The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace
۞ Noon. By the Pen and that (the angels) write, 1 you are not, because of the favor of your Lord, mad. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality. 4 So you shall see, and they (too) shall see, 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Surely your Lord best knows him who errs from His way, and He best knows the followers of the right course. 7 Therefor obey not thou the rejecters 8 they would wish you to be pliant so that they too may be pliant. 9 And do not yield to any contemptible swearer, 10 The excessively insulting one, spreader of spite. 11 or to one who places obstacles in the way of good being done or to the wicked transgressor, 12 Cruel, after all that base-born (of illegitimate birth), 13 or that because he may possess wealth and children. 14 that, whenever Our messages are conveyed to him, such a one says, "Fables of ancient times"? 15 Soon shall We brand him on his snout. 16 Now We have tried them, even as We tried the owners of the garden when they swore they would pluck in the morning 17 and they added not the saving words. 18 So an envoy from your Lord completed his round upon the garden, whilst they were sleeping. 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 saying, "Be quick to reach your orchard, if you want to gather all your fruits." 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 "Indeed, no needy person shall enter it today [and come] upon you [unawares,]" 24 They were resolved to repel the beggars. 25 But as soon as they beheld [the garden and could not recognize] it, they exclaimed, "Surely we have lost our way!" 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 The most moderate of them said: said I not unto you, wherefore hallow him ye not! 28 'Exaltations to Allah, our Lord' they said, 'We were truly harmdoers' 29 and then they turned upon one another with mutual reproaches. 30 They said: "Alas for us! We have indeed transgressed! 31 Perhaps our Lord will replace it with a better garden. We turn in repentance to our Lord". 32 SUCH is the suffering [with which We try some people in this world]; but greater by far will be the suffering [which sinners shall have to bear] in the life to come - if they but knew it! 33