The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, most benevolent, ever-merciful
۞ Noon. I swear by the pen and what the angels write, 1 You are not demented by the grace of your Lord. 2 And verily thine shall be a hire unending. 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 So you will soon see, and they too will see, 5 which of you is a prey to 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 So (O Muhammad SAW) obey not the deniers [(of Islamic Monotheism those who belie the Verses of Allah), the Oneness of Allah, and the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad SAW), etc.] 8 They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you. 9 And obey thou not every mean swearer, 10 A defamer, spreader abroad of slander. 11 Forbidder of good, outstepping the limits, sinful, 12 Gross, and therewithal ignoble. 13 just because he has wealth and sons, 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 We shall brand him on his nose. 16 We have tested them in the same way as we tested the dwellers of the garden (in Yemen) when they swore to pluck all the fruits of the garden in the morning, 17 and they added not the saving words. 18 A visitor from your Lord circled around the garden during the night while they were asleep 19 and in the morning it was if the garden had been reaped. 20 And they called out to each other in the morning, 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 22 So off they went, whispering to one another: 23 Let there not enter upon you today any needy man. 24 They went betimes, strong in (this) purpose. 25 When they saw (and did not recognise it) they said: "Surely we have lost the way. 26 “In fact, we are unfortunate.” 27 A reasonable one among them said, "Did I not tell you that you should glorify God?" 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 And they advanced one upon another, blaming each other. 30 They said, "Woe to us. We have been arrogant. 31 “Hopefully, our Lord will give us a better replacement than this – we now incline towards our Lord.” 32 Such is Our chastisement; and the punishment of the Hereafter will be greater, if only they knew! 33