The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
۞ Noon. By the Pen and that (the angels) write, 1 (Muhammad), you are not insane, thanks to the bounty of your Lord. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 for, behold, thou keepest indeed to a sublime way of life; 4 And thou wilt see and they will see 5 which of you was bereft of reason. 6 Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has gone astray from His way, and He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided. 7 So obey thou not those who cry lies. 8 They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you. 9 Neither obey thou each feeble oath-monger, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 A preventer of good, transgressing and sinful, 12 ill-mannered, and moraly corrupt 13 It is because he is possessed of wealth and children 14 When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries! 15 We will brand him upon the snout. 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 and they added not the saving words. 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 and so by morning the orchard lay as though it had been fully harvested. 20 Then they called out one to another as soon as the morning broke, 21 "Go early to your farms, if you want to pluck the fruits". 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones (saying), 23 [Saying], "There will surely not enter it today upon you [any] poor person." 24 And they went early in determination, [assuming themselves] able. 25 Then when they beheld it, they said: verily we have strayed. 26 Nay, but we are desolate! 27 The best among them said: "Did I not tell you: why do you not say: Insha' Allah (If Allah will)." 28 They said: Glory be to our Lord, surely we were unjust. 29 Then they approached one another, blaming each other. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such was their punishment. But the punishment of the Everlasting Life is much greater, if they but knew. 33