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 your Lord's Grace, you are not afflicted with madness, 2 And verily, thine shall be a reward neverending 3 And indeed you possess an exemplary character. 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily, your Lord knows better, who (among men) has gone astray from His Path, and He knows better those who are guided. 7 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 They want you to make concessions to them and then they will reciprocate. 9 And do not obey every mean swearer, 10 Defamer, going about with slander 11 obstructing virtues, a sinful transgressor, 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 just because he has wealth and sons, 14 When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago." 15 Soon shall We brand him on his 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 But made no reservation, ("If it be Allah's Will"). 18 whereupon a visitation for thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep, 19 So it became as black, barren land. 20 And they cried out one unto another in the morning, 21 "Go early to your tilth if you want to harvest the fruit!" 22 So they went off, whispering to one another, 23 'No needy man shall enter it today against your will.' 24 They were resolved to repel the beggars. 25 Then when they beheld it, they said: verily we have strayed. 26 “In fact, we are unfortunate.” 27 The best among them said: “Did I not say to you: why do you not give glory to (your Lord)?” 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 Then they approached one another, blaming each other. 30 Saying: "Alas the woe, we were iniquitous. 31 Maybe, our Lord will give us instead one better than it; surely to our Lord do we make our humble petition. 32 Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33