — the oath to reap at dawn
يَسْتَثْنُونَ
yastathnun
Making exception (saying insha'Allah)
v.18 — which they failed to do
فَطَافَ
ta'if
A visitation / affliction
v.19 — came over it while they slept
كَٱلصَّرِيمِ
kas-sarim
As though reaped / black night
v.20 — the garden stripped bare
أَن
miskin
A poor person
v.24 — whom they schemed to exclude
حَرْدٍۢ
hard
Withholding / determination
v.25 — going out set on denying the poor
مَحْرُومُونَ
mahrumun
Deprived
v.27 — their cry when they saw the ruin
أَوْسَطُهُمْ
awsatuhum
The most moderate of them
v.28 — the one who counselled glorifying Allah
يَتَلَٰوَمُونَ
yatalawamun
Blaming one another
v.30 — turning on each other in regret
طَٰغِينَ
taghin
Transgressors
v.31 — their confession of overreach
رَٰغِبُونَ
raghibun
Desirous / turning in hope
v.32 — toward their Lord for something better
Section 3 — The two ends and the uncovered shin (vv. 34–45)
إِنَّ
lil-muttaqin
For the God-conscious / righteous
v.34 — for them, Gardens of Pleasure
جَنَّٰتِ ٱلنَّعِيمِ
jannat an-na'im
The Gardens of Pleasure
v.34 — their reward with their Lord
كَٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
kal-mujrimin
Like the criminals
v.35 — would He treat submitters as these?
تَحْكُمُونَ
tahkumun
You judge / decide
v.36 — how do you judge so falsely?
زَعِيمٌ
za'im
A guarantor / responsible party
v.40 — ask which of them backs the claim
أَمْ
shuraka'
Partners
v.41 — let them produce them, if truthful
سَاقٍۢ
saq
A shin
v.42 — the Day it is uncovered
ٱلسُّجُودِ
as-sujud
Prostration
v.42, v.43 — they are called to it and cannot
خَٰشِعَةً
khashi'ah
Humbled / downcast
v.43 — their eyes lowered in disgrace
سَنَسْتَدْرِجُهُم
sanastadrijuhum
We will lead them on by degrees
v.44 — from where they do not perceive
مَتِينٌ
matin
Firm / strong
v.45 — indeed My plan is firm
Section 4 — Patience and the reminder (vv. 46–52)
أَمْ
maghram
Debt / burdensome payment
v.46 — are you charging them a fee?
ٱلْغَيْبُ
al-ghayb
The unseen
v.47 — do they possess it, writing it down?
فَٱصْبِرْ
fasbir
So be patient
v.48 — for the decree of your Lord
صَاحِبِ ٱلْحُوتِ
sahib al-hut
The companion of the fish (Yunus)
v.48 — do not be like him in haste
مَكْظُومٌۭ
makzum
Choked with distress / grief
v.48 — when he called out from within
بِٱلْعَرَآءِ
bil-'ara'
On the barren / naked shore
v.49 — where he would have been cast
فَٱجْتَبَٰهُ
fajtabahu
His Lord chose him
v.50 — and made him of the righteous
لَيُزْلِقُونَكَ بِأَبْصَٰرِهِمْ
la-yuzliqunaka bi-absarihim
Would almost make you slip with their eyes
v.51 — the glare of the enviers
ذِكْرٌۭ
dhikr
A reminder
v.52 — it is but a reminder to the worlds
Note on flow
Al-Qalam moves through four clear movements: the defence of the Prophet ﷺ and the portrait of his enemy, the parable of the ruined garden, the Hereafter's two ends with the great challenges, and the closing counsel of patience. Reciters usually let the tone shift with each — firm in the defence, narrative in the parable, weighty at the shin, and gentle in the final counsel — and the natural stops fall on the seams between them.
Full surah — single sitting
Verses 1–52 · the complete arc
Reciting the whole surah preserves its frame: it opens and closes on the charge of “madness” (vv.2 and 51), answered finally by wa ma huwa illa dhikrun lil-'alamin — “it is but a reminder to the worlds.”
As the second surah revealed after Al-'Alaq, it pairs naturally with the earliest Makkan chapters in review — its subject is the very beginning of the mission and the opposition it met.
Let the parable of the garden (vv.17–33) breathe as a story with a beginning, middle, and end; it is the emotional centre of the surah.
Two-part split — common for qiyam
Split at v.33
Rak'ah 1 — vv.1–33: the defence of the Prophet ﷺ, the portrait of the slanderer, and the full parable of the garden, closing on kadhalika l-'adhab — “such is the punishment.”
Rak'ah 2 — vv.34–52: the reward of the righteous, the challenges, the Day the shin is uncovered, and the counsel of patience ending on the reminder to the worlds.
Four-part split — extended qiyam nights
Breaks at v.16, v.33, and v.45
Rak'ah 1 — vv.1–16: the pen, the Prophet's defence, and the branding of the arrogant slanderer.
Rak'ah 2 — vv.17–33: the parable of the owners of the garden, from their scheme to their regret.
Rak'ah 3 — vv.34–45: the two ends, the volley of challenges, and the uncovered shin.
Rak'ah 4 — vv.46–52: patience, the companion of the fish, and the reminder to the worlds.
Natural stopping points
v.7
End of the direct defence — your Lord knows best who has strayed and who is guided. A clean close before the command not to obey the deniers.
v.16
sanasimuhu 'ala l-khurtum — the branding of the slanderer. The portrait of the enemy is complete before the parable begins.
v.33
wa la-'adhabu l-akhirati akbar — the seal of the garden parable, linking its worldly ruin to the greater punishment to come.
v.45
wa umli lahum inna kaydi matin — the end of the challenge-and-warning passage, just before the final counsel to the Prophet ﷺ.
v.52
wa ma huwa illa dhikrun lil-'alamin — the final verse, overturning the charge of madness. A complete, resounding close.
How well do you know this surah?