The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Noon. By the Pen and that (the angels) write, 1 By the grace of your Lord, you are not a mad man. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; 4 You shall see and they will see 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Verily your Lord knows those who have gone astray from His path, and He knows those who are guided on the way. 7 Therefor obey not thou the rejecters 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 And do not yield to any contemptible swearer, 10 Or backbiter, calumniator, slanderer, 11 or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 because he has wealth and sons. 14 When Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are ancient legends". 15 We will soon singe his pig-nose. 16 We have tested them in the same way as we tested the dwellers of the garden (in Yemen) when they swore to pluck all the fruits of the garden in the morning, 17 without adding to their swearing, (Allah willing, InshaAllah). 18 Then there passed by on the (garden) something (fire) from your Lord at night and burnt it while they were asleep. 19 And in the morning it was as if plucked. 20 And they called one another at morning, 21 That, “Go to your fields at early morn, if you want to harvest.” 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." 24 And they went early in determination, [assuming themselves] able. 25 But when they saw it they said: 'We have surely gone astray. 26 No, rather, we have been prevented' 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, one against another, in blaming. 30 They said: "Woe to us! Verily, we were Taghun (transgressors and disobedient, etc.) 31 Belike our Lord may exchange for us better garden than this; verily we are unto our Lord beseechers. 32 Such was their punishment, [in this life]. But the punishment of the life to come is much more severe, if only they knew it! 33