The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Noon. I swear by the pen and what the angels write, 1 By the grace of your Lord, you are not a mad man. 2 There is surely reward unending for you, 3 You have attained a high moral standard. 4 and [one day] thou shalt see, and they [who now deride thee] shall see, 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Lo! thy Lord is Best Aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is Best Aware of those who walk aright. 7 Therefore do not listen to the deniers. 8 they would wish you to be pliant so that they too may be pliant. 9 And obey thou not every mean swearer, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 Who hinders men from (doing) good, the transgressor, the iniquitous, 12 Foul mouthed, and in addition to all this, of improper lineage. 13 Because he possesses wealth and sons. 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 Soon shall We brand him on his snout. 16 Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. 17 and made no allowance [for the will of God]: 18 Then there encompassed it a visitation from your Lord while they were sleeping. 19 So the (garden) became black by the morning, like a pitch dark night (in complete ruins). 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 So they went off, while whispering to one another. 23 'No needy person shall set foot in it today' 24 And they left at early morn, assuming they were in control of their purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Most surely we have gone astray 26 No. In fact we have been deprived of it." 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 Then they turned to each other reproaching. 30 They said, "Woe to us. We have been arrogant. 31 It may be that our Lord will give us better than this in place thereof. Lo! we beseech our Lord. 32 Such was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33