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, through the grace of thy Lord, mad. 2 And verily, thine shall be a reward neverending 3 And verily thou art of a high and noble disposition. 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 5 which of you is a prey to madness. 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 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 And do not obey every worthless habitual swearer 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 [or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor, 12 the crude of low character 13 Because he is owner of riches and children. 14 When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries! 15 We shall brand him on the nose. 16 We have tried them as We tried the owners of the garden who had sworn that in the morning they would reap it, 17 But did not add: "If God may please." 18 Wherefore an encircling visitation visited it even as they slept on. 19 So the (garden) became, by the morning, like a dark and desolate spot, (whose fruit had been gathered). 20 As the morning broke, they called out, one to another,- 21 Saying: "Go to your tilth in the morning, if you would pluck the fruits." 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 No needy man shall enter it to-day against you. 24 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. 25 But as soon as they beheld the orchard, (they cried out): “We have certainly lost the way; 26 No, rather, we have been prevented' 27 The best among them said: "Did I not tell you: why do you not say: Insha' Allah (If Allah will)." 28 They said: hallowed be Our Lord! verily we have been wrong-doers. 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 We hope that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this. Truly, we turn to our Lord (wishing for good that He may forgive our sins, and reward us in the Hereafter)." 32 Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33