The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ Noon. I swear by the pen and what the angels write, 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 You will see, and they will see, 5 #NAME? 6 Verily your Lord knows those who have gone astray from His path, and He knows those who are guided on the way. 7 So do not comply with those who deny: 8 They wish that thou shouldst compromise, then they would compromise. 9 Do not yield to any contemptible swearer of oaths, 10 the backbiter who goes about slandering, 11 obstructing virtues, a sinful transgressor, 12 Cruel, after all that base-born (of illegitimate birth), 13 Because he is owner of riches and children. 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “These are stories of earlier people.” 15 We will brand him upon the snout. 16 We have indeed tested them the way We had tested the owners of the garden when they swore that they would reap its harvest the next morning. 17 without saying, "If it be God's will." 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 And they called one another at morning, 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 So they departed, talking in low voices: 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 They went forth early, believing that they had the power (to gather the fruit). 25 But when they saw it, they said: Lo! we are in error! 26 No, rather, we have been prevented' 27 One who was temperate among them, said: "Did I not say: 'Why don't you priase God?'" 28 They said, “Purity is to our Lord – we have indeed been unjust.” 29 Then they approached one another, blaming each other. 30 They said: Alas for us! In truth we were outrageous. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us a better orchard in its place; to our Lord do we penitently turn.” 32 Such is the torment if only they knew that the torment in the life hereafter will certainly be greater. 33