The Pen (Al-Qalam)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Noon. By the Pen and that (the angels) write, 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 surely thou art upon a mighty morality. 4 So very soon, you will see and they too will realise – 5 which of you is the demented. 6 Surely your Lord knows well those who have strayed from His Way just as He knows well those who are on the Right Way. 7 Wherefore obey not thou the beliers. 8 They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you. 9 And do not obey every mean swearer, 10 Or backbiter, calumniator, slanderer, 11 Hinderer of the good, trespasser; sinner. 12 [or] one who is cruel, by greed possessed, and in addition to all this, utterly useless [to his fellow-men]. 13 just because he has wealth and sons, 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples." 15 We shall brand him on his nose. 16 [As for such sinners,] behold, We [but] try them as We tried the owners of a certain garden who vowed that they would surely harvest its fruit on the morrow, 17 without making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept 19 So it became as black, barren land. 20 And they called out to each other in the morning, 21 'Come forth betimes upon your tillage, if you would pluck!' 22 So they went, while they consulted together secretly, 23 'No needy man shall enter it today against your will.' 24 And they opened the morning, strong in an (unjust) resolve. 25 But when they saw it, they said, "We must have lost our way. 26 (No, we are not lost.) In fact, we have been deprived of everything". 27 The best among them said: "Did I not tell you: why do you not say: Insha' Allah (If Allah will)." 28 They said, "Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers." 29 So they came towards each other, blaming. 30 They said, "O woe to us; indeed we were transgressors. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us better than this. We turn to our Lord in supplication." 32 Such is the punishment; and indeed the punishment of the Hereafter is the greatest, if only they knew! 33