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 You (O Muhammad SAW) are not, by the Grace of your Lord, a madman. 2 And lo! thine verily will be a reward unfailing. 3 and you are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence. 4 So very soon, you will see and they too will realise – 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Indeed your Lord well knows those who have strayed from His path, and He well knows those who are upon guidance. 7 Therefore do not listen to the deniers. 8 They wish that in some way you may yield, so they too might soften their stand. 9 And obey not everyone who swears much, and is considered worthless, 10 [or to] the slanderer that goes about with defaming tales, 11 One who excessively forbids the good, transgressor, sinner. 12 who is ignoble and besides all that, base-born; 13 (who so acts) simply because he has wealth and sons, 14 When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore. 15 We will brand him on the nose. 16 We have tried you as We tried the owners of the garden when they vowed to gather the fruits in the morning 17 and made no allowance [for the will of God]: 18 whereupon a visitation for thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep, 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 In the morning they called to one another, 21 Saying: go out betimes to your tilth if ye would reap. 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones (saying), 23 "Let no needy person come to you within it today." 24 They were resolved to repel the beggars. 25 But when they saw it, they said, 'Surely we are gone astray; 26 Aye! it is we who are deprived! 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 Then they began to reproach one another. 30 They said: Alas for us! In truth we were outrageous. 31 Maybe our Lord will give us better than this. We turn to our Lord in supplication." 32 Such was the punishment. And verily the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they did but know. 33