The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
۞ Noon. By the Pen and that (the angels) write, 1 By your Lord's Grace, you are not afflicted with madness, 2 And indeed for you is an unlimited reward. 3 And indeed, you are of a great moral character. 4 So you will see, and they will realise, 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 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 Do not, then, yield to those who reject the Truth, decrying it as false; 8 They wish that in some way you may yield, so they too might soften their stand. 9 And yield not to any mean swearer 10 The excessively insulting one, spreader of spite. 11 Hinderer of the good, transgressor, sinful, 12 the crude of low character 13 (who so acts) simply because he has wealth and sons, 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “These are stories of earlier people.” 15 We will brand him on the nose. 16 Now We have tried them, even as We tried the owners of the garden when they swore they would pluck in the morning 17 without adding to their swearing, (Allah willing, InshaAllah). 18 Wherefore an encircling visitation visited it even as they slept on. 19 and in the morning it was as if it were a garden plucked. 20 In the morning they called out to one another, 21 'Come out to your tillage if you want to reap' 22 So they departed, whispering together, 23 'No needy man shall enter it today against your will.' 24 They went betimes, strong in (this) purpose. 25 But when they saw it, they said: Most surely we have gone astray 26 Nay, but we are desolate! 27 The best of them said: Did I not say to you, Why do you not glorify (Allah)? 28 "Glory to our Lord," they said; we were really in the wrong." 29 So they came towards each other, blaming. 30 They said, “Woe to us – we were indeed rebellious.” 31 It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better than it; to our Lord we humbly turn.' 32 Such was their punishment, [in this life]. But the punishment of the life to come is much more severe, if only they knew it! 33