The Pen (Al-Qalam)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, 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 most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off. 3 And verily thou art of a high and noble disposition. 4 And thou wilt see and they will see 5 which of you is afflicted with madness. 6 Verily thy Lord! He is the best Knower of him who strayeth from His path, and He is the best Knower of the guided one. 7 So hearken not to those who deny (the Truth). 8 They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you. 9 And yield not to any mean swearer 10 the fault-finder who goes around slandering, 11 Forbidder of good, outstepping the limits, sinful, 12 Greedy therewithal, intrusive. 13 Because he is a possessor of wealth and children, 14 When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “These are stories of earlier people.” 15 We shall mark him upon his 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 making any allowance (for the will of Allah). 18 Then a visitation from thy Lord came upon it while they slept 19 Then in the morning it became as though it had been reaped. 20 Now when they rose at early morn, they called unto one another, 21 "Go ye to your tilth (betimes) in the morning, if ye would gather the fruits." 22 So they departed, conversing in secret low tones, (saying)- 23 “Make sure that no needy person enters your garden this day.” 24 – and early they went, strongly bent upon their purpose. 25 Then when they beheld it, they said: verily we have strayed. 26 Nay! we are made to suffer privation. 27 Said one of them, more just (than the rest): "Did I not say to you, 'Why not glorify (Allah)?'" 28 They said, "Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers." 29 And they came blaming one another. 30 They said, "Alas for us, our behaviour was beyond the pale. 31 May be our Lord will give us a better orchard in its stead; we turn to Him." 32 Such is the Punishment (in this life); but greater is the Punishment in the Hereafter,- if only they knew! 33