The Pen (Al-Qalam)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Noon. I swear by the pen and what the angels write, 1 Thou art not, for thy Lord's favour unto thee, a madman. 2 Most surely, you will have a never ending reward. 3 and you are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence. 4 So you will see, and they will realise, 5 Which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily your Lord knows those who have gone astray from His path, and He knows those who are guided on the way. 7 Hence, defer not to [the likes and dislikes of] those who give the lie to the truth: 8 they would like thee to be soft [with them,] so that they might be soft [with thee]. 9 Do not yield to one persistent in swearing, 10 Or backbiter, calumniator, slanderer, 11 the hinderer of good, the transgressor, the sinful; 12 Ignoble, besides all that, base-born; 13 Simply because he possesses wealth and children. 14 When Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are ancient legends". 15 We shall brand him upon the muzzle! 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 were not willing to set aside a portion (for the poor). 18 whereupon a visitation for thy Sustainer came upon that [garden] while they were asleep, 19 Then in the morning it became as though it had been reaped. 20 So they called out to each other at the break of dawn, 21 Saying: Run unto your field if ye would pluck (the fruit). 22 So they departed, talking in low voices: 23 "Let not a single indigent person break in upon you into the (garden) this day." 24 – and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose. 25 When they saw the garden, they said, "Surely we have lost our way. 26 [and then,] "Nay, but we have been rendered destitute!" 27 The best among them said: “Did I not say to you: why do you not give glory to (your Lord)?” 28 They said: hallowed be Our Lord! verily we have been wrong-doers. 29 and then they turned upon one another with mutual reproaches. 30 Said they: O woe to us! surely we were inordinate: 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