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 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 So you will see and they will see 5 which of you is the demented. 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 So do not comply with those who deny: 8 Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise. 9 And do not obey every mean swearer, 10 Defamer, going about with slander 11 Hinderer of the good, trespasser; sinner. 12 the crude of low character 13 Because he is a possessor of wealth and children, 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 We will brand him upon the snout. 16 Verily, We have tried them as We tried the people of the garden, when they swore to pluck the fruits of the (garden) in the morning, 17 And they made not the exception. 18 Then a calamity from your Lord fell upon it, but they remained fast asleep. 19 And by morning it lay as if it had already been harvested, a barren land. 20 They then called out to each other at daybreak. 21 'Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck!' 22 Thus they launched forth, whispering unto one another, 23 'No needy man shall enter it today against your will.' 24 And they went out early, determined in their resolve. 25 But when they saw the (garden), they said: "Verily, we have gone astray," 26 rather, we are utterly ruined.” 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 They said, 'Glory be to God, our Lord; truly, we were evildoers.' 29 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 Said they: O woe to us! surely we were inordinate: 31 Maybe, our Lord will give us instead one better than it; surely to our Lord do we make our humble petition. 32 Such is the chastisement, and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is greater, did they but know! 33