The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Noon. I swear by the pen and what the angels write, 1 You are not insane, by the munificence of your Lord. 2 And indeed, for you is a reward uninterrupted. 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 Soon you will see, as will they, 5 Which of you is the afflicted [by a devil]. 6 Your Lord knows best who has fallen by the wayside, and who has remained on the true path. 7 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 Their desire is that thou shouldst be pliant: so would they be pliant. 9 And do not obey every mean swearer, 10 A slanderer, going about with calumnies, 11 Forbidder of good, outstepping the limits, sinful, 12 the coarse-grained, and above all mean and ignoble; 13 Because he possesses wealth and sons. 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 We shall brand him on the muzzle. 16 We have tried you as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed to gather the fruits in the morning 17 without saying, "If it be God's will." 18 A calamity from your Lord befell the orchard as they slept. 19 So in the morning it became as if harvested. 20 Then they called out one to another as soon as the morning broke, 21 Saying: Go early to your tilth if you would cut (the produce). 22 So they departed, talking in low voices: 23 "Let no beggar come to the garden". 24 And they went out betimes determined in purpose. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way: 26 “In fact, we are unfortunate.” 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 They cried out: “Glory be to our Lord! Certainly we were sinners.” 29 And they came blaming one another. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such is the chastisement; and the chastisement of the world to come, is assuredly greater, did they but know. 33