The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
۞ Noon. By the Pen and that (the angels) write, 1 you are not, because of the favor of your Lord, mad. 2 You will certainly receive a never-ending reward. 3 And verily thou art of a high and noble disposition. 4 So you will see and they will see 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily, thy Sustainer alone is fully aware as to who has strayed from His path, Just as He alone is fully aware of those who have found the right way. 7 Do not give in to the deniers of truth. 8 they wish you would compromise, then, they would compromise. 9 And do not obey every mean swearer, 10 [or to] the slanderer that goes about with defaming tales, 11 [or] the withholder of good, [or] the sinful aggressor, 12 Cruel, moreover, and an illegitimate pretender. 13 just because he has wealth and sons, 14 and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.” 15 Anon We shall brand him on 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 A visitor from your Lord circled around the garden during the night while they were asleep 19 So in the morning it became as if harvested. 20 In the morning they called to one another, 21 "If you want to gather the fruits, let us go early to the plantation." 22 So they set out, while lowering their voices, 23 "Be sure to stop any poor person from entering the orchard today." 24 They set out early in the morning, thinking they had the power to prevent. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "We have surely lost our way: 26 Nay, but we are desolate! 27 The most moderate of them said, "Did I not say to you, 'Why do you not exalt [Allah]?' " 28 They said: Glory be to our Lord, surely we were unjust. 29 Then they started blaming one another, 30 Said they: O woe to us! surely we were inordinate: 31 Perhaps our Lord will substitute for us [one] better than it. Indeed, we are toward our Lord desirous." 32 Such is the punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they but knew. 33