The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
۞ Noon. I swear by the pen and what the angels write, 1 By the grace of your Lord you are not mad. 2 Surely thou shalt have a wage unfailing; 3 And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. 4 Anon thou wilt see and they will see. 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Lo! thy Lord is Best Aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is Best Aware of those who walk aright. 7 So do not yield to the rejecters. 8 Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise. 9 Heed not the type of despicable men,- ready with oaths, 10 backbiter, going about with slander, 11 Forbidder of good, outstepping the limits, sinful, 12 Crude, and above all, mean and infamous, 13 Simply because he possesses wealth and children. 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 We shall mark him upon his nose! 16 Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. 17 without adding ("if God wills"). 18 Then, a visitation from your Lord came down upon it while they slept, 19 So in the morning it became as if harvested. 20 In the morning they called to one another, 21 That, “Go to your fields at early morn, if you want to harvest.” 22 And so they departed, whispering to one another: 23 Let there not enter upon you today any needy man. 24 And they went forth early, determined upon their purpose. 25 Then when they beheld it, they said: verily we have strayed. 26 No. In fact we have been deprived of it." 27 The more upright of the two said, "Did I not bid you to glorify God?" 28 They said: "Glory to Our Lord! Verily, we have been Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)." 29 Then they approached one another, blaming each other. 30 They said: "Woe to us! Verily, we were Taghun (transgressors and disobedient, etc.) 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 the chastisement of the Hereafter is assuredly even greater, if only they knew. 33